Hamar Olympic Hall

Vikingskipet
Location	Åkersvikvegen 1, NO-2321Hamar,Norway
Coordinates	60°47′35.34″N11°5′59.25″E / 60.7931500°N 11.0997917°E /60.7931500; 11.0997917
Owner	Hamar Municipality
Operator	Hamar Olympiske Anlegg
Capacity	10,600 (sporting events) 20,000 (concerts)
Construction
Broke ground	1990
Opened	19 December 1992
Construction cost	230 million kr
Architect	Niels Torp Biong & Biong
Tenants
1993 Bandy World Championship World Allround Speed Skating Championships (1993,1999,2004,2009,2013) 1993 UCI Track Cycling World Championships 1994 Winter Olympics 1994 Winter Paralympics 1996 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships World Sprint Speed Skating Championships (1997,2002,2007) Speedway Grand Prix (2002–04) 2016 Winter Youth Olympics

Vikingskipet ("The Viking Ship"), officially known asHamar Olympic Hall (Norwegian:Hamar olympiahall), is an indoormulti-use sport and event venue inHamar,Norway. It was built as thespeed skating rink for the1994 Winter Olympics, and has since also hosted events and tournaments inice speedway,motorcycle speedway,rally,association football,bandy,ice sledge speed racing,flying disc andtrack cycling. The arena is also used forconcerts,trade fair and the annual computer partyThe Gathering. It is the home arena ofHamar IL bandy team. The venue is owned byHamar Municipality, and along withHamar Olympic Amphitheatre 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 byNiels Torp, andBiong & Biong, and opened on 19 December 1992. The complex cost 230 millionNorwegian krone (NOK). The construction location was controversial, as it is located atÅkervika, aRamsar site. It is Norway's national venue for speed skating and bandy, and holds annualISU Speed Skating World Cup races, as well as regular world championships. It has among other things hosted tournaments of theWorld Allround Speed Skating Championships,European Speed Skating Championships,World Single Distance Championships,World Sprint Speed Skating Championships,UCI Track Cycling World Championships,Speedway Grand Prix andWorld Rally Championship.

During the process of theLillehammer bid for the 1992 Winter Olympics, theInternational Olympic Committee had not specified that it was necessary with an indoor speed skating rink.^[1] Due the interference of winter winds inCalgary had to build the indoorOlympic Oval as the venue for the1988 Winter Olympics,^[2] butAlbertville, who were awarded the1992 Winter Olympics, had opted for theL'anneau de vitesse an outdoor temporary track on a football stadium.^[3] In its bid, the speed skating events were planned held atStampesletta area, on another temporary track.^[4] In 1986,ISU decided that the Olympics events could be only held on indoor venues.^[1]

Hamar had previously been a venue for international speed skating events atHamar 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 atÅkervika, aRamsar site 1 kilometer (0.6 mi) outside downtown Hamar. A compromise was reached whereby the stadium was moved 50 meters (160 ft) from its original location, two birdwatching towers were built, and a lumber yard was moved.^[5]Nature and Youth remained opposed to the plans, stating the location "has destroyed part of one of the world's most important bird reserves".^[6]

The construction was passed by theParliament of Norway in April 1990.^[5] Architects were Niels Torp, and Biong and Biong.^[7]Ole K. Karlsen was selected to build the building, in competition with eleven other contractors.^[8] The ventilation contract worth NOK 18 million had originally been awarded to Hagen & Haugan on 29 May 1991. Two days later, theLillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee (LOOC) signed a sponsorship agreement with Norsk Viftefabrikk andElektrisk Bureau, both part ofAsea Brown Boveri, which demanded discounts in their sponsorship payments for not receiving the contract.^[9] In September 1992, Investa, which owned Ole K. Karlsen, filed for bankruptcy, causing delays in construction.^[10] When it opened, Vikingskipet was the largest indoor sports venue in the world, and has twice the spectator capacity of the Calgary Olympic Oval.^[8] The ice rink was first tested on 15 December 1992,^[11] and officially opened on 19 December.^[12]

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 andFireguard 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 andHamar Olympic Amphitheatre. 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.^[1] 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.^[13]

The venue has a floor area of 25,000 square meters (270,000 sq ft) and a volume of 400,000 cubic meters (14,000,000 cu ft). 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 1,400lux, 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 anammonia andsaline 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.^[14]

The rink itself is 400 meters (1,300 ft) long, with a turning radius of 25.5 meters (84 ft). Within the speed skating rink lies a bandy field. The venue was designed to also allow for association football, cycling,track and field,curling,motorsports andcross-country skiing.^[7] The inside of the track can also be used for association football, with pitch dimensions up to 105 by 68 meters (344 by 223 ft). It can also function as an indoordriving range forgolf.^[14] The name derives from the roof looking like thekeel of aViking ship. The building is visible from theE6 motorway and theDovre Line passing through Hamar, and was planned to be Hamar's mainlandmark.^[8]

