zondacrypto Arena is an

indoor 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 ...

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It is primarily used for

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 ...

and is the home arena of

HC Davos Hockey Club Davos is a professional Swiss ice hockey club based in Davos, Switzerland. Davos plays in the National League (NL). It is generally referred to by its abbreviation "HCD" by the fans. The team is usually a strong force in the league a ...

. It holds 7,080 people, of which 3,280 are seated. Every year the

Spengler Cup The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss team ...

is played in this arena. Major renovation of the arena started at the conclusion of the 2017–18 season to upgrade most of the stands and the concourse. The seating capacity was not increased and the total cost was around CHF 27 million. Construction began in 2018 and was completed in 2021.

Speed skating

The open natural ice rink beside the arena, ''Eisstadion Davos'', was in the past (up until 1997) the venue for many international

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 and many speed skating world records have been broken here. It still continues to be used for Swiss Championships in speed skating. It is an outdoor, natural, ice rink (as opposed to ice rinks that are indoor and/or use artificial ice) and lies 1,560 metres (almost one mile) above sea level. For the high velocities achieved in speed skating, high altitudes are favorable due to lower air drag, and since the ice conditions produced were also often very favorable, many World Records were set in Davos, beginning with Peder Østlund who set four records in 1898. The arena also had a reputation for variable conditions, the sun or warm winds could play havoc with ice conditions throughout a championship.

Bandy

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 ...

has also been played at the Eisstadion. Apart from local games, the 1913 European Bandy Championships was held at the site and a four nation bandy tournament was held here in 2014.

Ice hockey

At the beginning of the 20th century HC Davos played home games at an outdoor ice rink. The first attempt to cover the ice rink came around 1970. Soon after work began on the wooden enclosure, the project was stopped because of a lack of funds. In 1979, HC Davos, qualified for the Nationalliga A and a covered rink was necessary. Construction finished on the wooden structure, allowing the team to participate in the 1979/80 season. It was not until the 1981/82 season that the arena was then "closed" by glass panes. In 1998 the west tribune was renovated and instead of a big standing area, a two-level section with plastic seats was built. At that time the arena could hold up to 7,680 people. In summer 2005, a new, modern, tribune was built, which included the restaurant "Nordside", VIP rooms, a sector for sponsors, and new changing rooms were built in the northern sector. Capacity was subsequently reduced by the new construction to 7,080 people. The renovations continued in 2006 with small investments in the security of the southern and eastern tribune and screens for advertising. In January 2007, the indoor ice-hockey rink was renamed "Vaillant Arena" after the Vaillant Group paid CHF 3 million to help fund future renovations.

Hosting the World: The official representation of the Government of Switzerland in Davos

At its meeting on 14 June 2019, the

Swiss Federal Council The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and government of Switzerland. Since World War II, the Federal Council is by convention a permanent grand co ...

decided to continue and institutionalise the House of Switzerland at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

(WEF) Annual Meeting in

, which was first operated at the WEF Annual Meeting in January 2019. This is the only House of Switzerland institutionalised by Federal Council resolution, the only House of Switzerland directly related to government business and the only House of Switzerland that is set up and operated at the same location every year. Its premises are located in the Eisstadion Davos.Christoph Kohler / Nicolas Bideau / Dieter A. Borer: ''Hosting the World – 50 years of the World Economic Forum, Davos,'' House of Switzerland, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Presence Switzerland, 2020, p. 131

In the service of diplomacy

During the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, the House of Switzerland serves as the official representation of the

. Accordingly, the House of Switzerland is popularly referred to as the ''Federal Palace of Davos'' or ''Chalet Fédéral.'' It serves as a communication and networking platform for the official Swiss delegation, consisting of the members of the Swiss Federal Council, the state secretaries and other high-ranking diplomats and officials as well as members of parliament.Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft: ''Die Schweiz verstärkt ihren Auftritt im House of Switzerland am WEF in Davos,'' Bundesratsbeschluss, Medienmitteilung, 14. Juni 2019Christof Forster: ''Die Schweiz markiert neue Präsenz in Davos,'' Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), 20. Januar 2019Blick TV
''Vier Bundesräte bei der Eröffnung – die Schweiz präsentiert am WEF das House of Switzerland''
Ressort Wirtschaft, 23. Januar 2019

References

External links

Eisstadion Davos at SkateResults.com
{{Authority control Indoor arenas in Switzerland Ice hockey venues in Switzerland Speed skating venues Bandy venues Sport in Davos Buildings and structures in Graubünden HC Davos Spengler Cup 1979 establishments in Switzerland Sports venues completed in 1979 20th-century architecture in Switzerland