Gjøvik Olympic Cavern Hall

Gjøvik Olympic Cavern Hall
Fjellhallen
	Gjøvik Municipality
Capacity	5,830
Construction
Broke ground	1 April 1991
Opened	6 May 1993
Renovated	2017
Construction cost	134.6 million kr
Architect	Moe–Levorsen
Structural engineer	Fortifikasjon
Tenants
	Gjøvik Hockey (1993–)

Gjøvik Olympic Cavern Hall (

cavern

hall for public use.

Construction

Because half the country's surface consists of exposed rock, Norway has a tradition of building mountain cavern halls for many purposes, from tunnels via

bomb shelters. Gjøvik Municipality opened Norway's first underground swimming pool in 1974. The idea to build an underground ice rink came from Consulting Engineer Jan A. Rygh while having dinner with Municipal Engineer Helge Simenstad in 1988, after the latter said that Gjøvik had been awarded an ice rink for the Olympics. The first drafts were made on a napkin in the restaurant. An alternative proposal for a conventional rink was also made.^[1] Among the advantage of a cavern hall was that it would not take up valuable downtown property space or interfere with the town's cityscape, yet it would be centrally located which would reduce travel costs, and there would be a stable year-round natural temperature which would reduce cooling costs.^[2]

A budget was prepared by the

Parliament of Norway passed a grant. In October, LOOC and Gjøvik Municipality made an agreement to share the ownership of the venue.^[3] The municipal council took the decision to build underground on 24 January 1991 and the main planning was contracted to Fortifikasjon.^[1] Main architects were Moe–Levorsen.^[3] A research group was created, which had four main tasks: ventilation, energy, fire and safety; the environment; rock mechanism and geology; and laws and regulations. The group also made marketing information to promote Norwegian underground technology internationally.^[1] In preparation for construction, drilling samples were taken and sent to SINTEF and the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute for testing. The rock is 800 to 1,100 million year-old gneiss which is well suited for creating caverns. Computer models were created, and estimates were based on the Q-method.^[1]

Construction started on 1 April 1991.

fire exits.^[1]

The hall cost NOK 134.6 million, of which NOK 88.5 million was grants from the government.[3] The hall opened on 6 May 1993, with a show televised on national television and with 5,000 guests.^[1] It was the 29th indoor ice hockey rink in Norway,^[4] and the world's largest cavern hall for public use.^[1] At the time of opening, the venue was estimated to incur an operating cost of NOK 3 to 4 four million, and an operating deficit of NOK 1.7 million. To finance this, the state established a fund similar to other Olympic venues, but the fund only received NOK 1 million, and the rest of the operating costs would have to be taken by the municipality. The venue is owned through Gjøvik Olympiske Anlegg, originally owned 70% by Gjøvik Municipality and 30% by Lillehammer Olympiapark, but later taken entirely over by the municipality.^[5]

Facilities

The facility is located just west of the town center of Gjøvik, with the main hall 120 meters (390 ft) into the mountain. It is covered by 25 to 55 meters (82 to 180 ft) of bedrock. In addition to a main hall, there is a swimming pool, a cafeteria and a

handball, basketball, volleyball, rifling and tennis, as well as concerts, dining and events.^[3]

The gross area of the complex is 14,910 square meters (160,500 sq ft), while the net area is 10,010 square meters (107,700 sq ft). The stadium covers 1,965 square meters (21,150 sq ft), the public areas cover 2,224 square meters (23,940 sq ft), the media center covers 2,110 square meters (22,700 sq ft), the participant facilities cover 263 square meters (2,830 sq ft), the administrative and VIP facilities cover 577 square meters (6,210 sq ft), and the operations, management, technical, electrical and storage facilities cover 2,253 square meters (24,250 sq ft). The main hall cavern has is 61 meters (200 ft) wide, 91 meters (299 ft) long and 25 meters (82 ft) high.[1] Seating capacity for the ice rink is 5,800, although it was 5,300 during the Olympics.^[3] The grandstands have a safety area under them; in case of a fire, spectators can be evacuated to these areas where they would remain until evacuation is safe. The hall duplicates as a civil defense facility, and is designed to withstand nuclear, conventional and gas attacks.^[1]

The

amphitheater with close contact between spectators and athletes.^[1]

Events

Since the opening, the venue has hosted Gjøvik Hockey, which started in 1993 in the Fourth Division.

kilowatts in heating costs by reusing the cooling system to heat the rest of the cavern hall. On 4 April 1995, the venue was used to host an international match between Norway and Sweden.^[9]

