For the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, a total of fourteen sports venues, all within Nagano Prefecture, were used. Construction of these venues, and of the Olympic Stadium which hosted the ceremonies, began in 1990 and lasted until 1997, with construction and land costs totaling 106.6 billion yen. The most expensive venue constructed for the games was the long-track speed skating venue, M-Wave built 5 kilometers from Nagano Station. Between March 1996 and November 1997, these sites were tested with 16 different world champion events, world cups, and other international competitions to allow the organizers to prepare for the running of the Games.