Bislett Stadium (Bislett stadion)

Bislett Stadium (Norwegian: Bislett stadion) is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norway's most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track and field world records having been set here. The original stadium was demolished in 2004 and construction of a new stadium was completed by the summer of 2005. The New Bislett Stadium was designed by C.F. Moller Architects.

History

Bislett Stadium lies on the site of a 19th-century brick works, which was bought by the Municipality of Kristiania (Oslo) in 1898, and turned into a sports field in 1908. The merchant, speed skater, gymnast and sports organizer Martinus Lordahl was instrumental in facilitating the construction of the first bleachers, begun in 1917 and completed in 1922 along with the new club house. One of the squares outside the stadium is named Martinus Lordahl's Square, in his honour. Bislett became Norway's main arena for speed skating and track and field in 1940 when the architect Frode Rinnan's new functionalistic stadium was completed, with a capacity of 20,000. Rinnan was also responsible for the renovation of the stadium for the 1952 Winter Olympic Games in Oslo. At those games, the stadium hosted some of the figure skating and the speed skating events. Bislett has hosted the Bislett Games since 1965, an annual track and field event in the IAAF Golden League (from 2010: the Diamond League). The venue hosted the Norwegian Athletics Championships 18 times, in 1926–29, 1931–36, 1938–39, 1947, 1949, 1951–52, 1955 and 2006.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Бислетт Стадион (russian)