Balbergbakken
Encyclopedia
Balbergbakken or Balbergbakkene was a ski jumping hill
complex located at Fåberg
in Lillehammer
, Norway
. The centerpiece consisted of a large hill with a construction point
of 120 metres (393.7 ft) (K-120), in addition to three smaller K-40, K-25 and K-15 hills. The venue was opened in 1972, having cost slightly more than one million Norwegian krone
(NOK) after significant cost overrun
s. Balbergbakken hosted three Norwegian Championships, in 1973, 1978 and 1983, and a FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in 1984. The hill record of 130.5 meters was set by Tom Levorstad
in 1981. It was planned that the venue would be used for the 1994 Winter Olympics
, but because of lack of infrastructure, the new Lysgårdsbakken was built instead. Balbergbakken was closed in 1992.
spent some time deciding where to build a new venue. Storhove
, Vingrom
and Kanthaugen were all considered as locations, although Balberg was eventually chosen. The municipal council passed the plans in May 1969. The original cost estimate was for NOK 347,065. The hill opened in 1972, having cost more than NOK 1 million to be built. In addition to the large K-120 hill, it consisted of three smaller training hills, at K-40, K-25 and K-15. The hills were owned by Lillehammer SK.
The construction was controversial in Lillehammer, both amongst the general public and politicians. The chief of administration had doubted whether he should recommend construction. The original plans had called for both a large and normal hill, but lack of funding meant that the normal hill was never built, meaning that the number of competitions in the hill would be severely limited. The cost overruns were largely created by errors in the plans, which estimated too little earthwork to fill the hillside, and not enough blasting. To cut costs, a floodlighting
system was taken out of the plans, so the venue could not be used during the evenings, limiting the amount of time the venue could be used. It was also a concern that very few locals were able to jump on such a large hill. Many politicians stated in 1972 that the money hould have been spent instead on an indoor hall for handball
. The first trial jump was made by Helge Nordstrand, while Jan Stenbekk is credited with the first hill record, at 110.5 meters.
In Lillehammer's bids for the 1992
and 1994 Winter Olympics, Balbergbakken was the proposed site of ski jumping. Lillehammer was awarded the 1994 Olympics in 1988, but a year later the plans to use Balbergbanen were abandoned. The venue was regarded as unsuitable; for instance NOK 30 million would have to be spent on building a new access road. In addition, a new water and sewer system, new stands, participant facilities and a normal hill would have to be built. The available space at Balbergbakken was limited, and the organizers saw it as advantageous to have the ski stadium close to the ski jumping hills.
(1973) and Per Bergerud
(1978 and 1983). A FIS Ski Jumping World Cup race was held on 9 March 1984. It saw Pavel Ploc
win ahead of Matti Nykänen
and Ernst Vettori
. The event drew 5,000 spectators. The World Cup race incurred a large loss, with the organizers only covering half of the NOK 260,000 it cost to host. The hill record was set by Tom Levorstad
in 1981, who reached 130.5 meters. The final race was scheduled to be the 1992 Junior Norwegian Championships, but they were canceled because of lack of snow.
Ski jumping hill
A ski jumping hill is a sports venue used for ski jumping. They vary in size from temporary hand-made snow structures to permanent competition venues. At the top is an in-run where the jumper runs down to generate sufficient speed, before reaching the jump. The skier is then airborne until landing...
complex located at Fåberg
Fåberg
Fåberg is a village and former municipality in Oppland county, Norway.The parish of Faaberg was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . On January 1, 1964 Fåberg was incorporated into the neighboring municipality Lillehammer. Prior to the merger Fåberg had 13,381 inhabitants.The district...
in Lillehammer
Lillehammer
is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The centerpiece consisted of a large hill with a construction point
Construction point
The construction point, also known as the critical point, calculation point, K-point and K-spot, is a line across a ski jumping hill which indicates the hill's steepest point in meters. It was formerly used to classify the size of a ski jumping hill, and to calculate the number of points granted by...
of 120 metres (393.7 ft) (K-120), in addition to three smaller K-40, K-25 and K-15 hills. The venue was opened in 1972, having cost slightly more than one million Norwegian krone
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
(NOK) after significant cost overrun
Cost overrun
A cost overrun, also known as a cost increase or budget overrun, is an unexpected cost incurred in excess of a budgeted amount due to an under-estimation of the actual cost during budgeting...
s. Balbergbakken hosted three Norwegian Championships, in 1973, 1978 and 1983, and a FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in 1984. The hill record of 130.5 meters was set by Tom Levorstad
Tom Levorstad
Tom Levorstad is a Norwegian ski jumper who competed from 1980 to 1982. He won a bronze medal at the FIS Ski-Flying World Championships 1981 in Oberstdorf....
in 1981. It was planned that the venue would be used for the 1994 Winter Olympics
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...
, but because of lack of infrastructure, the new Lysgårdsbakken was built instead. Balbergbakken was closed in 1992.
