Anyone who attended the 1999 U.S. Figure Skating Championships will recall that there were "issues" — which quickly snowballed into concerns — about whether the city could properly present the sport during the 2002 Winter Games.
There were concerns about whether the Delta Center was a suitable venue for figure skating, one of the Games' biggest ticket draws.
Spectators at Nationals complained about limited visibility and bad acoustics. Athletes whispered about skating in isolation because spectators were seated high above the ice to accommodate the international-sized rink. Skaters who have become used to skating before large crowds suddenly found themselves looking only at a 10-foot-high black curtain and electronic scoreboards.
Event promoters deflected questions about how figure skating would fare during the Olympics, saying the 1999 Nationals was not an official "test event."
That test event — the only opportunity many international athletes will have to experience the Delta Center before the Games — is the Four Continents figure skating championships, and all-event tickets will go on sale Wednesday.
Four Continents will take place Feb. 7-10 and will feature athletes from the United States, Canada, Japan and China. Past competitors include five-time U.S. men's champion Todd Eldredge, reigning U.S. pairs champs Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman, and former world champion Elvis Stojko.
The all-event ticket package will provide spectators with access to all nine events (including men's, women's, pairs and ice dancing competitions), the post-competition exhibition, and a practice pass. Prices range from $94 to $125.
Single-session tickets will go on sale Dec. 4 and will be priced from $5 up.
United States Figure Skating Association spokesman Bob Dunlop said he had high expectations for this year's Four Continents.
"I would hope that the Four Continents would be more appealing this year, due to the fact that it is an Olympic test event, in an Olympic venue, and because it is being held exactly a year from the Games," Dunlop said. "The timing of it, the quality of the competition, and the caliber of the event should rank it very high as far as an athlete's goal to get there."
As a test event, Four Continents will give Olympic organizers the opportunity to test the venue on a number of levels, Salt Lake Organizing Committee spokeswoman Caroline Shaw said.
Shaw defended the organizers' selection of the Delta Center — which provides a more centrally located, larger-capacity arena for the sport — as the Olympic figure skating venue. Still, she said SLOC has committed to being very open about certain insurmountable obstacles, including limited visibility.
"Yes, there are some limited sightlines," Shaw said. "But we still strongly believe that anyone coming to any of these events will feel the excitement of having world-class athletes at world-class events being held in their own back yards."
Shaw said the Delta Center's JumboTron will be used to enhance visibility. Video boards placed at either end of the venue during the 1999 Nationals will not be used.
"We took feedback from the skaters, the federation and spectators, and decided this is the best solution," Shaw said. During Nationals, several skaters — including reigning women's champ Michelle Kwan — requested they be turned off during their performance. Others said they caught themselves watching the video boards during their programs.
To request tickets for Four Continents, call 1-801-325-SEAT (7328), go to www.ticketmaster.com, or visit any Ticketmaster center including the Delta Center box office, Graywhale CD and Fred Meyer stores.
E-mail: jnii@desnews.com