Aqua Wing Arena

Aqua Wing Arena
長野運動公園総合運動場総合市民プール"アクアウィング"
Aqua Wing
Aqua Wing Arena in April 2019
Map
Former namesAqua Wing Arena
LocationNagano, Japan
Coordinates36°39′38″N 138°13′59″E / 36.66056°N 138.23306°E / 36.66056; 138.23306 (Aqua Wing)
Capacity6,000 for ice hockey, 2,000 for swimming
Acreage5.2ha
Construction
Broke ground12 October 1995 (1995-10-12)
OpenedSeptember 1997 (1997-09)
Construction cost9.1 billion yen[a 1]

Aqua Wing Arena is an indoor aquatics arena in Nagano, Japan. The arena is located in the Yoshida area of the city of Nagano, in Nagano Sports Park (長野運動公園, Nagano undou kouen), 5 km northeast of Nagano Station. The closest station is Asahi Station on the Nagano Electric Railway, a distance of 1 km.

The Aqua Wing Arena was constructed as Venue B for the ice hockey events at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and was the last venue to be completed for the Games, in September 1997.[1][2] Big Hat, the principal Venue A for the ice hockey competition at the 1998 Winter Olympics, is located approximately 5.3 km southwest of Aqua Wing Arena. M-Wave, the site of the speed skating events at the Games is located approximately 2.5 km south of Aqua Wing Arena.

The Aqua Wing Arena was designed to be converted into an aquatics centre, and the retrofit was completed in 1999.[3] The arena consists of a 50-meter pool, a 25-meter swimming pools, and a diving pool.[a 2] The roof is retractable. Although the arena sat 6,000 during the 1998 Winter Olympics, the civic pool currently seats 2,000 spectators.[4] The Aqua Wing Arena will be an international pre-training camp for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[5]

Construction and equipment

Longview photo of Aqua Wing with Mount Iizuna in the background

The design of Aqua Wing Arena includes sharp flowing lines which represent the wind and water of the region. [a 3] Its name, Aqua Wing derives from its similarity to a wing. [a 4] Its retractable roof is supported by V-shaped pillars.[a 5]

Aqua Wing Arena was built on public land in Nagano Sports Park, as such land costs for the venue were nil; however, construction costs for the arena totaled 9.1 billion yen.[a 6] The venue covers an area of approximately 5.2 ha.[a 7] The permanent facilities include a building area of approximately 10,100m2, with total floor area of approximately 13,500m2.[a 8] The building is made of reinforced concrete and steel frames, with three stories above ground and one below rground.[a 9] The maximum height of the building is 31m. [a 10] In addition, 16 temporary structures covering 2,390m2 and providing 4,690m2 of floor space were built.[a 11]

To build the ice for Aqua Wing Arena, a temporary rink was situated on top of the 50-meter pool and diving pool, with indirect ammonia refrigeration.[a 12] The ice hockey rink was built to International Ice Hockey Federation standards, 60m x 30m.[a 13] Sound dampening measurers were used because the ice hockey rink was built atop an empty space.[a 14] The 25-meter pool was used for the sub press center.[a 15] Aqua Wing Arena was the only venue at the 1998 Winter Olympics that did not stage international competitions before the Games.[a 16] In lieu of international competitions, several Japan Ice Hockey League matches were held which permitted staff and volunteers to practice procedures.[a 17]

Electricity for the Aqua Wing Arena during the games was generated by gas engines, and heat generated by the engines and freezing equipment was used as energy for the heating system.[a 18] This system resulted in capturing 80% of the heat generated by the engines and freezing equipment.[a 19] This system is used to heat the swimming pool.[a 20]

Ice hockey at the Winter Olympics at Aqua Wing Arena

During the 1998 Winter Olympics, Aqua Wing Arena hosted a total of 15 games for the women's tournament[a 21] and eight games for the men's tournament at the Winter Olympics, including two quarterfinal matches. The arena hosted 113,412 spectators over 10 days.[a 22] Only Big Hat (256,306), Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium (179,185), and M-Wave (118,555) hosted more spectators.[a 23]

Women's tournament

Main article: Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament

1998 was the first year that women competed in Olympic hockey. (The Women's Tournament was won by  United States.) Except for the bronze medal match and gold medal match which were held at Big Hat, all games of the women's tournament were played at Aqua Wing Arena. The table below displays the matches held at the Aqua Wing Arena. All times are local (UTC+9).

