Vikingskipet ("The Viking Ship"), officially known as Hamar Olympic Hall (), is an indoor multi-use sport and event venue in
Hamar
Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. It was built as the
speed skating rink
A speed skating rink (or speed skating oval) is an ice rink in which a speed skating competition is held.
The rink
A standard long track speed skating track is, according to the regulations of the International Skating Union (ISU), a double-lane ...
for the
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...
, and has since also hosted events and tournaments in
ice speedway
Ice speedway is a developed form of motorcycle speedway racing, featuring racing on frozen surfaces. The sport uses bikes enhanced for the terrain. Participants can compete at international level.
Outline
The bikes race counterclockwise arou ...
,
motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
,
rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event
Sport ...
,
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
,
bandy
Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.
The playin ...
track cycling
Track cycling is a Cycle sport, bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles.
History
Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its i ...
. The arena is also used for
concert
A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...
s,
trade fair
A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific Industry (economics), industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest Product (business), products and se ...
and the annual computer party The Gathering. It is the home arena of
Hamar IL
Hamar Idrettslag is a Norway, Norwegian sports club from Hamar. It has sections for bandy, curling, association football, sport of athletics, athletics, sport shooting, Rowing (sport), rowing, speed skating, Diving (sport), diving, swimming (spor ...
bandy team. The venue is owned by
Hamar Municipality
Hamar Municipality (; ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is th ...
, and along with
Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre
CC Amfi, also known as Nordlyshallen ("The Northern Light Hall"), is an indoor sports arena in Hamar, Norway. It is mostly used for ice hockey and is the home arena of Storhamar Hockey. It has also been used for short track speed skating, figure ...
is run by the municipal Hamar Olympiske Anlegg. Vikingskipet has a capacity for 10,600 spectators during sporting events and 20,000 during concerts.
The arena was designed by Niels Torp, and Biong & Biong, and opened on 19 December 1992. The complex cost 230 million
Norwegian krone
The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including List of possessions of Norway, overseas territories and dependencies). It was t ...
(NOK). The construction location was controversial, as it is located at Ã…kervika, a
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
ISU Speed Skating World Cup
The ISU Speed Skating World Cup is a series of international speed skating competitions, organised annually by the International Skating Union since the winter of 1985–86. Every year during the winter season, a number of competitions on differe ...
UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...
,
Speedway Grand Prix
Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first ...
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
had not specified that it was necessary with an indoor speed skating rink. Due the interference of winter winds in
Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
had to build the indoor
Olympic Oval
The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is North America's first covered speed skating oval; it was built for the Speed skating at the 1988 Winter Olympics, 1988 Winter Olympics and opened on September 27, 1987.1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...
, but
Albertville
Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France.
It is best k ...
, who were awarded the
1992 Winter Olympics
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...
, had opted for the L'anneau de vitesse an outdoor temporary track on a football stadium. In its bid, the speed skating events were planned held at Stampesletta area, on another temporary track. In 1986,ISU decided that the Olympics events could be only held on indoor venues.
Hamar had previously been a venue for international speed skating events at Hamar stadion. The town was therefore selected to host the two skating venues. In December 1989, it was decided that the new venue would be built at Ã…kervika, a Ramsar site outside downtown Hamar. A compromise was reached whereby the stadium was moved from its original location, two birdwatching towers were built, and a lumber yard was moved.LOOC (III): 51Nature and Youth remained opposed to the plans, stating the location "has destroyed part of one of the world's most important bird reserves".
The construction was passed by the
Parliament of Norway
The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...
in April 1990. Architects were Niels Torp, and Biong and Biong.LOOC (III): 54Ole K. Karlsen was selected to build the building, in competition with eleven other contractors. The ventilation contract worth NOK 18 million had originally been awarded to Hagen & Haugan on 29 May 1991. Two days later, the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee (LOOC) signed a sponsorship agreement with Norsk Viftefabrikk and Elektrisk Bureau, both part of Asea Brown Boveri, which demanded discounts in their sponsorship payments for not receiving the contract. In September 1992, Investa, which owned Ole K. Karlsen, filed for bankruptcy, causing delays in construction. When it opened, Vikingskipet was the largest indoor sports venue in the world, and has twice the spectator capacity of the Calgary Olympic Oval. The ice rink was first tested on 15 December 1992, and officially opened on 19 December.
