Pressrelease: TAC

The Oakley Arctic Challenge to Holmenkollen

(Oslo, 5. Sept.) Time for arena upgrade for The Oakley Arctic Challenge (TAC). By moving from Midtstuen to Holmenkollen Ski Jumping Arena, TAC can welcome more spectators and enjoy better arena and production facilities.

The city of Oslo is preparing for the Ski World Championships in 2011. During TAC this year, Terje Haakonsen made a new world record by going 9.8 m out of the quarterpipe. The level of snowboarding in the whole rider field was great. TAC made substantial investments in arena development in Midtstuen, so TAC was reluctant to move in the first place. But as Midtstuen will be a giant construction area in February 2008, moving to Holmenkollen was a better option.

The Municipality of Oslo and various Norwegian ski organisations have been very supportive in making the move happen. The ski jumpers using Holmenkollen for training will use another arena in the TAC construction and competition period. The ski jumping world cup is scheduled only two weeks after the TAC finals. Working close with the world cup organising committee has been pivotal in making the overlap as smooth as possible.

Earlier this week the Municipality of Oslo announced the design of the new Holmenkollen arena. One month after TAC the old arena will be dismantled and the construction work for the new jump will start. Holmenkollen has more than 100 years of ski jumping history, but also quite a bit of snowboarding legacy. In TAC 2001, Heikki Sorsa made the legendary 9.3 m world record jump. It’s a great arena for snowboarding, and TAC is aiming for continuously progression.

In 2001 approximately 6000 spectators visited TAC in Holmenkollen. TAC is expecting 10 000 spectators over two days in 2008.
Holmenkollen is the biggest tourist attraction in Norway with over 1 million visitors every year. It has been used as ski jumping arena since 1892.