Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1940, Blaðsíða 168

LE NORD
162
Competition Sites.
With the exception of the Swimming Stadium, which is still
under construction, all the Olympic competition sites in Helsinki
are fully ready to receive Olympic guests at any time; to-day,
if need be. ■
The Helsinki Olympic Stadium was ready for use already
in the summer of 1938. Extensions to the stands, which then had
room for 30,000 spectators, were begun the same autumn. The
war interrupted the last phase of these extensions, but in the
spring of 1940 the Stadium reached its definite Olympic form.
It now holds 60,000 spectators, and was full to the limit of its
capacity for the first time at the international athletic match be-
tween Germany, Sweden and Finland on September 7th—8th
1940. In its present state the Stadium has cost about 40 million
marks to build.
Of the new competition sites, the Rowing Stadium was com-
pleted in November 1939. Its concrete Grand Stand has room
for about 1000 spectators. Temporary stands which had been
planned would have enabled 8000 spectators to watch the
Olympic boating events.
The Velodrome track, a graded concrete track 400 metres
long, was brought into racing form in August 1939. The spec-
tators’ stands were incomplete when the war broke out, but build-
ing work on the stands was resumed in the summer of 1940.
Next summer the Velodrome will accommodate 6700 spectators.
The grass central plan of the Velodrome will be used for foot-
ball, and in the winter as a skating rink. The Velodrome has
cost about 7 million marks.
The Swimming Stadium is at present under construction in
the immediate proximity of the Olympic Stadium. The tiled
basins — a 50-metre long basin for speed swimming, a separate
diving pool and a swimming pool for children — are ready, but
building work is still proceeding on the main stand for 2000
spectators. For the Olympic Games additional accommodation had
been planned for spectators, which would have enabled 12,500
spectators to watch the swimming events simultaneously. Now,
a natural stand has been left for summer bathers on the site
where the temporary stands were to have been erected. It may
be added that the heating apparatus ordered from abroad for