Jordal Amfi Arena
Jordal Amfi in 2016
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| Location | Jordal, Oslo, Norway |
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| Coordinates | 59°54′40.42″N 10°47′2.19″E / 59.9112278°N 10.7839417°ECoordinates: 59°54′40.42″N 10°47′2.19″E / 59.9112278°N 10.7839417°E |
| Owner | Oslo Municipality |
| Executive suites | 9 |
| Capacity | 10,000 (1951-71) 4,459 (1971-2017) |
| Record attendance | 10,000 |
| Surface | 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 | |
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Vålerenga Ishockey (-1990, 1993-2017) 1952 Winter Olympics 1958 World Ice Hockey Championships 1999 IIHF World Championship |
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Jordal Amfi was an indoor ice hockey rink in Oslo, Norway, the first bearing that name. The venue opened in 1951 to host the 1952 Winter Olympics. Jordal was also the site of the 1958 and the 1999 IIHF World Championship. It would in the following decades also serve several boxing matches and concerts.
Jordal Amfi was historically significant for Norwegian hockey and was home to 26 national championships of the GET-ligaen side Vålerenga Ishockey. It also hosted the Norway national ice hockey team. The arena's design by Frode Rinnan and Olav Tveten was characterized by its asymmetrical shape, giving steep and tall stands on the one end and low stands on the other. In 2017, the arena was closed down to be replaced by a new one.
When Oslo was awarded the Winter Olympics in 1947, there were no suitable venues to host Olympic ice hockey, as there were no arenas with artificial ice and all ice rinks were part of multi-sports venues. The organizing committee applied for exemption to allow them to use multi-sport venues, but the motion was dismissed. The controversies surrounding ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics, in which two teams arrived in St. Moritz to compete for the United States at the 1948 Winter Olympics, nearly caused the International Olympic Committee to terminate the 1952 competition. However, it was reinstated in 1951.
The use of artificial ice was at the time not obligatory for Olympic ice competitions. It had only been used once before, at the 1936 Winter Olympics. The city had several incentives for building an artificial rink. In addition to the post-Olympic value of having a quality venue, the committee would not have to designated an out-of-town reserve venue, should there be fair weather during the Olympics. Several locations were considered. The main Jordal proponent was Labor-politician Rolf Hofmo, who was instrumental in deciding on the location, which was at the site of a former brickyard, hence the dug-out hill location. This was also the location of Jordal Stadion, a local stadium built between 1930 and 1936.
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