The construction of the venue cost NOK 230 million, which was almost entirely financed through state grants. Hamar Municipality contributed by building a co-located fire station for NOK 21 million. Local businesses also contributed with NOK 8 million. Moelven Industrier and Fireguard both contributed in exchange for being able to use the venues for marketing large wooden structures. To finance the operating deficit after the Olympics, Hamar Municipality received a capital grant of NOK 30 million, with the interest going to pay for running Vikingskipet and
Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre
CC Amfi, also known as Nordlyshallen ("The Northern Light Hall"), is an indoor sports arena in Hamar, Norway. It is mostly used for ice hockey and is the home arena of Storhamar Hockey. It has also been used for short track speed skating, figure ...
. Operating costs were estimated at NOK 7 million per year; the venue will receive income of NOK 1 million from larger events, NOK 1 million will come from free work from the fire department, and NOK 1 million from advertisements. Similar to Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre, the venue has two official names, Hamar Olympic Hall and Vikingskipet. The former cannot be used commercially by non-Olympic events, such as in merchandise.
Facilities
The venue has a floor area of and a volume of . The hall has a spectator capacity of 10,600 people, of which 2,000 can be seated. During the Olympics, this included 250 VIP seats, 250 press seats and 100 commentator seats. Access to the inner ring can be provided via an underpass. Lighting is provided at 1,400 lux, while the venue has a ventilation system capable of both heating and cooling, as well as de-moisturizing, and both re-use and circulation of air. The refrigeration unit uses an
ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...
and saline solution, which is transported in pipes within the concrete, which allows for an ice temperature of between −5.5 and −6.5 degrees Celsius (22 and 20 °F). The heat from the refrigerating unit can be reused.
The rink itself is long, with a turning radius of . Within the speed skating rink lies a bandy field. The venue was designed to also allow for association football, cycling,
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
,
curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...
,
motorsports
Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the po ...
and
cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...
. The inside of the track can also be used for association football, with pitch dimensions up to . It can also function as an indoor driving range for
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
. The name derives from the roof looking like the
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...
of a
Viking ship
Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, used in Scandinavia throughout the Middle Ages.
The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexi ...
. The building is visible from the E6 motorway and the
Dovre Line
The Dovre Line () is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim (city), Trondheim.
Definition
*Dovre Line is the main line between Eidsvoll Station and Trondheim Station, used b ...
passing through Hamar, and was planned to be Hamar's main
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...
.
Transport
During the Olympics, transport was in part provided by Vikingskipet Station on the
Røros Line
The Røros Line () is a rail transport, railway line which runs through the districts of Norway, districts of Hedmarken, Østerdalen, and Gauldalen in Innlandet and Trøndelag, Norway. The line branches off from the Dovre Line at Hamar Station ...
, which passes right next to the venue. The station is a
cul-de-sac
A dead end, also known as a ''cul-de-sac'' (; , ), a no-through road or a no-exit road, is a street with only one combined inlet and outlet.
Dead ends are added to roads in urban planning designs to limit traffic in residential areas. Some d ...
station which is electrified and allowed trains during the Olympics and the Track Cycling World Championships to reach the venue within a short walk from the train. The station was officially opened on 16 August 1993. The station has not been used since the Olympics. In 2006, the Norwegian National Rail Administration proposed re-opening the station in conjunction with larger events.
Events
Prior to the Olympic Games, the venue hosted three
world championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
s in 1993. In February, it hosted all but two preliminary matches of the 1993 Bandy World Championship. To make the games more attractive, preliminary round matches were reduced from 90 to 60 minutes. The final was spectated by 5,338 people. For four months, the venue was equipped with a
velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, which would be hosting the 1993 UCI Road World Championships. The Norwegian Cycling Federation had originally bid for the championships to get a permanent velodrome built at Hasle in Oslo, but declined the offer and instead chose the temporary concept. Because the velodrome only has a circumference of , the venue's spectator capacity was reduced to 3,000 people.
