A brief recap of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics venues and sites:
THE DELTA CENTER
Name game: In keeping with the Olympics' move away from commercialism at venue sites, SLOC refers to the arena as the Salt Lake Ice Center. It will be interesting to see how the national and international media — particularly NBC — call the arena during competition.
Previous Olympic-type events: 1999 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
Current events: 2001 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
Briefly: Skaters and spectators alike have voiced concerns and complaints about the Delta Center as a figure skating venue, primarily because nearly every seat has some kind of sight-line restriction when ISU-regulation ice is used. The Olympic-sized ice is larger than the basketball floor, so seats have to be removed. That leaves the first row of seats about 15 feet up and several feet behind the ice. Skaters at the 1999 U.S. Figure Skating Championships commented it felt as though they were "skating in a cave" because they felt so removed from the audience (and because of the black curtain draped from the first row of seats to the floor).
Spectators complained the seating configuration prohibited them from seeing the skaters perform near the edges of the ice. Video boards were placed at either end of the rink to assist with the sight-line restrictions, but many skaters said it was distracting. Others, like Michelle Kwan, requested they be turned off.
SLOC President Mitt Romney acknowledged the various concerns but pointed the finger of responsibility at the sport's international governing body. Romney said SLOC would have chosen to hold the figure skating events at the E Center, a facility designed especially for ice sports, and host hockey competition at the Delta Center. But, he added, the International Skating Union decided on the Delta Center because of its greater seating capacity and central location.
Video boards will again be used at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, through this time they will be mounted high above the ice, where the arena's central scoreboard now hangs. A few additional seats also will be placed near the ice.
Though the venue will likely be the cause for concern regardless of what adjustment SLOC makes, Romney said every figure skating ticket has been sold. Buyers were warned, he said, and they bought tickets anyway.
The ISU has since come out declaring that it had no responsibility for the venue problems.
THE ICE SHEET AT OGDEN
Name game: It's also been called the Ogden Ice Sheet or Weber County Ice Sheet since its 1994 completion.
Previous Olympic-type events: 2000 U.S. Curling Championships
Upcoming events: 2001 World Junior Championships, March 15-25; U.S. Olympic Trials, December 2001
Briefly: The Ice Sheet hosted the U.S. Nationals last year and earned rave reviews for location and aesthetics. The mountain view that greeted curlers upon their arrival to Utah and Ogden lingered, thanks to the view from huge windows gracing the building.
"People from the Midwest are astounded there's a view," said Iain Hueton, president of the Ogden Curling Club, adding that most curling athletes are from flatter states, such as Nebraska, Wisconsin and Minnesota. "Most curling buildings [there] are four flat walls."
However, the windows at the Ice Sheet are covered during competition because any sunlight can alter the ice conditions. Hueton said teams with USA Curling have been "suitably impressed" with the ice conditions and maintenance at the Ice Sheet.
UTAH OLYMPIC OVAL
Name game: Originally known as the Oquirrh Park Oval in Kearns.
Previous Olympic-type events: None
Upcoming events: 2001 World Single-Distance Championships, March 2001
Briefly: The worry and waiting over the Oval is nearly past. Construction on the venue began in June 1999 and was nearing to completion last October when workers had to completely remove and replace the ovals's massive concrete slab due to major flaws.
That, of course, followed the roof collapse in April, which set workers and the oval back four months and caused scheduled test events to be relocated elsewhere in the United States. But it appears as if the venue will be ready for next month's world championships.
The concrete took most of January and part of February to cure, and the speedskating oval is supposed to be ready for practice by mid-month. The ice is already chilling on the two hockey sheets located inside the oval. In short, though, the immense $30 million arena — large enough to house four football fields inside — is finally earning some bragging rights.
"The typical word as people walk in the front door is 'Wow!' " said Alan Rindlisbacher, director of corporate marketing for Layton Construction.
A fiscally minded SLOC, the designers and Layton Construction have created what Rindlisbacher describes as a "functional" facility, while still adding an aesthetic touch or two. Some arenas used in past Winter Games have cost nearly 10 times as much as the Utah Olympic Oval.
THE PEAKS ICE ARENA
Name game: Built beside Seven Peaks Water Park by park owners, the arena sometimes was called Seven Peaks Ice Arena.
Previous Olympic-type events: 2000 Four Nations women's hockey tournament; 1999 and 2000 World Cup short-track speedskating events.
Upcoming events: None scheduled.
