Dælenenga idrettspark
Dælenenga idrettspark is a sports facility located at Grünerløkka in Oslo, Norway. It consists of an artificial turf football pitch, a club house and an indoor ice rink— Grünerhallen. The facilities are owned by the Municipality of Oslo and used and operated by Grüner IL, the local sports club.
The venue opened in 1916 and was originally used for football, athletics and speed skating. The club house was completed in 1928 and has since been used for martial arts. From 1929, a velodrome course was installed, which remained in use until 1940. During the 1930s, the venue was the main Oslo stadium for the Workers' Sports Federation (AIF). A speedway course was installed in 1947 and remained in use until 1968. The venue featured eight ice hockey matches and two bandy matches during the 1952 Winter Olympics. Artificial ice was laid in 1985 and the skating hall opened in 1995, two years before the artificial turf was laid.
In 1947, the velodrome was removed and the track converted for use for speedway. For the 1952 Winter Olympics, the venue was upgraded with a new ice hockey clock, a new lighting system and new ice hockey boards. The speedway course was dismounted in 1968. During the 1980s, the stadium became a central location for drug dealing, but the traffic moved away during the 1990s. In 1985, artificial ice was laid north of the football pitch, costing 2.1 million Norwegian krone (NOK). Of this, NOK 1.3 million was financed by Grüner IL through loans. At the same time a new gravel pitch was laid on the football field.
The artificial ice increased the popularity of playing ice hockey in the neighborhood. The club therefore started working on plans to build an indoor ice rink over the artificial rink. Planning of the hall started in 1989, and in 1990 a proposal for a steel structure was launched. However, it was rejected by the municipality. The club therefore hired Einar Dahle Arkitekter to work on a new design, resulting in area planning regulations being passed in 1991. Financing of the steel structure had been secured in loans, but these were stopped following a credit crunch. In 1994, the municipality initiated a redevelopment program of the downtown residential areas, which included grants to build Grünerhallen. The hall was estimated to cost NOK 23.4 million and the contract was awarded to Mur 6 Tax. Construction started in March 1995 and the venue opened on 6 October 1995, as the 30th indoor ice rink in Norway. In 1996, the city council had to grant an additional NOK 4.6 million to cover cost overruns.
Dælenenga was one of five ice hockey rinks used during the 1952 Winter Olympics. Hosting 8 of 37 matches, it the second-most use venue after Jordal Amfi. It was also the only hockey venue other than Jordal to be located in Oslo.
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