View source for Alau Ice Palace

{{infobox stadium
| stadium_name=Alau Ice Palace
| logo_image = [[File:Alau Ice Palace Logo.png|120px]]
| image = [[File:Alau Ice Place 2014-03-15.JPG|260px]]
| caption = View from the entrance of the [[Astana Arena]].
| full_name =  
| location =  47, Kabanbay Batyr ave.<br>[[Astana]], [[Kazakhstan]]
| coordinates  = {{Coord|51|6|17|N|71|24|18|E|type:landmark_region:KZ_scale:2000|display=it}}
| surface = Ice
| built = 2007–2011
| opened = 2011
| architect           = VL Architects
| general_contractor  = Sembol Construction
| tenants = [[2011 Asian Winter Games]]<br>[[2015 World Sprint Speed Skating Championships]]<br>[[2015 World Judo Championships]]
| seating_capacity = 8,000
| website             = [http://www.alau.info/eng/index.php www.alau.info]
}}
The '''Alau Ice Palace''' ({{lang-kk|«Алау» мұзайдыны сарайы}}; {{lang-ru|Ледовый дворец «Алау»}}) is an 8,000-seat [[speed skating rink|speed skating oval]] in [[Astana]], [[Kazakhstan]]. Besides of speed skating it is also used for other sports. It was opened in 2011. The center hosted the [[speed skating]] events at the [[2011 Asian Winter Games]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alau.info/eng/about/|title=About Alau Ice Palace|publisher=Alau.info|accessdate=June 5, 2013}}</ref> In 2015, it hosted the [[World Sprint Speed Skating Championships]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=The Astana Times|title=Alau Ice Palace Hosts World Sprint Skating Championship, Kazakh Skaters Fail to Reach Podium |author=Dmitry Lee |url=http://www.astanatimes.com/2015/03/alau-ice-palace-hosts-world-sprint-skating-championship-kazakh-skaters-fail-reach-podium/ |date=3 March 2015|accessdate=5 March 2015}}</ref> It was ranked first among the world’s speed skating stadiums according to the Dutch AD Sportwereld publication’s ranking.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alau.info/rus/novosti/main_news/?cid=0&rid=181|title=The best if the world!|publisher=Alau.info|language=ru|accessdate=November 18, 2013}}</ref>

For [[judo]] it was the venue for the [[2015 World Judo Championships]] in August 2015.

==History==
Construction of The Oval began in 2007, nearly four years after [[Astana]] and [[Almaty]] had been designated host of the [[2011 Asian Winter Games]]. Construction was completed by the end of the summer of 2011, officially opening in December 2011, two months before the beginning of the Games.
The Alau Ice Palace was designed as the first covered speed skating oval in Kazakhstan, and as the second ever speed skating venue after [[Medeo]]. Being domed, this would give the facility the ability to control climate conditions inside to produce the highest quality ice possible.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.alau.info/eng/about/history/|title="Alau" – a new forge for records|publisher=Alau.info|accessdate=November 18, 2013}}</ref>
The Alau is an [[Ice rink#Artificial ice|artificially frozen]] indoor skating rink with a standard speed skating track of 400 meters to the lap. The radii of the inner and outer competition lanes are 26 and 30 meters respectively. The width of each competition lane is 4 meters with an inside training lane of 4 meters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://skating.kz/eng/WC/?cid=0&rid=135|title=Venue of the Competition|publisher=Skating.kz|accessdate=November 19, 2013}}</ref>

When not hosting speed skating competitions, The Oval is open to public skating and family day events.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alau.info/eng/alau_for_all/lubitelyam/massovye_kataniya/|title=Mass skating|publisher=Alau.info|accessdate=November 18, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://kazakhworld.com/entertainment-in-astana/|title=Entertainment in Astana|publisher=KazakhWorld.com|author=Moldir Nurazkhan|accessdate=March 16, 2014}}</ref>

==Track records==
[[File:Alau Ice Palace 2013-11-29.JPG|260px|thumb|right|Alau Ice Palace during the [[2013–14 ISU Speed Skating World Cup]] competitions.]]
[[File:Alau Ice Palace, 2012.jpg|260px|thumb|right|]]
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="6" style="background-color: lightblue;" | Men
|-
!style="width:8em"|Event.
!style="width:5em"|Time
!style="width:12em"|Name
!style="width:13em"|Nation
!Date
!Ref
|-
|500 meters
|align=right|34.52
|[[Dai Dai Ntab]]
|{{NED}}
|December 3, 2016
|<ref name="OR2002">{{cite book |title=Alau Track Records |chapter=Speed Skating |url=http://www.speedskatingnews.info/?page_id=826&bahn=KZAH  |accessdate=June 5, 2013}}</ref>
|-
|2 x 500 meters
|align=right|70.000
|[[Joji Kato]]
|{{JAP}}
|February 2, 2011
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|-
|1,000 meters
|align=right|1:08.66
|[[Shani Davis]]
|{{USA}}
|November 30, 2013
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|-
|1,500 meters
|align=right|1:45.06
|[[Denis Yuskov]]
|{{RUS}}
|November 29, 2013
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|-
|3,000 meters
|align=right|3:39.36
|[[Wouter olde Heuvel]]
|{{NED}}
|November 26, 2011
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|-
|5,000 meters
|align=right|6:13.83
|[[Sven Kramer]]
|{{NED}}
|November 26, 2011
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|-
|10,000 meters
|align=right|12:50.40
|[[Jorrit Bergsma]]
|{{NED}}
|December 2, 2012
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|-
! colspan="6" style="background-color: lightblue;" | Women
|-
!style="width:8em"|Event
!style="width:5em"|Time
!style="width:12em"|Name
!style="width:13em"|Nation
!Date
!Ref
|-
|500 meters
|align=right|37.27
|[[Lee Sang-hwa]]
|{{KOR}}
|November 29, 2013
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|-
|2 x 500 meters
|align=right|76.090
|[[Yu Jing]]
|{{CHN}}
|February 2, 2011
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|-
|1,000 meters
|align=right|1:14.10
|[[Brittany Bowe]]
|{{USA}}
|February 28, 2015
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|-
|1,500 meters
|align=right|1:56.10
|[[Christine Nesbitt]]
|{{CAN}}
|November 26, 2011
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|-
|3,000 meters
|align=right|4:02.90
|[[Martina Sáblíková]]
|{{CZE}}
|December 2, 2016
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|-
|5,000 meters
|align=right|6:59.88
|[[Martina Sáblíková]]
|{{CZE}}
|November 29, 2013
|<ref name="OR2002"/>
|}

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Alau Ice Palace (inside), Astana.png|thumb|650px|center|A panorama taken from the center of the facility.]] -->

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Alau Ice Palace}}
*[http://www.alau.info/eng/index.php Official website]
*[http://www.speedskatingnews.info/?page_id=826&bahn=KZAH Alau Ice Palace on SpeedSkatingNews.info]
*[http://www.reliance-scada.com/en/success-stories/hvac/visualization-and-control-of-hvac-and-refrigeration-systems-at-indoor-speed-skating-stadium-in-astana-kazakhstan SCADA visualization and control system of the Alau Ice Palace]

[[Category:Indoor arenas in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Indoor speed skating venues]]
[[Category:Speed skating venues in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Astana]]