 The construction was controversial in Lillehammer , both amongst the general public and politicians . The chief of administration had doubted whether he should recommend construction . The original plans had called for both a large and normal hill , but lack of funding meant that the normal hill was never built , meaning that the number of competitions in the hill would be severely limited . The cost overruns were largely created by errors in the plans , which estimated too little earthwork to fill the hillside , and not enough blasting . To cut costs , a floodlighting system was taken out of the plans , so the venue could not be used during the evenings , limiting the amount of time the venue could be used . It was also a concern that very few locals were able to jump on such a large hill . Many politicians stated in 1972 that the money should have been spent instead on an indoor hall for handball . The first trial jump was made by Helge Nordstrand , while Jan Stenbekk is credited with the first hill record , at 110 @.@ 5 meters . 
