Brașov Olympic Ice Rink

Brașov Olympic Ice Rink

Full name	Patinoarul Olimpic Brașov
Location	Brașov, Romania
Coordinates	45°39′49″N 25°36′44″E / 45.66361°N 25.61222°E / 45.66361; 25.61222Coordinates: 45°39′49″N 25°36′44″E / 45.66361°N 25.61222°E / 45.66361; 25.61222
Owner	Municipality of Brașov
Capacity	2,000 (1,600 seated)
Construction
Broke ground	May 2008
Opened	January 2010
Construction cost	€10–12 million
Tenants
Corona Brașov

The Brașov Olympic Ice Rink (Romanian: Patinoarul Olimpic Brașov) is a multi-purpose ice rink in Brașov, Romania. Located at number 5 Turnului Street which is 5 minutes walking distance from the railway station and easily accessible by public transportation, it was opened in January 2010.^[1][2]

Construction

The construction of the rink began on 16 May 2008.^[3] The initial location proposed was next to the existing Olympic Swimming Pool and Sports Hall on the Gării Boulevard,^[4] but it was then changed in favor of the Sports Park (then Tractorul Park), 730 metres north-west, in the place of a disused artificial pond.

The rink was inaugurated on the 18 January 2010,^[5] with the goal of hosting competitions at the 2013 European Youth Winter Olympic Festival.

The ice rink was first tested on 18 February 2010 by Tanja Szewczenko and Norman Jeschke and officially later that day with an ice hockey game between Corona Brașov and Steaua Rangers.^[6]

Controversies

There has been much national media attention concerning the costs of the ice rink. The initial estimated price was less than €3.7 million,^[4] but the actual cost raised to €10 million, according to the Brașov City Hall,^[7] or €12 million, according to the media.^[8] There have been accusations towards the Mayor George Scripcaru and government officials (including then-Minister of Tourism Elena Udrea) of corruption and misuse of public funds intended for investments in other infrastructure projects.^[9][10][11] Comparisons with a somewhat similar project in Miskolc, Hungary were made, which raised to a total cost of only €4.1 million.^[12][13]

Technical details

There are three general areas:^[14]

• Areas for sportsmen:
  • Special access for sportsmen, referees and officials
  • 6 locker rooms with 25 places each
  • Locker room for the referees with 5 places
  • First aid room and doping control rooms
  • 2 gyms
• Areas for the public:
  • 4 staircases in the corners of the hall, each with a bathroom at the base
  • 1,584 seats
  • 3 evacuation staircases, and terraces on the second floor and around the building
  • areas for renting skates, selling tickets, public locker room, bar, each with a bathroom
• Areas for the officials: separate access, conference room, administrative and storage rooms, bathrooms, special access for the resurfacer, inside and outside technical areas

The possibility exists to extend the seating capacity for special events, in which case the hall could host a total of over 2,000 people, including 400 standing.

The temperature in the spectator area is usually around 16 degrees Celsius, and that of the ice can range, depending on the event, between –6 (for figure skating) to –15 (for hockey).

The ice is levelled using an Olympia ice resurfacer built by Resurfice Corporation.

The rink contains removable tribunes and the locker rooms can be used simultaneously by 120 athletes. Also, the necessary material equipments have been executed, such as furniture, displaying and sounding system, ventilation equipments and refrigerating systems.

Gallery

External links

• Brașov Olympic Ice Rink at EuroHockey
• Patinoarul Olimpic Brasov at Facebook

References