History
The old hill at Lysgård in Lillehammer was closed in 1964, and Lillehammer SKLillehammer SK
Lillehammer Skiklub is a Norwegian skiing club from Lillehammer, Norway.It was founded in 1883. It is best known for arranging Birkebeinerrennet together with Rena IL...
spent some time deciding where to build a new venue. Storhove
Storhove
Storhove is a neighborhood of Lillehammer, Norway, located north of the city center. It is the location of the campus of Lillehammer University College and the Lillehammer offices of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. During the 1994 Winter Olympics, it also hosted the International...
, Vingrom
Vingrom
Vingrom is a village in the municipality of Lillehammer, Norway, located just north of the Gjøvik border by the lake Mjøsa. Vingrom has a population of 524....
and Kanthaugen were all considered as locations, although Balberg was eventually chosen. The municipal council passed the plans in May 1969. The original cost estimate was for NOK 347,065. The hill opened in 1972, having cost more than NOK 1 million to be built. In addition to the large K-120 hill, it consisted of three smaller training hills, at K-40, K-25 and K-15. The hills were owned by Lillehammer SK.
The construction was controversial in Lillehammer, both amongst the general public and politicians. The chief of administration had doubted whether he should recommend construction. The original plans had called for both a large and normal hill, but lack of funding meant that the normal hill was never built, meaning that the number of competitions in the hill would be severely limited. The cost overruns were largely created by errors in the plans, which estimated too little earthwork to fill the hillside, and not enough blasting. To cut costs, a floodlighting
Floodlights (sport)
Floodlights are broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial lights often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions....
system was taken out of the plans, so the venue could not be used during the evenings, limiting the amount of time the venue could be used. It was also a concern that very few locals were able to jump on such a large hill. Many politicians stated in 1972 that the money hould have been spent instead on an indoor hall for handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
. The first trial jump was made by Helge Nordstrand, while Jan Stenbekk is credited with the first hill record, at 110.5 meters.
In Lillehammer's bids for the 1992
Lillehammer bid for the 1992 Winter Olympics
The Lillehammer bid for the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics was an unsuccessful campaign launched in 1984. It bid ended fourth of seven at the 91st IOC Session on 17 September 1986, who awarded the 1992 Winter Olympics to Albertville, France...
and 1994 Winter Olympics, Balbergbakken was the proposed site of ski jumping. Lillehammer was awarded the 1994 Olympics in 1988, but a year later the plans to use Balbergbanen were abandoned. The venue was regarded as unsuitable; for instance NOK 30 million would have to be spent on building a new access road. In addition, a new water and sewer system, new stands, participant facilities and a normal hill would have to be built. The available space at Balbergbakken was limited, and the organizers saw it as advantageous to have the ski stadium close to the ski jumping hills.
Events
The hill was used for 31 tournaments, of which six had to be cancelled because of wind or snow conditions. The tournaments included the Norwegian Championships in 1973, 1978 and 1983; the Norwegian champions in Balbergbakken were Nils-Per SkarsethNils-Per Skarseth
Nils-Per Skarseth is a former Norwegian ski jumper. He was born in Oslo, and represented the club Lørenskog Skiklubb. He competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. He was Norwegian champion in large hill in 1973.-References:...
(1973) and Per Bergerud
Per Bergerud
Per Bergerud is a former ski jumper who represented Svene IL in Flesberg, Norway. At the 1982 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo, he won a gold medal in the team large hill event...
(1978 and 1983). A FIS Ski Jumping World Cup race was held on 9 March 1984. It saw Pavel Ploc
Pavel Ploc
Pavel Ploc is a former Czech ski jumper who competed from 1982 to 1991 representing Czechoslovakia.At the Winter Olympics, he earned a silver in the individual normal hill in 1988 and a bronze in the individual large hill in 1984. Ploc also earned two bronze medals in the Team large hill event at...
win ahead of Matti Nykänen
Matti Nykänen
Matti Ensio Nykänen is a Finnish former ski jumper who won five Olympic medals , nine World Championships medals and 22 Finnish Championships medals . Most notably, Nykänen won three gold medals at the 1988 Winter Olympics, becoming, along with Yvonne van Gennip of the Netherlands, the most...
and Ernst Vettori
Ernst Vettori
Ernst Vettori is an Austrian former ski jumper. He won the Four Hills Tournament twice...
. The event drew 5,000 spectators. The World Cup race incurred a large loss, with the organizers only covering half of the NOK 260,000 it cost to host. The hill record was set by Tom Levorstad
Tom Levorstad
Tom Levorstad is a Norwegian ski jumper who competed from 1980 to 1982. He won a bronze medal at the FIS Ski-Flying World Championships 1981 in Oberstdorf....
in 1981, who reached 130.5 meters. The final race was scheduled to be the 1992 Junior Norwegian Championships, but they were canceled because of lack of snow.