Kuznetsk Metallurgists Sports Palace

Kuznetsk Metallurgists Sports Palace (Арена кузнецких металлургов им. Олега Короленко) is an indoor sporting arena located in Novokuznetsk, Russia. The capacity of the arena is 6,818. It is the home arena of the Metallurg Novokuznetsk ice hockey team.



History
The first ice rink in Stalinsk was constructed in 1933, located in front of the Kommunar cinema. In December 1937, a permanent oval skating rink opened, situated on the site that is now the location of the Sports Palace. This rink had a hockey arena and running tracks associated with it. In 1957, it was planned to build the largest stadium in Siberia with an area of 17 hectares in the city. The proposed location of this stadium was the territory currently occupied by Gagarin Park. The sports palace project was developed and published in a local newspaper, although construction never took place. However, the issue of building a hockey stadium in the mid-1960s remained the focus of attention of the townspeople. The current hockey rink did not meet the requirements in terms of capacity and performance. In 1964, the Kemerovo Construction Institute came up with the idea to expand the capacity of the hockey rink at the Metallurg stadium. The project was planned in three stages: the first stage was completed by the beginning of the 1965 sports season, the second stage by the summer of 1966, and the final stage in the future. This led to the closure of the existing stadium to install seating in the stands, turning the arena into a multi-purpose facility capable of hosting various sporting events. As a result of these developments, an outdoor ice rink was built in the mid-1960s. In 1967, the first reconstruction of the facility was carried out, during which a concrete base was installed on the playing surface and it became possible to install artificial ice. The Metallurg Hockey Arena was one of the first in the country to introduce this technology.

The stadium did not have seating at this time. It remained in this configuration until 1976 when construction began on an indoor arena. The project for the new indoor facility was prepared by Kuzbassgrazhdanproekt, with input from Novokuznetsk architects who reviewed plans for similar structures in Moscow, Kiev, and Novosibirsk, taking into account the unique characteristics of Novokuznetsk, such as its proximity to existing buildings, roads, and utilities. During the construction of the outdoor arena between 1964 and 1966, fundamental engineering tasks such as the foundation, structural support, and installation of plumbing systems were completed. The entire city contributed to the construction of this new sports facility. Every day, there was a permanent presence of representatives from the Komsomol city committee at the construction site. These representatives from all districts of the city were involved in the construction process. Each Novokuznetsk organization considered it their duty to contribute to the rebuilding work. Not a single ruble from the city or federal budgets was used for construction – the construction was done at the expense of initiative from city organizations, volunteer days, and capital repairs.

Nikolai Spiridonovich Ermakov, first secretary of the Novokuznetsk city party committee, became the inspiration and real foreman for the construction site. His leadership, perseverance, and personal involvement in the building of this sports venue played a significant role in making this unplanned project successful. The main effort in constructing the palace was led by the Kuznetsk metallurgical plant, headed by Alexei Kuznetsov.He and his colleagues, Evgeny Braunstein, Gennady Yarmolinsky, and Anatoly Mukhachev, were directly involved in the work. The design of the facility was carried out concurrently with the reconstruction process.

During the alteration of the ice rink, several challenges arose due to the need to replace outdated cooling pipes. At this point, polyethylene pipes were utilized for the first time in a sports facility in the Krasnoyarsk region, with the Novokuznetsk rink deciding to install them as well. The old pipes could only be removed through explosive means.

At that time, an All-Union conference of Transvzryvprom representatives was held in the city, where the best experts in explosives proposed a unique plan to carry out a series of explosions in a newly constructed building in the city center. To mitigate the effects of the explosions, a metal platform was suggested. As a result, 256 explosions took place. The Lysenko team from the first assembly department of the Siberian Metallurgy and Construction Trust were engaged in the welding of polyethylene pipe. The pipes were joined into lengths of 31 metres. In total, 360 of these lengths were required. The sides of the hockey arena were erected by employees of the KMK workshop for the repair and manufacture of construction parts. Work on framing the tribune areas, installing barriers, and platforms was performed by a team led by N. F. Maslov from the Novokuznetsk SSMU-Uraldomnaremont trust. Workers from the first department of the Novokuznetsk construction trust were engaged in glazing stained glass windows to maintain a certain temperature. Employees of Santehproekt, taking into consideration the influence of ice and other factors, were responsible for air conditioning to ensure optimal conditions within the building. The cooling system, storm drains, and sewerage were constructed by Vostokgidrospetsstroy and Zemzheldorstroy, while installation work was performed by teams from Sibstalconstruction-1. The project was to be a grandiose undertaking, with Hungarian specialists installing an electronic scoreboard to provide accurate and timely information for spectators. Comfortable buffet areas and dressing rooms were planned to be installed in the spectator halls, a dining area, offices for medical personnel, training rooms, a children's and youth sports school, a room for TV equipment for broadcasting, cozy locker rooms, and a steam room for athletes, as well as a recovery center.

The lighting of the sports palace is designed to ensure color television broadcasts.

Roman Ilyich Atlasov was the first director of the palace, and he gave this building its name, "Kuznetsk Metallurgical Sports Palace." The opening ceremony took place on October 1, 1984, during Metallurg's 25th anniversary in the national league. Novokuznetsk residents played their first game with Metallurg Cherepovets under the roof of the newly constructed palace with a score of 4-4.In 1985, seats were installed in the sports arena. It was decided to manufacture them from polypropylene, a fire-resistant material. However, polypropylene was produced in a closed facility, and obtaining it was challenging. Consequently, the leaders of the Kemerovo and Tomsk regions reached an agreement on supplying this material. The required quantity of polypropylene was delivered to a plant in Orekhovo-Zuyevo, where, for the first time in the country, 8,300 seats were manufactured using the latest technology. Subsequently, numerous sports facilities across the country adopted the concept of using seats, with the first sets being delivered to the Novokuznetsk sports arena. Over time, the equipment and fixed assets of the palace became outdated both physically and morally. Therefore, following the end of the 1998-1999 season, management of the "Mikom" group decided to undergo a radical reconstruction of the Kuznetsk Metallurgy Sports Palace, which was carried out in several stages. Stands, utility rooms were refurbished and the most up-to-date equipment was installed. Following the reconstruction, Boris Aleksandrovich Kovrigin took over as head of the facility.

In November 2001, a museum dedicated to hockey history in Novokuznetsk opened at the Kuznetsk Metallurgical Sports Palace. The initiative for creating the museum came from the head of the cultural and entertainment department of the "Metallurg" hockey club, Alexander Gorbunov. The inauguration of the museum was attended by the mayor of the city, Sergey Dmitriyevich Martin.In 2008, a new reconstruction of the palace was initiated. During this process, the old refrigeration equipment was replaced by new units manufactured in Italy and Norway. In 2018, the facade of the sports palace was renovated, funded by EVRAZ ZSMK in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the city. The Kuznetsk Metallurgical Workers' Sports Palace has long been an important symbol for the city. Throughout its history, many events held at the palace have left a lasting impression on residents. These include hundreds of concerts by popular artists, the Congress of Composers of the Soviet Union, and performances by the best figure skaters in the country. It is no surprise that Novokuznetsk was chosen to host the first ever All-Star Game in Russian hockey history.