Situated 3 kilometers (2 mi) from the town center and at 485 meters (1,591 ft) above mean sea level, it has two stadium areas, one for cross-country and one for biathlon.

The venue was built for the 1994 Winter Olympics, costing 83.6 million Norwegian krone (NOK).

The location of the venue was decided in January 1990, following Lillehammer's successful bid to host the 1994 Winter Olympics.

[3] The venue cost NOK 83.6 million,[1] and was inaugurated on 28 November 1992 with an international biathlon competition.

[4] In December 1992, the LOOC stated that they wanted to upgrade the stadium spectator capacity, but that the transport systems would not allow more people.

[5] In 1993, the stadium had World Cup tournaments in biathlon and cross-country skiing as a trial before the Olympics.

President Johan Baumann of the Norwegian Ski Federation criticized the venue and demanded that a new stadium be built.

[9] The arena covers an area of 200 hectares (490 acres),[2] and is 3 kilometers (2 mi) from the town center.

[16] The stadium has also since 1992 been used as the goal area for Birkebeinerrennet, an annual ski marathon with thousands of participants.

[18] Lillehammer hosted the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics;[19] the cross-country, Nordic combined and biathlon events took place at Birkebeineren.

[20] The following is a list of all Winter Olympics and World Cup events to be held at the stadium until December 2010.

It includes date, sport (cross-country skiing, Nordic combined or biathlon), tournament, distance, and top three athletes (gold, silver and bronze).