For the Summer and Winter Olympics, there are 27 venues that have been or will be used for figure skating. This is one of two sports in the Winter Olympics to debut in the Summer Olympics with ice hockey being the other. [1] The first venue for the event took place during the 1908 Games was held indoors. [2] Twelve years later, the venue joined ice hockey as another Winter Olympic sport in the Summer Olympics. [1] [3] For the first two Winter Olympics, figure skating was held outdoors. [4] [5] [6] With figure skating being held outdoors, there were weather concerns with thawing for the first two Winter Games. [7] A suggestion by International Olympic Committee President Count Henri de Baillet-Latour to 1932 Olympic Organizing Committee President Godfrey Dewey in September 1930 led Dewey to create the first indoor arena for the Winter Olympics. [7] For the 1936 Games, the venue was covered partially. [8] Following World War II, the 1948 venue became the first venue to be used twice at the Winter Olympics since it had been used twenty years earlier. [9] Figure skating's final competition that took place outdoors was in 1956 though that venue has since had a roof added to it. [10] Since 1960, all figure skating competitions have taken place indoors. [11] Three National Hockey League (NHL) venues have hosted Olympic figure skating competitions: the 1988 (both venues) and the 2010 though the NHL Vancouver Canucks moved out of the 2010 venue following the 1994–95 season. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] The 2002 venue was a National Basketball Association (NBA) venue which meant the Utah Jazz was on a road trip during the 2002 Games. [17] [18]
For the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, United States, a total of five sports venues were used. This was unchanged from the previous games in St. Moritz. For the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics, an indoor venue was used for the figure skating and six of the twelve ice hockey events at the Olympic Arena. The first bobsleigh venue outside Europe was constructed for use. Four different 18 km and five different 50 km venues were submitted for approval prior to the Olympics. After the 1932 games, three of these venues served as host for their respective championships that were held outside Europe for the first time.
For the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, a total of six sports venues were used. Alpine skiing events took place for the first time and were held in three different locations. Riessersee held the speed skating and some of the ice hockey matches while the bobsleigh events took place south of the lake. The ski jump and its neighboring stadium played host to the cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping events. Even though figure skating and some of the ice hockey matches took place outdoors at the ice stadium, the ice itself was artificially refrigerated to prevent ice thawing.
For the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, a total of ten sports venues were used. Most venues were constructed between the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck and the 1968 Games. Thawing was an issue for the four-man bobsleigh run. They were limited to only two runs. Thawing also affected the men's 500 m speed skating event. Electronic timing in alpine skiing affected the results of the women's giant slalom event. It gave Canada's Nancy Greene a headache for two days despite her gold medal in the event.
For the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, United States, a total of seven sports venues were used. All five of the venues used for the 1932 Winter Olympics were also used at the 1980 Winter Games with adjustments. These adjustments included electronic scoreboards, increased refrigeration, and the addition of a separate luge track. This was the last Winter Olympics where there were separate bobsleigh and luge tracks. The closest finish in Olympic history in cross-country skiing led skiing officials to time future events in hundredths of a second rather than tenths of a second. This would also apply to biathlon events. Eric Heiden won five gold medals at the speed skating oval while the "Miracle on Ice" took place between Americans and Soviets at the Olympic Center. In the late 1990s, the luge track was demolished and a new combination track was constructed in time for the only Winter Goodwill Games held. The sliding venue was named to the American National Register of Historical Places in February 2010.
For the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, a total of nine sports venues were used. The idea for the Games came around from a 1968 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development study on promoting winter tourism in Yugoslavia. After Sarajevo was awarded the 1984 Games in 1978, venue construction and renovation took place between 1979 and 1983. Weather postponed the men's downhill alpine skiing event three times before it was finally run. The men's cross-country skiing 30 km event was run during a blizzard. After the games, all but one of the venues were damaged during the Bosnian War and the siege of Sarajevo. After the war, Zetra Ice Hall was rebuilt and is in use as of 2010.
For the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a total of nine sports venues were used. Calgary tried twice to host the Winter Olympics in the 1960s without success before finally winning the 1988 Winter Games in 1981. Stampede Corral was built in 1950 while McMahon Stadium was built in 1960. When the National Hockey League (NHL) Flames franchise was relocated from Atlanta, Georgia in the United States during the summer of 1980, a new arena was needed. The Saddledome construction was underway in late 1981 when Calgary was awarded the 1988 Games. Completed in 1983, the Olympic Saddledome has played host to the Flames ever since, including three Stanley Cup Finals and the NHL All-Star Game in 1985. An innovation for the games was the first indoor long-track speed skating venue which has served as a model for future Olympics. The bobsleigh and luge track was the first combination track in North America and was noted for the Jamaican bobsleigh team crash during the four-man event. Both the Oval and the bobsleigh/luge track continue to host the World Championships in their respective sports since the 1988 Winter Olympics.
The Olympic Center is a sports complex in Lake Placid, New York that acted as the Olympic Park for both the 1932 and the 1980 Winter Olympics. The venues inside this area is the main complex of the 2023 Winter World University Games.