Date Time Teams Attendance
8 February 12:00  Finland (6) - Sweden (0) 2,208[6]
8 February 16:00 Canada  (13) -  Japan (0) 4,597[7]
8 February 20:00 China  (0) -  United States (5) 3,255[8]
9 February 12:00  Finland (11) -  Japan (1) 4,972[9]
9 February 16:00 Sweden  (1) -  United States (7) 3,607[10]
9 February 20:00 Canada  (2) - China  (0) 2,713[11]
11 February 12:00 Canada  (5) - Sweden  (3) 5,429[12]
11 February 16:00 China  (6) -  Japan (1) 5,863[13]
11 February 20:00  Finland (2) -  United States 4 3,688[14]
12 February 12:00 China  (3) - Sweden  (1)[15] 3,670
12 February 16:00  Japan (0) -  United States (10)[16] 5,015
12 February 20:00 Canada  (4) -  Finland (2)[17] 3,133
14 February 12:00  Japan (0) - Sweden  (5)[18] 6,009
14 February 16:00 China  (1) -  Finland (6)[19] 5,638
14 February 20:00 Canada  (4) -  United States (7)[20] 5,872

Men's tournament

Main article: Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament

1998 was the first year that professional athletes from the North American National Hockey League competed in Olympic hockey. (The men's Tournament was won by Czech Republic .) Most games in the men's tournament were held at Big Hat. The table below displays the matches held at the Aqua Wing Arena.

All times are local (UTC+9).

Date Time Teams Round Attendance
7 February 16:00 Austria  (2) -  Slovakia(2)[21] Preliminary 4,315
7 February 20:00  Belarus (4) - France  (0)[22] Preliminary 3,419
10 February 14:00  Kazakhstan (4) -  Slovakia(3)[23] Preliminary 3,659
10 February 14:00 France  (0) - Germany  (2)[24] Preliminary 3,659
16 February 14:45 Finland  (8) -  Kazakhstan (2)[25] Final 5,544
16 February 18:45  Belarus (2) - Sweden  (5)[26] Final 5,544
18 February 14:45  Belarus (1) - Russia  (4)[27] Quarter-finals 4,628
18 February 18:45 Finland  (2) - Sweden  (1)[28] Quarter-finals 5,044

Public transportation

References

  1. ^ "Ice Hockey Stadium". Shinmai Mainchi Newspaper. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  2. ^ 1998 Winter Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 223-5.
  3. ^ City of Nagano profile. Archived December 1, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Nagano Athletic Park (Sports Park), Aqua Wing Ice Hockey Arena". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  5. ^ "Nagano Sports Park Public Pool". Tokyo 2020 Pre-Games Training Camps Online Guide. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey (Sweden-Finland)". SportsLine USA. Archived from the original on 9 November 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey (Canada-Japan)". SportsLine USA. Archived from the original on 10 October 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey (China-USA)". SportsLine USA. Archived from the original on 9 November 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey (Finland-Japan)". SportsLine USA. Archived from the original on 9 November 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey (United States-Sweden)". SportsLine USA. Archived from the original on 9 November 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey (Canada-China)". SportsLine USA. Archived from the original on 20 May 2000. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey (Sweden-Canada)". SportsLine USA. Archived from the original on 11 March 2000. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey (Japan-China)". SportsLine USA. Archived from the original on 19 May 2000. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  14. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey (USA-Finland)". SportsLine USA. Archived from the original on 11 March 2000. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  15. ^ "Play Off Round (Women's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 1 December 1998. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  16. ^ "Play Off Round (Women's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 1 December 1998. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  17. ^ "Play Off Round (Women's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 1 December 1998. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  18. ^ "Play Off Round (Women's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 1 December 1998. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  19. ^ "Play Off Round (Women's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 1 December 1998. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  20. ^ "Play Off Round (Women's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 1 December 1998. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  21. ^ "Preliminary Round (Men's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 25 February 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  22. ^ "Preliminary Round (Men's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 25 February 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  23. ^ "Preliminary Round (Men's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 25 February 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  24. ^ "Preliminary Round (Men's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 25 February 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  25. ^ "Final Round (Men's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 25 February 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  26. ^ "Final Round (Men's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 25 February 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  27. ^ "Play Off Round (Men's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 25 February 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  28. ^ "Play Off Round (Men's Tournament)". IIHF. Archived from the original on 25 February 1999. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  1. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 185
  2. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 223
  3. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 223
  4. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 223
  5. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 223
  6. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 185
  7. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 224
  8. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 224
  9. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 224
  10. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 224
  11. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 224
  12. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 223
  13. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 223
  14. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 223
  15. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 223
  16. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 223
  17. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 223
  18. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 224
  19. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 224
  20. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 224
  21. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 223
  22. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 183
  23. ^ Hanazawa 1999, p. 183

Hanazawa, Nahomi (1999). The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun (ed.). Official Report of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, Vol. 2: Sixteen Days of Glory (PDF). Translated by Norman Kong. Nagano (Japan): NAOC. p. 319. ISBN 4784098267.

36°39′38″N 138°13′59″E / 36.66056°N 138.23306°E / 36.66056; 138.23306