Íþróttarhúsið á Torfnesi (), known colloquially as Jakinn or Ísjakinn (English: The Iceberg), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Ísafjörður, Iceland. It is the homecourt to

Íþróttafélagið Vestri Íþróttafélagið Vestri, known as Vestri, is an Icelandic multi-sports club based in northern Westfjords. The club was formed in 2016 from the merger of KFÍ (basketball), Skellur (volleyball), Sundfélagið Vestri (swim) and BÍ/Bolungarvík ...

(basketball and volleyball) and

Knattspyrnufélagið Hörður Knattspyrnufélagið Hörður, commonly known as Hörður or Hörður Ísafjörður, is an Icelandic multi-sport club from the town of Ísafjörður. It was founded in 1919 as a football club but since 1933 it has fielded other departments, most p ...

(handball) but also hosts several other events every year.

History

Groundbreaking took place in the spring of 1988 and the arena officially opened on 18 September 1993. The first game played was an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

in basketball between reigning national champions of Njarðvík and

KFÍ The Vestri men's basketball team, commonly known as Vestri, is a basketball team based in Ísafjörður, Iceland. The club was founded in 1965 as Körfuknattleiksfélag Ísafjarðar and held that name until it merged with newly founded Íþrótta ...

which included guest players John Rhodes, Frank Booker,

Birgir Örn Birgisson Birgir Örn Birgisson (born 6 October 1969) is an Icelanders, Icelandic basketball coach and a former professional player who played 26 games for the Iceland men's national basketball team, Icelandic national basketball team. He won two Úrvals ...

and former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player Pétur Guðmundsson.

National team games

The Icelandic men's national handball team has played three games in the building since its opening, all victories. Its first official game there was a 23–18 victory against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on 13 April 1995. In 1997 it defeated

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

27-24 and in 2014 it defeated Portugal 33–28. The Icelandic men's national basketball team has twice played in Torfnes, on 12 May 1995 in a 53–81 loss against Denmark and on 10 May 1998 in a 65–55 victory against Norway.

References

External links

Ísjakinn on Ísafjörður.is
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ithrottarhusid A Torfnesi Buildings and structures in Westfjords Basketball venues in Iceland Handball venues in Iceland Indoor arenas in Iceland Multi-purpose stadiums in Iceland Volleyball venues in Iceland Sport in Westfjords