Venues of the 1992 Winter Olympics
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For the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, a total of thirteen sports venues were used. Val-d'Isère has been part of the Alpine Skiing World Cup since the late 1960s while Tignes served as host of the first Freestyle World Ski Championships in 1986. Most of the venues used were constructed between 1987 and mid 1990 with the test events taking place in late 1990 and early 1991. It was the last Winter Olympics with an outdoor speed skating rink which led to weather issues for three of the ten events. Three cross-country skiing events were run in snowstorms while the men's 20 km biathlon was found to be 0.563 km (0.350 mi) too short. The downhill events in alpine skiing were criticized for being too steep. Freestyle skiing made its official debut at these games with the men's winner being stormed after his win while the women's winner won her event in a snow storm. La Plagne hosted the skeleton World Championships in 1993 while Val-d'Isère hosted the Alpine World Ski Championships in 2009. Some of the venues will be used again during the 2030 Winter Olympics, when the main host city will be Nice.
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| L'anneau de vitesse | Speed skating | 10,000 | [1] |
| La halle de glace Olympique | Figure skating, Short track speed skating | 9,000 | [2] |
| La Plagne | Bobsleigh, Luge | Not listed. | [3] |
| Les Arcs | Speed skiing (demonstration) | Not listed. | [4] |
| Les Menuires | Alpine skiing (men's slalom) | Not listed. | [5] |
| Les Saisies | Biathlon, Cross-country skiing | 12,500 | [6] |
| Méribel | Alpine skiing (women) | 3,000 | [7] |
| Méribel Ice Palace | Ice hockey | 6,420 | [7] |
| Patinoire olympique de Pralognan-la-Vanoise | Curling (demonstration) | 2,300 | [8] |
| Théâtre des Cérémonies | Ceremonies (opening/ closing) | 35,000 | [1] |
| Tignes | Freestyle skiing | Not listed. | [9] |
| Tremplin du Praz | Nordic combined, Ski jumping | 20,000 (jumping) 15,000 (Nordic combined - cross-country skiing) | [10] |
| Val-d'Isère | Alpine skiing (men's downhill, super-giant slalom, giant slalom, and combined) | Not listed. | [11] |
Before the Olympics
Albertville is part of the Rhône-Alpes region in France that had hosted the Winter Olympics twice with Chamonix in 1924 and Grenoble in 1968.[12][13] Jean-Claude Killy, the triple gold medalist in the men's alpine skiing event at the 1968 Grenoble Games, had become a successful businessman when he suggested the idea of the 1992 Winter Olympics in December 1981 to Michel Barnier, a politician in the Savoie department.[13] A proposal was sent to the Albertville town council six months later, followed regional studies done during 1983–5.[13] Presentation and media operations for the bid took place from 1983 to its awarding in 1986 by the International Olympic Committee.[13] After five rounds of voting, Albertville was selected 51-25-9 over Sofia, Bulgaria & Falun, Sweden.[13]
Val-d'Isère had its first alpine skiing World Cup events run in December 1968.[14] The Olympic test held there in December 1990 was won by 1980 Winter Olympics men's downhill gold medalist Leonhard Stock of Austria.[15]
Tignes hosted of the first FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in February 1986.[16]
Construction on most of the venues took place between 1987 and mid 1990 in time for the late 1990 and early 1991 test events.[17]
