The new Tolv Stockholm that lies underneath the huge arena that is Tele2 will be unveiled this Saturday, October 26. TS got a chance to walk through the whole place and witness the magic as people frivolously work on getting the place pristine for its grand opening. The new concept, which is a creation from Stockholm City and SGA Real Estate, aims to serve as a basis for the entertainment haven that has developed at the Globen area. “The idea was bounced off Los Angeles’ L.A. Live center that is located across from their Staples arena” says Stefan Prucha from SGA, who has been one of the heads of development for this project. “But I honestly think ours will be better,” he whispered to me quietly. With Globen Arena, Tele2, and now Tolv stationed in the vicinity, people will have all the ingredients to have an amazing time – live sports, food, drinks, a hotel, frozen yogurt, ping pong, karaoke, and a huge club.
The main attraction is the new O’Leary’s that you’re immediately are faced with as soon as you walk through the entrance doors. O’Leary’s has permeated the city with locations all around Stockholm but this one is not like the others you have seen. The bar is named one of the largest in Europe and holds a stadium style seating section facing a huge flat screen that sits on top of the bar. If that’s not already a huge attraction for all you sports bar fans – watching sports is not all you can do there. Now people can actually participate in some sports themselves! After you step in through the bar area, past the small stadium seating, a room sits on the right named the ping pong room – filled with ping pong tables for everyone’s entertainment. “We wanted to do something that was different from other places in Stockholm. We saw how Susan Sarandon’s place in New York, SPiN, and London’s Bounce were so successful because of ping-pong and we thought why not here,” Stefan explained. Past the ping-pong area is a bowling alley, then a mini golf course beyond the walls of that. The golf course is a mini course built with minature models of Stockholm landmarks, including the castle, Globen arena, and more.
Although O’Leary’s is the biggest piece of Tolv, it’s definitely not its only great feature. The entrepreneurial Ahlbom family is making their mark in Tolv as well with another Enzo’s restaurant (the other one can be found in Hornstull’s hornhuset) and a taste of some of Stureplan’s nightlife with the new Solidaritet nightclub. The restaurant will continue its Italian delicacies and still mimic the sports bar Italian diner feel with TV all all throughout the room and lime green booths.
The nightclub will be the bigger version of Solidaritet’s stureplan version. Upon walking into the unfinished club, I was wowed. The area is enormous and the stage in the front was pretty spectacular with flashing screens lining the back. The colors are great too – black and gold. This color shceme fits perfectly for the three-dance floor nightclub. Jesper Ahlbom told us that the entire club will have speakers from Bose. “We want to show the world how great sound can be even outside an arena with Bose. It will be one of the first times Bose is supplying sound for a nightclub in Stockholm,” says Jesper. Solidaritet is the perfect addition to top off all the other entertainment in the building.
But of course Tolv Stockholm doesn’t end there. Other additions will include the Bistro and Bo, which is a small restaurant with a micro-hotel holding twelve rooms. “We have the hotel booked from this coming Thursday to the end of December. It’s already becoming a popular and we think it will only continue,” says Stefan Prucha. Also included in the center is Printz restaurant, which will be part deli, restaurant, and bar. Printz will have access to fast food options of sausages, a full menu, and 50 beers on tap. Davaj Deli will be a spin off Brooklyn’s Little Odessa mixing tastes from Eastern Europe with the country of the West’s. A new karaoke bar will also be a part of the magic, &E, which will be Russian in style and be a great place to have a few good laughs with friends that can and cannot sing.
Tolv will also be a part of the frozen yogurt moment housing Frozzy, a frozen yogurt place that will provide eight different flavors, 30 different toppings and sauces, and even some Belgium waffles! Yum! And for those who are looking for other healthier options can try out Freshii Eat Energize for nutritious meal options with guaranteed fresh ingredients.
Tolv will cover all the bases when it comes to entertaining guests. It’s also opened up a whole new side of Stockholm – every day our city expands because new adventures are presented outside of the inner-city territory. What better a place to expand our city together with the introduction of our newest arena! People can now go to see live sports and gigs and enjoy even more of what is to be offered at Tolv below. The best part is Stockholm hasn’t really seen anything like it yet – a shopping mall layout with loads more entertainment, food, and drinks and without the shopping (you have Globen’s shopping mall for that).
Words by Angela Markovic
