Roll Happy To Sing The Blues

Norwegian Wood Festival chief Jørgen Roll is delighted with his new job as event manager at Oslo’s new Telenor Arena because he’s been a fan of the soccer team that owns it since he was a boy.

“I have a blue heart,” he told Pollstar, referring to “De Blaa,” the nickname of Stabaek Football Club, which just spent 700 million Norwegian krones ($102 million) developing the new ground on the western edge of Oslo at Fornebu.

The area is being developed as a centre for information technology and the telecom industry. Norwegian telecom giant Telenor, which has the naming rights to the new building, has its HQ there.

Apart from upcoming shows with AC/DC (Feb. 18) and Tina Turner (April 17), both promoted by the Live Nation-owned Gunnar Eide Concerts, Roll is also looking forward to the arena hosting Stabaek’s home matches in the European Championship.
The club won last year’s Norwegian Premier League for the first time in its 96-year history.

The first show was Jan. 31, a showcase for Norwegian talent.

Telenor has a 23,000-capacity for shows and 15,000 for sports events, including 40 VIP boxes and a restaurant that seats 800. It also has a conference centre that can hold up to 1,200.

Roll will continue to run Norwegian Wood (June 11-13) and is working with Gunnar Eide to confirm international acts for this year’s festival.