During the Olympics, transport was in part provided byVikingskipet Station on theRøros Line, which passes right next to the venue. The station is acul-de-sac station which iselectrified and allowed trains during the Olympics and the Track Cycling World Championships to reach the venue within a short walk from the train.^[15] The station was officially opened on 16 August 1993.^[16] The station has not been used since the Olympics. In 2006, theNorwegian National Rail Administration proposed re-opening the station in conjunction with larger events.^[15]

Prior to the Olympic Games, the venue hosted threeworld championships in 1993. In February, it hosted all but two preliminary matches of the1993 Bandy World Championship. To make the games more attractive, preliminary round matches were reduced from 90 to 60 minutes.^[17] The final was spectated by 5,338 people.^[18] For four months, the venue was equipped with avelodrome, which allowed the venue to host the1993 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.^[1] The velodrome cost NOK 95 million less than building a permanent velodrome inOslo, which would be hosting the1993 UCI Road World Championships. TheNorwegian Cycling Federation had originally bid for the championships to get a permanent velodrome built atHasle in Oslo, but declined the offer and instead chose the temporary concept. Because the velodrome only has a circumference of 250 meters (820 ft), the venue's spectator capacity was reduced to 3,000 people.^[19]

Hamar was the center for skating sports during the 1994 Winter Olympics. The other venue in town was Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre, which featured theshort track speed skating andfigure skating events.^[20] Vikingskipet held tenspeed skating events, five for men and five for women. Norway'sJohann Olav Koss took three golds, in themen's 1,500 meters,5000 meters and10000 meters. In the latter two, he finished ahead of fellow countrymanKjell Storelid. Themen's 500 meters was won by Russia'sAleksandr Golubev ahead of fellow countrymanSergey Klevchenya, while themen's 1000 meters was won by AmericanDan Jansen. Koss and Jansen won their olympic golds setting new world record time on their distances. For women, AmericanBonnie Blair defended her two 1992 golds in500 meters and1000 meters. Austria'sEmese Hunyady won the1500 meters ahead of Russia'sSvetlana Bazhanova and Germany'sGunda Niemann. However, Bazhanova took gold ahead of Nemeth-Hunyady on the3000 meters, with Germany'sClaudia Pechstein in third. Pechstein would go on to win the5000 meters ahead of Niemann.^[21]

Vikingskipet was proposed to also hostcurling, should it be included in the Olympic program. It had been ademonstration sport in1988 and1992 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.^[22] Vikingskipet was the venue forice 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,^[23] resulting in 23 of 24 medals being awarded to Norwegian athletes.^[24][25]Atle Haglund set two world records.^[26]

The venue is the national stadium for speed skating in Norway. It hosts annualISU Speed Skating World Cup,^[14] and has in addition hosted many European and world championships. This includes theWorld Allround Speed Skating Championships in1993 (for men),1999,2004,2009,2013 and2017 tournaments.^[27] TheWorld Sprint Speed Skating Championships has been held in1997,2002 and2007,^[28] while theWorld Single Distance Championships was held in1996.^[29] TheEuropean Speed Skating Championships has been held four times, in1994,2000,2006,2010 and2014.^[30]

Since 1996, Vikingskipet has hostedThe Gathering, acomputer party which is held every Easter.^[31] Concerts held at Vikingskipet includeAndrea Bocelli (2005),^[32]Beyoncé (2007),^[33]Cliff Richard (2007),^[34] andStevie Wonder (2008).^[35]TheNorway women's national football team playedSweden on 21 January 1996, winning 4–0.^[36] Vikingskipet hosted a round of theSpeedway Grand Prix in2002,2003 and2004.^[37] It was also the service depot and race headquarters forRally Norway, which was arranged in 2006,2007 and2009. The latter two were part of theWorld Rally Championship.^[38][39]

In March 2011, theNorwegian Skating Association announced that they indented that the Norwegian World Cup events would be moved toSørmarka Arena inStavanger, due to low attendance at Vikingskipet.^[40] Vikingskipet has been selected to host the2013 World Allround Speed Skating Championships.^[41] Lillehammer hosted the2016 Winter Youth Olympics,^[42] with Vikingskipet hosting the long track speed skating events.^[14]

In 2023, theEuropean Cybersecurity Challenge took place in Vikingskipet.^[43]

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.^[44][45]

Vikingskipet has been the venues forworld records 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.^[26]

• List of indoor arenas in Norway
• List of indoor arenas in Nordic countries
• List of indoor speed skating rinks

Media related toVikingskipet at Wikimedia Commons

• Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee."1994 Winter Olympics Report, volume III"(PDF). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 8 July 2011. Retrieved10 December 2010.

• Venues of the 1994 Winter Olympics
• Venues of the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics
• Sports venues in Hamar
• Indoor arenas in Norway
• Music venues in Norway
• Speed skating venues in Norway
• Olympic speed skating venues
• Indoor speed skating venues
• Bandy venues in Norway
• Speedway venues in Norway
• Velodromes in Norway
• 1992 establishments in Norway
• Sports venues completed in 1992

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