Renovation of ice hockey venue for Beijing 2022 completed

Beijing, Dec 13 (IANS) The renovation of Beijing's National Indoor Stadium was completed on Saturday, according to the Beijing Major Projects Construction Headquarters Office.The renovation work involved adding the ice hockey competition and service functions of the Winter Olympics in the main hall, transforming the auxiliary hall into a game-time dressing area, and expanding the ice hockey training hall on the north side of the venue, Xinhua news reported.After renovation, the venue covers a total area of 98,000 square meters and is equipped with two standard ice hockey rinks. In order to highlight the elements of Winter Olympics, a glass curtain wall composed of 863 embossed glasses is built to create the visual effect of an "Ice Castle". It also features 14 prefabricated dressing room units in the dressing area which can be quickly built on the spot like "building blocks". After the Games, each room unit can be split into different individuals or spliced into new functional rooms. The National Indoor Stadium hosted gymnastics, trampoline, wheelchair basketball and other events at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, and will host the men's and women's ice hockey events at the 2022 Winter Games.
--IANS rkm/rt