Jordal Amfi (1951)
Artificial ice | |
Construction | |
---|---|
Broke ground | August 1950 |
Opened | 12 December 1951 |
Renovated | 1971 (roof), 1999 |
Closed | 15 January 2017 |
Demolished | 2017 |
Construction cost | NOK 4 million |
Architect | Frode Rinnan and Olav Tveten |
Tenants | |
Vålerenga Ishockey (–1990, 1993–2017) |
Jordal Amfi was an indoor
Jordal Amfi was historically significant for Norwegian hockey and was home to 26 national championships of the
History
When Oslo was awarded the Winter Olympics in 1947,
The use of artificial ice was at the time not obligatory for Olympic ice competitions. It had only been used once before, at the
The choice of Jordal had the drawback of poor ground conditions and that the site was a hill. This was overcome by the architects
The inaugural configuration had a capacity for 10,000 spectators. For the Olympics there were installed a time-keeping system from
In the late 1950s Sonja Henie offered to pay the cost of covering the arena with a roof. This was at the time rejected by the municipality, citing concerns with the venue's architecture being spoiled. However, the lack of a roof placed any event the mercy of the weather, and it gradually became evident that a roof would have to be built. When it was installed in 1971, it was at the cost of the municipality. The stadium was then converted from standing to a seated stands, reducing capacity from 10,000 to under 5,000 spectators. It also saw the removal of the stage.[11] This made it Norway's sixth indoor ice rink. The youth rink, built next to Jordal Amfi, opened in 1989, as the twentieth indoor ice hockey rink in the country.[12] The same year the venue received a series of minor upgrades, followed up with a new ventilation and lighting system in 1993 and a new audio system in 1994.[13]
Facilities
Being located on the site of an old brickyard, the architecture took advantage of the hillside and dug the venue deep into the hill. This also resulted in the venue having a highly asymmetric shape, with tall spectator stands on the one side and nearly none on the other.
Jordal Amfi was part of Jordal Idrettspark, a municipal multi-sports complex in the Oslo neighborhood of Jordal.[7]
Events
The ice rink was primarily known as the home venue of Vålerenga Ishockey, the ice hockey division of Vålerengens IF. The venue was also used by Vålerenga Ishockey's academy teams.[18] Other Oslo-based clubs also used Jordal as a home arena for shorter periods during the 20th century.
Jordal was one of five venues used for ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics, along with Dælenenga, Marienlyst, Lillestrøm and Kadettangen. Of 37 matches, 23 were played at Jordal between 15 and 25 February.[20] They were organized as a round-robin tournament with nine participating teams. It doubled as an Ice Hockey World Championships and a European Ice Hockey Championship.[21] The tournament was won by the Edmonton Mercurys, which represented Canada.[22] The figure skating training was originally planned at Jordal Amfi, but was instead moved to Jordal Stadion, to allow the participants to train on natural rather than artificial ice.[23]
The arena as hosted the
Sonja Henie put on a major figure skating show in 1955, and revisited the venue to hold shows on occasion.[26] During the summer the venue was used to host various events, such as concerts and public meetings.[7] Between 1958 and 1979, Jordal Amfi was regularly used for international professional boxing bouts.[27][28][29][30]
Final years
At the time of closure, Jordal Amfi was one of the oldest active ice hockey arenas,[31] and had seen few upgrades since the 1990s, mostly due to the historical value of the arena. However, the arena was largely considered to be unsuited for 21st century arena standards. Talks about building a new arena had been ongoing since the early 2000s, mostly led by the main tenant, Vålerenga Ishockey.
