Aqua Wing Arena

Longview photo of Aqua Wing with Mount Iizuna in the background

The design of Aqua Wing Arena includes sharp flowing lines which represent the wind and water of the region. [a 3] Its name, Aqua Wing derives from its similarity to a wing. [a 4] Its retractable roof is supported by V-shaped pillars.[a 5]

Aqua Wing Arena was built on public land in Nagano Sports Park, as such land costs for the venue were nil; however, construction costs for the arena totaled 9.1 billion yen.[a 6] The venue covers an area of approximately 5.2 ha.[a 7] The permanent facilities include a building area of approximately 10,100m², with total floor area of approximately 13,500m².[a 8] The building is made of reinforced concrete and steel frames, with three stories above ground and one below rground.[a 9] The maximum height of the building is 31m. [a 10] In addition, 16 temporary structures covering 2,390m² and providing 4,690m² of floor space were built.[a 11]

To build the ice for Aqua Wing Arena, a temporary rink was situated on top of the 50-meter pool and diving pool, with indirect ammonia refrigeration.[a 12] The ice hockey rink was built to International Ice Hockey Federation standards, 60m x 30m.[a 13] Sound dampening measurers were used because the ice hockey rink was built atop an empty space.[a 14] The 25-meter pool was used for the sub press center.[a 15] Aqua Wing Arena was the only venue at the 1998 Winter Olympics that did not stage international competitions before the Games.[a 16] In lieu of international competitions, several Japan Ice Hockey League matches were held which permitted staff and volunteers to practice procedures.[a 17]

Electricity for the Aqua Wing Arena during the games was generated by gas engines, and heat generated by the engines and freezing equipment was used as energy for the heating system.[a 18] This system resulted in capturing 80% of the heat generated by the engines and freezing equipment.[a 19] This system is used to heat the swimming pool.[a 20]

During the 1998 Winter Olympics, Aqua Wing Arena hosted a total of 15 games for the women's tournament[a 21] and eight games for the men's tournament at the Winter Olympics, including two quarterfinal matches. The arena hosted 113,412 spectators over 10 days.[a 22] Only Big Hat (256,306), Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium (179,185), and M-Wave (118,555) hosted more spectators.[a 23]

Women's tournament

Main article: Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament

1998 was the first year that women competed in Olympic hockey. (The Women's Tournament was won by  United States.) Except for the bronze medal match and gold medal match which were held at Big Hat, all games of the women's tournament were played at Aqua Wing Arena. The table below displays the matches held at the Aqua Wing Arena. All times are local (UTC+9).

Date	Time	Teams	Attendance
8 February	12:00	Finland (6) - Sweden (0)	2,208[6]
8 February	16:00	Canada  (13) -  Japan (0)	4,597[7]
8 February	20:00	China  (0) -  United States (5)	3,255[8]
9 February	12:00	Finland (11) -  Japan (1)	4,972[9]
9 February	16:00	Sweden  (1) -  United States (7)	3,607[10]
9 February	20:00	Canada  (2) - China  (0)	2,713[11]
11 February	12:00	Canada  (5) - Sweden  (3)	5,429[12]
11 February	16:00	China  (6) -  Japan (1)	5,863[13]
11 February	20:00	Finland (2) -  United States 4	3,688[14]
12 February	12:00	China  (3) - Sweden  (1)[15]	3,670
12 February	16:00	Japan (0) -  United States (10)[16]	5,015
12 February	20:00	Canada  (4) -  Finland (2)[17]	3,133
14 February	12:00	Japan (0) - Sweden  (5)[18]	6,009
14 February	16:00	China  (1) -  Finland (6)[19]	5,638
14 February	20:00	Canada  (4) -  United States (7)[20]	5,872

Men's tournament

Main article: Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament

1998 was the first year that professional athletes from the North American National Hockey League competed in Olympic hockey. (The men's Tournament was won by Czech Republic .) Most games in the men's tournament were held at Big Hat. The table below displays the matches held at the Aqua Wing Arena.

All times are local (UTC+9).

Date	Time	Teams	Round	Attendance
7 February	16:00	Austria  (2) -  Slovakia(2)[21]	Preliminary	4,315
7 February	20:00	Belarus (4) - France  (0)[22]	Preliminary	3,419
10 February	14:00	Kazakhstan (4) -  Slovakia(3)[23]	Preliminary	3,659
10 February	14:00	France  (0) - Germany  (2)[24]	Preliminary	3,659
16 February	14:45	Finland  (8) -  Kazakhstan (2)[25]	Final	5,544
16 February	18:45	Belarus (2) - Sweden  (5)[26]	Final	5,544
18 February	14:45	Belarus (1) - Russia  (4)[27]	Quarter-finals	4,628
18 February	18:45	Finland  (2) - Sweden  (1)[28]	Quarter-finals	5,044

• Asahi Station on the Nagano Electric Railway is approximately 15 minutes away by foot
• Kita-Nagano Station on the Shinano Railway is approximately 15 minutes away by foot
• Bus No.7 leaves from Nagano Station, passengers disembark at Undou kouen or Undou kouen higashi

Hanazawa, Nahomi (1999). The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun (ed.). Official Report of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, Vol. 2: Sixteen Days of Glory (PDF). Translated by Norman Kong. Nagano (Japan): NAOC. p. 319. ISBN 4784098267.