Odense Harbour to Odense Fjord was built between 1796 and 1806 to facilitate the growth of Odense as a port city, radically increasing its level of trade and population. Founded in 1796, Odense Teater is the first provincial theatre in Denmark and the country's second oldest. Odense Central Library was established in 1924 and removed to Odense station in 1995. The Odense Music Library contains Denmark's largest collection of phonograms. From the 1840s, the city enjoyed a period of rapid expansion beyond its traditional boundaries, becoming Denmark's second largest city. The city gates were demolished in 1851 and soon afterwards development
Odense Stadium plans were finally approved by the then-mayor of Odense, Hans Christian Petersen (Conservative People's Party), and Odense Idrætspark was founded on 27 December 1927, with the expectation that the municipality built the stadium, and the local sports clubs would run it. The building site for the city's first stadium was placed at Kildemosen, in an area located in the western section of the workshops for Sydfyenske Railways (SFJ) and 'Sukkerkogeriet Odense'. On 16 August 1931, the first edition of Odense Idrætspark, was inaugurated with an association football match marked by pouring rain – on the exhibition pitch without any grandstands