Originally the

short track speed skating.^[17]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Norwegian Tunneling Society. "The Worlds Largest Cavern Hall For Public Use". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
^ LOOC (III): 63
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ LOOC (III): 61
^ Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. "Ishaller" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
^ Anda, Torgeir (2 June 1992). "Etterbruken – OLs levende spøkelse". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 18.
^ Dehlin, Håkon (4 March 1993). "– Så speller vi rundt Mjøsa". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 39.
^ LOOC (IV): 127
^ LOOC (III): 29
^ Bugge, Mette (24 March 1995). "Fjellhallen på Gjøvik får is hele året". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 62.
^ ^a ^b "Vil flytte kortbane-VM til Gjøvik" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 8 December 1994.
^ LOOC (III): 57
^ "VM skøyter kortbane i helgen" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 19 March 1995.
^ International Skating Union. "Short Track Speed Skating World Championships – Men" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
^ "Seks verdensrekorder i rekordhallen" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 19 March 1995.
^ "Håndball: VM-byene klare" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 12 October 1998.
^ "Lillehammer awarded 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games". Inside the Games. 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
^ Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports. "Candidate city for the Winter Youth Olympic Games: Lillehammer 2016" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2011.

Bibliography

Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee. "1994 Winter Olympics Report, volume III" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee. "1994 Winter Olympics Report, volume IV" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.

External links

Media related to Gjøvik olympiske fjellhall at Wikimedia Commons

Official website

[tunnel-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Norwegian Tunneling Society. "The Worlds Largest Cavern Hall For Public Use". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2011.

[iii63-2] LOOC (III): 63

[iii61-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ LOOC (III): 61

[4] Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. "Ishaller" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.

[5] Anda, Torgeir (2 June 1992). "Etterbruken – OLs levende spøkelse". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 18.

[6] Dehlin, Håkon (4 March 1993). "– Så speller vi rundt Mjøsa". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 39.

[7] LOOC (IV): 127

[8] LOOC (III): 29

[9] Bugge, Mette (24 March 1995). "Fjellhallen på Gjøvik får is hele året". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 62.

[flytte-10] "Vil flytte kortbane-VM til Gjøvik" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 8 December 1994.

[11] LOOC (III): 57

[res19-12] "VM skøyter kortbane i helgen" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 19 March 1995.

[13] International Skating Union. "Short Track Speed Skating World Championships – Men" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2010.

[14] "Seks verdensrekorder i rekordhallen" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 19 March 1995.

[15] "Håndball: VM-byene klare" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 12 October 1998.

[16] "Lillehammer awarded 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games". Inside the Games. 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2011.

[yog-17] Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports. "Candidate city for the Winter Youth Olympic Games: Lillehammer 2016" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2011.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[9]

[17]

v t e Olympic venues in ice hockey
20th century	1920: Palais de Glace d'Anvers 1924: Stade Olympique de Chamonix 1928: St. Moritz Olympic Ice Rink 1932: Olympic Arena (final), Olympic Stadium 1936: Olympia-Kunsteisstadion (final), Riessersee 1948: Kulm, Olympic Stadium (final), Suvretta Jordal Amfi (final), Kadettangen, Lillestrøm stadion, Marienlyst stadion Stadio Olimpico Del Ghiaccio 1960: Blyth Arena (final), Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink Messehalle, Olympiahalle 1968: La Patinoire Municipale, Le Stade de Glace 1972: Makomanai Ice Arena (final), Tsukisamu Indoor Skating Rink Messehalle, Olympiahalle (final) 1980: Olympic Center 1984: Skenderija II Hall, Zetra Ice Hall (final) 1988: Father David Bauer Olympic Arena, Olympic Saddledome (final), Stampede Corral 1992: Méribel Ice Palace 1994: Gjøvik Olympic Cavern Hall, Håkon Hall (final) 1998: Aqua Wing, Big Hat (final)
21st century	2002: E Center (final), Peaks Ice Arena Palasport Olimpico (final), Torino Esposizioni UBC Thunderbird Arena 2014: Bolshoy Ice Dome (final), Shayba Arena 2018: Gangneung Hockey Centre (final), Kwandong Hockey Centre Beijing National Indoor Stadium 2026: PalaItalia Santa Giulia (final), Fiera Milano

v t e EliteHockey Ligaen
Teams	Comet Halden Frisk Asker Lørenskog Lillehammer Narvik Sparta Sarpsborg Stavanger Oilers Stjernen Storhamar Vålerenga
Arenas	CC Amfi DNB Arena Eidsiva Arena Lørenskog Ishall Jordal Amfi Manglerudhallen Nordkraft Arena Sparta Amfi Stjernehallen Varner Arena
Seasons	1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
Awards	Gullpucken Playoff MVP Polar Bear Trophy
Related topics	Norwegian Ice Hockey Association 1. divisjon 2. divisjon National men's team National women's team National men's junior team National women's U-18 team Norwegian NHL draftees
See also: IIHF IIHF Continental Cup IIHF European Champions Cup

Construction

Facilities

Events

See also

References

External links