Bolshoy Ice Dome
Location | Sochi, Russia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 43°24′16″N 39°57′00″E / 43.4044778°N 39.9499333°E |
Operator | International Ice Hockey Federation[1] |
Capacity | 12,035[1] |
Construction | |
Opened | 2013[1] |
Construction cost | US$300 million / RUB 9.9 billion |
Tenants | |
HC Sochi (2014-) 2014 Winter Olympics 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships 2013 Channel One Cup |
The Bolshoy Ice Dome (
The arena's exterior is distinguished by its LED-illuminated roof, which its designers described as resembling fabergé eggs and frozen water droplets.
Name and location
The arena was named "Bolshoy", meaning "big", "large" and "huge" in Russian.[2] This highlights the integral role of ice hockey at the Olympics,[3] which has been dubbed "the most popular sport" of the Games by the organizers themselves.[1] Furthermore, the name was chosen due to its universal familiarity in other countries, in addition to its allusion to the Bolshoi Theatre, Bolshoi Ballet, and other great Russian accomplishments.[1][2]
The Ice Dome was situated in the
Structure and facilities
The construction of the Bolshoy Ice Dome started in 2009
The exterior structure of the Ice Dome was designed to resemble a frozen ice droplet.[1][3] It has also drawn comparisons to a Fabergé egg, due to the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) resembling the "jewel-encrusted surface" of the famous Russian art piece.[6] Ustinov confirmed that the building was designed to be "a combination of both."[8] The roof of the dome is mostly silver in colour[1] and is covered with aluminium panels.[2] It is decorated with 38,000 LED lights which illuminate the outside of the arena at night.[2][9] The roof also doubles as a scoreboard that displays the live score of the game being played inside and an animation of a hockey puck whenever a goal is scored.[10] However, it famously did not display the final score after the United States defeated the hosts Russia 3–2 in an overtime shootout during the 2014 Winter Olympics.[11][12]
In the arena's interior, the 12,000 seats are arranged in bowl-like configuration. The concourse features 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) of glazed glass, which enables spectators to have a view of the Caucasus Mountains.[2] The hockey rink's dimensions are 60 metres (200 ft) × 30 metres (98 ft), in line with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) specifications. This contrasts with the dimensions of the previous Olympics, which utilized National Hockey League (NHL) sized rinks that are 4 metres (13 ft) narrower in width.[13] It contains 12 dressing rooms for players, an entry tunnel that can be accessed by large vehicles, and a practice ice rink.[14] Moreover, the Ice Dome uses heat transfer fluids on the ice and in the air conditioning system. This helps to preserve the quality of the ice, as well as moderate the temperature within the arena so that spectators are kept warm while maintaining the coolness of the ice.[2][15] These technologies – along with the arena's insulation – were developed by the Dow Chemical Company, one of the official sponsors of the Olympic Games.[16]
Events
In order to test the arenas built for the Olympics, the Bolshoy Ice Dome served as one of the venues for the
The venue hosted the 2015 Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game.[25] The arena also hosted the first edition of the VTB United Basketball League All-Star Game.[26]
After the Olympics
After the conclusion of the Olympics, the arena continue to host a variety of sports, in addition to becoming an entertainment centre and concert venue.[1][3] The arena now hosts HC Sochi, a KHL expansion team.[27]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Bolshoy Ice Dome – Venues". Sochi2014.com. Sochi 2014 Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g Newcomb, Tim (9 January 2014). "First look: Sochi Olympic hockey will live in lights and ice domes". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ^ a b c "Sochi 2014: Olympic venue guide". BBC Sport. BBC. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ^ Krawczynski, Jon (15 February 2014). "Sochi Scene: Bolshoy is Olympic hockey cathedral". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ^ a b "Sochi 2014 Olympic Facilities". Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (ITAR-TASS). 3 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ^ a b Richardson, Phyllis (12 February 2014). "Sochi and beyond: A look at the venues for the most expensive Olympic Games". Gizmag. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ^ "81 Days to Sochi: The coastal cluster". Sportsnet. Rogers Media. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ a b Wolken, Dan (22 February 2014). "Architect: Sochi Olympics unique hockey roof is 'our pride'". USA Today. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Minutillo, Josephine (February 2014). "Tour Sochi's Striking Olympic Stadiums". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ^ "Bolshoy Ice Dome Roof In Sochi Acts As Hockey Scoreboard (Photo)". NESN.com. New England Sports Network. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ Johnston, Patrick (15 February 2014). "Bolshoy Ice Dome usually shows hockey scores – except when Russia loses". Canada.com. Postmedia News. Archived from the original on 17 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ Singer, Mike (15 February 2014). "Look: Bolshoy Ice Dome doesn't display final score of USA–Russia". CBSSports.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ "Big ice in Sochi 2014". IIHF.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. 10 March 2011. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ Merk, Martin (6 December 2013). "Sochi in the final stretch". IIHF.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ "All about the Sochi 2014 venues". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. January 7, 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ^ Lascari, Tony (10 February 2013). "Dow prepares for Sochi 2014 Olympics". Midland Daily News. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ "Sochi 2014 taking shape". IIHF.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. 11 October 2012. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ "The Olympic Sochi hosts the prestigious Channel One Cup in hockey". Sochi2014.com. Sochi 2014 Olympics. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ "Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games Ice Hockey Draw" (PDF). Olympic.ca. Canadian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ^ "Canada remain cool despite past shortcomings on Olympic-size ice hockey rinks". The National. Abu Dhabi. Reuters. 11 February 2014. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ^ MacGregor, Roy (20 February 2014). "Canadian women's hockey team wins Olympic gold with stunning comeback". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- ^ Loney, Heather (20 February 2014). "Canada wins gold in women's hockey, beating USA in overtime". Global News. Global Television Network. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ Duhatschek, Eric (23 February 2014). "Canada captures hockey gold with shutout win over Sweden". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Gloster, Rob (23 February 2014). "Canada Gets Back-to-Back Olympic Hockey Golds by Beating Sweden". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Hnatyuk, Vyacheslav (January 29, 2015). "KHL All Stars Played in Sochi Last Sunday". thehockeywriters.com. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- ^ Russian Stars beat World Stars in VTB League All Star game.
- ^ "Dolphin Swims Into Sochi as Name of City's New KHL Team". Ria.ru. Rianovosti. 26 December 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2014.