Olympic speed-skater Bonnie Blair may be wearing in-line skates during next month's opening ceremonies at the state's speed-skating oval if temperatures don't start dropping soon.
Crews have tried twice to ice the $4.1 million oval track at the Oquirrh Park Fitness Center in Kearns. Both attempts melted in the unseasonably warm afternoon sunshine.The 2002 Winter Games venue is scheduled to open for ice skating next Friday. That's not likely to happen unless the weather changes quickly, fitness center director Dave Howick said.
"We're having unusually warm weather, which is usually nice. This is the first time I've hoped for cold weather," Howick said. "We're just waiting for a cloud cover and a drop in temperatures."
There may be a wait. To keep ice on the track, temperatures can't climb much above 50 degrees. But they've pushed past 60 degrees much of November. On Thursday, the temperature reached 63 degrees, 14 degrees higher than normal.
And high temperatures aren't likely to dip into the low 50s until the weekend after Thanksgiving, according to David Hogan, forecaster for the National Weather Service.
That means the ice probably won't be ready to open for skating as planned on Nov. 24, since it takes about four days of adding water to build up the 2-inch surface needed.
Olympic organizers are still holding out hope for the Dec. 8 opening ceremonies, which will feature Olympic gold medalist Bonnie Blair and other skaters as well as entertainment, fireworks and free ice time for the public.
Howick said the ceremonies will go on no matter how warm it is outside. Even if Blair and other participants have to lace up in-line roller skates instead of blades.
The 400-meter track was built by the state and has been used by in-line skaters for the past month or so. It will be the site of speed-skating and short-track skating events during the 2002 Winter Games.
The Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee will use private funds to cover the oval and add a second ice sheet in its interior to ready it for the Winter Games.