It is dark inside the Viking ship this Thursday in October. In the middle of the hall, you can see some small streaks of light from the ice machine running back and forth. Savings are made where savings can be made. Because ice is being laid in Norway’s national ice skating rink. But it is highly uncertain how long it will remain. Someone has to pay the sky-high electricity bill. Otherwise, the skating hall can turn into a half-dark football hall. – The situation is serious. We are seeing some electricity prices that we have never been close to before, so it is a stressful and difficult situation, says HOA director Tom Erik Hovde. EC IN JANUARY: The HOA director hopes they can complete the program they have planned – including the EC in January. Photo: Alexander Nordby / news Skøyte EC may fail Next weekend is the NM in ice skating in the Viking ship. Then there are several smaller events throughout the winter until the big highlight; skating European Championship in January. Without power support, all this can fail. – Then we don’t have the backbone to carry it. Then we have to reduce all activity, quite simply, says HOA director Hovde. It was Hamar Arbeiderblad that mentioned the case first. Living on grace For the time being, Hamar Olympic Facilities has a favorable agreement with Hamar municipality. But the municipality has not extended the national facilities agreement. Nor can it take responsibility for the enormous cost of supplying the Viking ship with both ice cover, light and heat throughout the winter. Municipal manager Kjetil Wold Henriksen asks the politicians to investigate alternative uses of the hall. – We are living a bit on grace in terms of what Hamar municipality wants next and how expensive this costs a local community, says Tom Erik Hovde. ICE-LAYING: On Thursday, ice-laying began before the winter season. It took place in the dark without lights in the ceiling to save electricity. Now the question is how long the ice can stay in the Viking ship. Photo: Alexander Nordby / news Skøyteforbundet worried Secretary General of the Norwegian Skating Association, Håkon Dahl, says there will be extreme consequences if they lose the Viking Ship. – Skating is already a bit exposed. We have few lanes to take off. The Viking ship is the most important track we have, he says. THE MOST IMPORTANT: Secretary General of the Norwegian Skating Association, Håkon Dahl, says the Viking ship is the most important hall they have. Photo: Hans Andreas Solbakken / news If it disappears, runners from Eastern Norway must travel all the way to Stavanger, Bjugn or Kristiansund. Furthermore, it will not be possible for Norway to organize major championships without ice in the Viking Ship. – The Viking ship is a national facility for a reason. It is the finest arena. It is the biggest arena. And it is the only arena where we can host major championships such as the WC and EC, says the general secretary. Meetings of the Ministry of Culture Hamar municipality and the Norwegian Skating Association are to discuss the national facilities agreement with the Ministry of Culture on Tuesday. Either the state must step in with more money for the operation, or they must jointly find measures to reduce costs, believes Håkon Dahl. – I hope that the bill does not go to the skaters in any case. If we push the bill onto children and young people instead of the state and municipality, then it is a bad solution. HOA director Tom Erik Hovde hopes they will be able to complete the program they have planned up to and including the EC in January at least. After two years of minimal activity due to the corona pandemic, he thinks it would be particularly bad to take away from children and young people the offer they have in the Viking ship – If we were to tighten the activity again, I think it is very worrying. 1994 Olympics: In 1994, Johann Olav Koss won three Olympic gold medals on home soil – all in world record time. Photo: Jon Eeg / NTB scanpix Want to avoid closing down – When we have costs of between NOK 2.5 and 3 million a month, it goes without saying that it is quite challenging, says the mayor of Hamar municipality, Einar Busterud (BBL). . He estimates that the municipality will spend over NOK 100 million more on electricity in 2023 than they usually do. – It’s a challenge, and the Viking ship is the big consumer of electricity. We have to get down to a normal cost level, he says. The mayor is clear that he would prefer to avoid shutting down ice activity and replace it with something else, and hopes that they can jointly arrive at a good solution. – It is most important for skating, but it is also important for Hamar municipality that the Viking ship is used for what it is intended for, he says. Possible investments On the side of the discussion about electricity support, there is talk of possible measures that Hamar Olympiske Anlegg can take itself to save electricity. They have no own production of electricity today, but get some surplus heat from the compressor. In addition, the lamps in the ceiling provide quite a lot of heat. – The cooling center is 30 years old. By replacing it, we could save somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million kWh a year, says Tom Erik Hovde. A Viking ship without ice in winter isn’t a Viking ship, is it? – No, it’s not that. After all, it is supposed to be the great hall of skating. So I think it will be completely wrong. Let’s hope it doesn’t go so far that we end up there.
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The Viking ship can become a football hall because it is too expensive to lay ice – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
