Mediebyen Stavanger is scheduled to be ready for occupancy on 1 June 2025.
– We have worked on the Mediebyen project for five years, and I am very happy that we have finally agreed to move in together on what is perhaps Stavanger's most attractive plot of land, says District Editor for NRK Rogaland, Ragnar Christensen.
– We have had it great at NRK's premises at Ullandhaug for many years, but are now looking forward to relocating to a new and modern building in the city center, and at the same time becoming both more visible and more easily accessible to the public and guests.
Editor-in-Chief at Stavanger Aftenblad, Kjersti Sortland, says that Nytorget is an exciting area, and a right and future-oriented place for the region's largest media player to establish itself.
– We are certain that Mediebyen will contribute to a stronger professional environment in the industry, increased value creation, and more efficient operations. It also gives us a better opportunity to get closer to the audience and to create good experiences, says Sortland.
Photo: Øystein Otterdal, NRK (From left: Dag Mossige, Kjersti Sortland, Ragnar Christensen, and Kjetil Haver.)
Better through collaboration
CEO of Schibsted, Kristin Skogen Lund, has signed the agreement on behalf of Schibsted and Stavanger Aftenblad. She believes that co-locating and closer cooperation in selected areas can strengthen the ability to face changes and competition.
– We share a belief that companies and institutions have the potential to make better use of each other's strengths, says Skogen Lund.
NRK's Director-General, Vibeke Fürst Haugen, says she is delighted that Mediebyen Stavanger is now becoming a reality.
– I have a fundamental belief that cooperation between small and large media players strengthens the Norwegian media diversity, says the Director-General.
Out for consultation
The regulatory plan for Nytorget is out for consultation. If it is approved as it stands now, Mediebyen will be completed in the summer of 2025. This pleases the city's political leadership.
– In 2025, we will celebrate Stavanger's 900th anniversary. The hope is that Mediebyen will be ready for occupation during that summer, says acting Deputy Mayor Dag Mossige (Ap). He says that Mediebyen is a very important urban development project which will provide many essential jobs in the city center.
– We want to accelerate Nytorget, not least as a vibrant cultural square, and the kind of value-creating and creative workplaces that Mediebyen offers fit these plans like a glove, says Mossige.
Wants more tenants
Work is now starting to get even more people on board to create Mediebyen Stavanger.
– We want to invite both large and small companies into the collaboration so that we can create a large and diverse media and media technology environment in Stavanger, says Odd Gurvin, acting CEO of the Norwegian Media Cluster, NCE Media. It is a stated goal for the partners that Mediebyen, in addition to contributing to growth and profitability, should be an important place for learning and a laboratory for journalism, storytelling, and technology. NCE Media has hired a Project Manager who will run the cluster's activities in Stavanger for the next three years and contribute to the development of Mediebyen.
Nytorget 1 is owned by SVG Property AS and Stavanger Utvikling KF, the municipality's own property company. Sales and Marketing Manager at SVG Property, Kjetil Haver, is ready to welcome new tenants and entices them with a state-of-the-art building tailored for the industry.
– We have entered into the project with the goal of creating a suitable arena for the media industry - and then we consider everything from the traditional media companies to the innovative technology companies that can drive media development further, as well as small and large production companies and academia in the Stavanger region.
– But this will also be a building that the citizens of Stavanger will use. We want to create a natural meeting place between the public and the media, with open facades towards Nytorget, and a public zone on the first floor, says Haver.
For further comments, contact:
- Ragnar Christensen, District Editor at NRK Rogaland, tel. + 47 994 94 900
- Kjersti Sortland, Editor-in-Chief at Stavanger Aftenblad, tel. + 47 905 48 968
- Kjetil Haver, Sales and Marketing Manager at SVG Property AS, tel. + 47 995 07 475
- Odd Gurvin, interim CEO of NCE Media, tel. + 47 900 50 132