Hamar was the center for skating sports during the 1994 Winter Olympics. The other venue in town was Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre, which featured the
short track speed skating
Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the s ...
and
figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...
events. Vikingskipet held ten
speed skating
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...
5000 meters
The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...
Dan Jansen
Daniel Erwin Jansen (born June 17, 1965) is a retired American speed skater. A multiple world champion in sprint and perennial favorite at the Winter Olympics, he broke a ten-year Olympic jinx when he won a gold medal in his final race, which ...
5000 meters
The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...
ahead of Niemann.
Vikingskipet was proposed to also host
curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...
, should it be included in the Olympic program. It had been a
demonstration sport
A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games but may also occur at other sporting events.
Demonstration sport ...
Olympics, but was eventually discarded from the Lillehammer program. The event would have used the same production equipment as for speed skating, and would have consisted of a four-team tournament for both men and women, and would have been held during the Games' two last days. Vikingskipet was the venue for ice sledge speed skating during the 1994 Winter Paralympics. Eight events were held, four for women and four for men. The event had 22 participants from 7 nations competing for 24 medals, resulting in 23 of 24 medals being awarded to Norwegian athletes. Atle Haglund set two world records.
The venue is the national stadium for speed skating in Norway. It hosts annual
ISU Speed Skating World Cup
The ISU Speed Skating World Cup is a series of international speed skating competitions, organised annually by the International Skating Union since the winter of 1985–86. Every year during the winter season, a number of competitions on differe ...
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
,
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
,
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
,
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
and
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
,
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
and
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
,
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
,
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
,
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
and
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
.
Since 1996, Vikingskipet has hosted The Gathering, a computer party which is held every Easter. Concerts held at Vikingskipet include
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera".
Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
(2007), and
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
(2008).
The
Norway women's national football team
The Norway women's national football team () represents Norway in international Women's association football, football, and is controlled by the Norwegian Football Federation. The team is former European, World and Olympic champions and thus one ...
played
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
on 21 January 1996, winning 4–0. Vikingskipet hosted a round of the
Speedway Grand Prix
Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first ...
in
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
,
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
and
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
. It was also the service depot and race headquarters for Rally Norway, which was arranged in 2006,
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
and
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
Norwegian Skating Association
The Norwegian Skating Association (, NSF) is the main skating authoritative body in Norway. It oversees speed skating, figure skating, short track speed skating on ice, and more recently inline and roller skating.
The Norwegian Skating Associatio ...
announced that they indented that the Norwegian World Cup events would be moved to Sørmarka Arena in
Stavanger
Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
Vikingskipet is one of few indoor speed skating venues in the world, which has allowed for many world records. The following is a list of the rink records, including the distance, gender, the record time, the athlete who set the record, the country they represent, and the date the record was set.
World records
Vikingskipet has been the venues for
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...
s in speed skating, track cycling, ice sledge speed racing and frisbee. The following is a list of world records set in Vikingskipet, including the sport, event, gender, time or distance, the athlete, their country and the date the record was set. During the 1994 Winter Olympics, four of the five distances for men's speed skating received new world records.
List of indoor arenas in Nordic countries
The following is an incomplete list of indoor arenas in Nordic countries with a capacity of at least 5,000.
Current arenas
{{row counter, {, class{{="wikitable sortable"
, -
!#
!Stadium
!Capacity
!City
!Opened
!Image
, -
, style{{="text-align:ce ...
*
List of indoor speed skating rinks
This is a list of all full-length (400 meter) indoor speed skating rinks in the world. The Richmond Olympic Oval and the Sport und Koncert Komplex (Winter Stadium) are the only venues to have been dismantled as a speed skating rink, in 2010 ...