Olympiaparken

Olympic Park app

Lillehammer municipality established Lillehammer Olympic Facilities (LOA) in 1989 to fulfill its obligations to finance and build the Olympic arenas for the 1994 Olympics. Haavind was employed as LOA's first managing director and Gerhard Heiberg was president of the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee (LOOC ). Their first task was, in collaboration with local, national authorities and LOOC, to decide on locations and budgets leading up to the Games. At the same time, the after-use committee (LOV) was established after the Olympics to ensure activity in the arenas after the Olympics.

In 1989, there were discussions about the establishment of an after-use fund estimated by the after-use committee at 215 million. Where Lillehammer Bobsleigh and toboggan run in particular would entail extra high operating costs. In 1990, it was estimated that the arenas would run with an annual loss of approx. NOK 15 million each year. The state initially offered NOK 55 million to the fund, but this was adjusted up to NOK 130 million in 1991. The fund would be insufficient, which led to a conflict between the five municipalities. LOV was given responsibility for the operation of arenas after the Olympics.

Gjøvik and Hamar did not choose to take a stake in LOV, as they did not want a Lillehammer-based company to manage the city's capitals.

Haavind was replaced by Bjørn Sund in 1991. At the end of 1991, LOOC wanted a closer collaboration, which resulted in a merger between LOA and Lillehammer ’94 which took the latter name. On 1 January 1993, LOV and LOOC had also been merged into a single entity. Planning for post-use and demobilization started in early 1993.

LOOC transferred ownership of the Olympic arenas in Lillehammer to the municipality for NOK 1 million on 7 September 1993. By then, the government had increased the end-use fund to NOK 200 million. Extra capital for the fund was secured through LOOC's financial buffers which were not used and the surplus was transferred to the funds. In June 1994, the fund was set at NOK 401.3 million, as a result of the surplus after the Games.

The company changed its name on 1 January 1999 to Lillehammer Olympiapark AS. In 1999, Lillehammer Olympiapark had an annual turnover of NOK 20 million, of which a third came from the fund. Commercial activities contributed half of the income, while the remaining fraction came from sports activities. As a result of the Olympics, 260 permanent jobs were created, and according to a report by Lillehammer University College, these were directly dependent on grants from the end-of-use fund.

In 2010, the company had a turnover of NOK 56 million, which is an increase of NOK 10 million from 2009, and gives a profit of NOK 2 million. The company is based in Håkons Hall and is wholly owned by Lillehammer municipality. The company's main income comes from events and tourists.

In Lysgårdsbakken, Lillehammer Olympiapark operates two jumping slopes for sporting activities, while tourists can use a chair lift and the great view from the jumping tower. Events are also organized in the facility, with activities and reconstruction of the opening ceremony. The Kanthaugen, which was used for freestyle, shot put and ski ballet during the '94 Olympics, has been converted into a toboggan run with a lift. The toboggan run is the facility with the most activity today, which has a long training season for athletes, but also offers many tourist activities. The Birkebeineren ski stadium produces snow and miles of cross-country trails, the arena also has its own roller skiing and biathlon area. Håkons Hall is Norway's largest multi-purpose hall that has several tenants and a separate sports center that is widely used by both local and international athletes.