The arena was part of the
The Oslo bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics therefore called for a new venue to be built at the current location of Jordal Stadion, and a new, spectator-free recreational football pitch be built south of the current stadium. This would allow the north-western corner of the multi-sports complex to serve as a site for an all-new hockey venue. It was being considered to be built in two sizes, one with 4,500 seats for curling, or 6,200 seats for hockey. The new venue was estimated to cost NOK 348 million. In addition would come temporary facilities, upgrades to Jordal Amfi and post-Olympic reconstruction, bringing the investment costs to NOK 400 million.[34]
The bid was eventually cancelled, but politicians have since reaffirmed the need for the construction of more hockey halls in Oslo.[35] In June 2016, the city council of Oslo approved the construction of a new arena on the site. Construction started in January 2017. By the time of its demolition, the arena had served continuously for more than 65 years, with minimal renovation. The new arena is projected to be completed in time for the 2018-19 season.[36][37]
References
- ^ "Slik blir Nye Jordal Amfi" (in Norwegian). Osloby.no. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ Organising Committee for the VI Winter Olympic Games (1952): 20
- ^ a b Organising Committee for the VI Winter Olympic Games (1952): 30
- ^ Duplacey (1998): 503
- ^ Andersen (1952): 18
- ^ a b c d e Kroge (1995): 79
- ^ a b c d Engh (1984): 98
- ^ Andersen (1952): 19
- ^ Organising Committee for the VI Winter Olympic Games (1952): 31
- ^ Andersen (1952): 81
- ^ a b Kroge (1995): 81
- ^ Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. "Ishaller" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ Aftenposten Aften(in Norwegian). p. 44.
- ^ Hanstad, Dag Vidar (5 September 1997). "Spektrum uten spekter". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 2.
- ^ Sæther, Egil (1 December 1998). "Lover ikke mer idrett i Oslo Spektrum". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 51.
- ^ Hollie, Erik (17 November 1997). "Jordal Amfi blir rehabilitert". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 12.
- ^ Halvorsen, Stein (25 April 1999). "Full fart på VM-arenaen". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 54.
- ^ a b "Jordal Amfi" (in Norwegian). Vålerenga Ishockey. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ a b c "Mulighetsstudie arenaer OL i Norge 2022" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo Municipality. p. 29. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ Organising Committee for the VI Winter Olympic Games (1952): 32
- ^ Andersen (1952): 82
- ^ "Edmonton Waterloo Mercurys 1952". Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ Andersen (1952): 57
- ^ "Lillehammer og Oslo deler BVM" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 16 October 1987.
- ^ "Ishockey: VM-programmet" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 22 April 1999.
- ^ Kroge (1995): 80
- ^ "Jordal Amfi". Boxrec. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ "Jordal Amfi Ice Stadium". Boxrec. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ "Jordal Amfi Theater". Boxrec. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ "Jordal Amfi Theatre". Boxrec. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ "Slik blir Nye Jordal Amfi" (in Norwegian). OsloBy. 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ "Oslos søknad om Olympiske vinterleker og Paralympics i 2018" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo Municipality. 2007. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ Hofoss, Espen (1 March 2012). "Slik kan Oslo-OL i 2022 bli". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ a b "Leveranse 2, Utredning Ishockey 2, Jordal" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo Municipality. 2013. pp. 9–13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ "Stang: - Vi bygger stadionene likevel" (in Norwegian). VG. 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
- ^ ""Shampo" gir seg som VIF-trener" (in Norwegian). VG. 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
- ^ "Siste reis for gamle Jordal Amfi" (in Norwegian). Dagsavisen. 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
Bibliography
- Andersen, P. Chr. (1952). De olympiske vinterleker Oslo 1952 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Dreyers Forlag.
- Duplacey, James (1998). Total Hockey: The official encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Total Sports. ISBN 0-8362-7114-9.
- Engh, Pål Henry; Gunnarsjaa, Arne (1984). Oslo en arkitekturguide (in Norwegian). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. ISBN 82-00-05961-8.
- Kroge, Gunnar (1995). "Jordal Amfi". In Eriksen, Arvid (ed.). Norske idrettsanlegg (in Norwegian). Oslo: Sportsboken. ISBN 82-90773-06-4.
- Organising Committee for the VI Winter Olympic Games (1952). Olympic Winter Games Oslo 1952 (PDF). Oslo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
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