is an indoor

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

in Nagano,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

with a capacity of 10,104 seated spectators. Its official name is the ''Nagano Wakasato Tamokuteki Sports Arena''. The arena was completed and officially opened on December 10, 1995.

Location

Big Hat is the most central of the venues of the 1998 Winter Olympics that were constructed in the city of Nagano, approximately 2 km south of

Nagano Station is a railway station in the city of Nagano in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The station is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operator Nagano Electric Railway (Nagaden). Lines Nagano Station is served by the ...

. White Ring, the venue for the

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 ...

and

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 ...

is a further 3.5 km south. Nagano Olympic Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies were held, is 8 km south of Big Hat.

M-Wave , or , is a covered speed skating oval in the city of Nagano, Japan. M-Wave, which opened in November, 1996, was constructed for the speed skating events at the 1998 Winter Olympics. It was Japan's first International Skating Union (ISU) stand ...

, where the long-track

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 ...

events took place, is 5 km to the east. Finally, Aqua Wing Arena, which was the

B arena, is 5.3 km to the north of Big Hat.

Events

The

games from the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

, including the men's and women's finals, were held at this arena. The rink served as the location of the Nagano Cup in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007 and last held in 2010. It was an ice hockey tournament held to commemorate the 1998 games, as well as many

competitions. The Wakasato hall in the complex features a stage and theater seating, and frequently serves as a venue for music recitals and public meetings.

Specifications

*Building area: 12,050 m² *Total floor area: 25,240 m² *Structure: Reinforced concrete, four floors above ground, one basement below *Capacity: 5,000

References

External links

1998 Winter Olympics official report.
Volume 2. pp. 219-22.

Big Hat Information (Japanese)
{{Olympic venues in ice hockey Basketball venues in Japan Buildings and structures completed in 1995 Indoor arenas in Japan Ice hockey venues in Japan Venues of the 1998 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey venues Shinshu Brave Warriors Sports venues completed in 1995 Sports venues in Nagano (city) 1995 establishments in Japan

Location

Events

Specifications

See also

References

External links