Håkons Hall
Norway's largest ice hockey and handball arena.
Håkons Hall is an arena at Stampesletta in Lillehammer, Norway, that serves as the country's largest handball and ice hockey venue with a capacity of 11,500 spectators. It opened on 1 February 1993 and was built for the ice hockey tournament at the 1994 Winter Olympics. The venue is owned by Lillehammer Municipality via Lillehammer Olympiapark and houses the Norwegian Olympic Museum.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Stampesletta, Lillehammer, Norway
- Opened
- 1 February 1993
- Owner
- Lillehammer Olympiapark
- Cost
- 238 million
- Main contractors
- Veidekke
- Capacity
- 11,500
Facts from the source article.
Construction
Lillehammer received its first indoor ice rink, Kristins Hall, in 1988, the same year the town was awarded the 1994 Winter Olympics, necessitating a larger venue for Olympic ice hockey. The twin arenas at Stampesletta were named Håkon and Kristin after the Olympic mascots. Protests arose in Bergen because the name resembled Håkonshallen, a medieval hall there. In June 1989, the council voted to locate most venues at Stampesletta and place Håkons Hall next to Kristins Hall, a controversial decision against a decentralized plan. The Olympic application had called for up to five ice venues in Lillehammer; post-Olympics, Kristins Hall was designated the main ice rink while Håkons Hall was planned for larger events. On 8 December 1989, the International Olympic Committee rejected IIHF demands for a minimum 12,000 spectator capacity and a women's ice hockey tournament.
Facilities
The structure is dug into the ground to reduce its monumental appearance. The roof has four sections supported by double trussed beams of glued laminated timber, with lengths up to 85.4 m. Maximum ceiling height is 40 m, and there is a direct drive-in entrance for exhibitions. The venue seats 11,500 spectators on flexible, telescopic stands. It can be configured with a 330 m² stage, set up for banquets serving 2,000 people, or divided for smaller groups. A cafeteria seats 200. For trade fairs, 3,500 m² is available plus VIP and lobby facilities; the same area can be used for conferences, and the venue can be split into group, theme, and banquet rooms. The Håkons Hall Sports Centre supplements the main hall with a recreational training facility, offering two handball or football courts, or six volleyball or badminton courts. It includes a permanent health club, climbing wall, aerobic room, golf center with two simulators and a putting green, two badminton courts, 13 changing rooms, and a 370 m running track. Cooling and heating systems for Håkons Hall and Eidsiva Arena are connected to function as energy reserves for each other.
Events
During the 1994 Winter Olympics, Håkons Hall hosted the ice hockey tournament alongside Gjøvik Olympic Cavern Hall from 12 to 26 February, staging 21 games including the final where Sweden beat Canada in a penalty shootout. The 1994 Winter Paralympics used the hall for opening and closing ceremonies. The first major international tournament was some matches of the 1993 World Women's Handball Championship. In 1995, a play-off match between Lillehammer IK and Storhamar Dragons drew over 5,000 spectators, a record for Lillehammer IK. That year, the Spellemannsprisen award ceremony was held there. Norway hosted the 1999 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Oslo, Lillehammer, and Hamar; Håkons Hall featured Group D (Russia, Finland, Belarus, Kazakhstan) plus the semi-finals, bronze final, and final, with tickets sold as twins for two games with a one-hour interlude. The same year, the hall was one of seven venues for the 1999 World Women's Handball Championship, hosting group stage, play-off matches, and the final, preferred over Oslo Spektrum due to higher capacity and lower rent. The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004 took place there on 20 November 2004, won by María Isabel. For the 2008 European Men's Handball Championship, play-off and final matches were played in Håkons Hall in January 2008; the final saw Denmark beat Croatia before 9,052 spectators. In 2010, Idrettsgallaen was hosted there. Norway and Denmark co-hosted the 2010 European Women's Handball Championship, with Norway's matches at Håkons Hall and Arena Larvik; Lillehammer featured Norway's group in the first and second group stages, while the knockout stage was in Denmark.
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