Briefly: The Peaks is viewed by the Olympic hockey community as an adequate and functional facility, but hardly a shrine to the sport. In essence, it is what it is — a public ice skating arena with room for temporary seating to stage a once-in-a-lifetime event. There are no luxury boxes, no suites, nothing fancy. The temporary seats still need to be brought in and installed. Original plans called for all of the women's games — except the gold-medal contest — to be played at The Peaks. Now, seven of the 18 women's games will be held at the E Center, and no women's hockey officials are complaining about that.
The Peaks continues to investigate problems with the ice chillers — although it hasn't affected this season's test events — and have upgraded the facility to meet International Ice Hockey Federation and USA Hockey recommendations.
Because of the travel distance from the Olympic Village to the Provo venue, The Peaks will be used for competition only, with Acord Ice Arena in West Valley City and the Murray Ice Arena picking up the practice-time slack for men's and women's teams.
THE E CENTER
Previous Olympic-type events: 2000 Five Nations men's under-18 hockey tournament; 2000 World Ice Sledge Hockey Championships; 1998 U.S.-Canada women's hockey exhibition.
Upcoming events: U.S.-Canada women's hockey exhibition, Oct. 20, 2001
Briefly: The E Center is a state-of-the-art, built-for-hockey facility, with superb visibility for spectators and an abundance of luxury suites. Its only real drawback is that it is fairly small. Olympic officials would love to have a capacity of about twice the projected 8,500.
The Five Nations men's hockey tournament — the venue's test event in November — went without a hitch and drew the largest crowd ever (10,157) to see an International Ice Hockey Federation under-18 game. But an additional 5,000 would-be spectators seeking admission to that contest were turned away at the gate.
One concern may be the venue's media sub-center, which will be a huge, enclosed tent in the parking lot between the E Center and the northbound lanes of I-215. SLOC is looking to ensure that the sub-center, which will be the main media center for the 2002 Paralympic Games the next month, won't be the chilly, noisy location some fear it may be.
DEER VALLEY RESORT
Previous Olympic-type events: 1999 U.S. Skiing Championships; 2000 and 2001 World Cup freestyle events.
Upcoming events: 2001 Super Series men's skiing finals, March 30 - April 1; 2003 World Freestyle Championships
Briefly: Deer Valley was "tested" earlier this month with a World Cup freestyle event. Resort and SLOC officials felt the event offered them insight into where problems might arise next year during the same events.
Chuck English, director of mountain operations, said the World Cup went extremely well and personnel learned a great deal from hosting the event, which drew thousands of fans. All athletes who placed among the top three finishers in the aerials and moguls were asked of their impressions of the venue, and all responded favorably.
"I've talked to a number of athletes about our course, and they say it's second to none," English said. "It's the best they've ever been on."
U.S. Ski Team member Evan Dybvig, who placed second in the men's moguls at the event, agreed: "I like everything about this course — the steepness, the length, the snow, the fans, the town. What's not to like?"
PARK CITY MOUNTAIN RESORT
Previous Olympic-type events: Longtime stop as "America's Opening" on World Cup skiing circuit, including 2000 America's Opening; 1999 and 2000 World Cup snowboarding events.
Upcoming events: 2001 World Cup snowboarding, March 1-4.
Briefly: Park City will have a "superpipe" in place for the halfpipe event. The oversized channel of snow allows riders to do higher aerials tricks with more spins. North American 'boarders are accustomed to the larger pipes, while Europeans generally ride the smaller ones.
Crews will bury the halfpipe immediately following the contest to make way for the parallel giant slalom course, with the final third of the course running over the buried halfpipe. Park City will test the plan — the new pipe and the filling-in process prior to slalom racing — during next month's World Cup competition.
The resort still has some logistics things to work out regarding spectator seating. The halfpipe judging stand currently sits in prime viewing area.
As far as alpine ski racing, Park City Mountain Resort has a storied history of hosting the opening events of the annual World Cup circuit.
SNOWBASIN SKI AREA
Previous Olympic-type events: None
Current and upcoming events: 2001 North American Cup men's downhill, this weekend; 2001 World Cup men's downhill and super-G events, Feb. 23-25; 2001 Paralympic World Cup alpine event, March 1-4; 2001 Alpine Super Series women's finals, March 17-18.
Briefly: Unseasonably low snow depths and a tardy completion of the new snowmaking equipment cost Snowbasin its World Cup event last year; however, several key national and international events are on tap this winter, including the men's speed skiers.
The once-smallish day resort geared toward locals is undergoing major changes, with Snowbasin looking to become a major destination resort. Olympics-related development are a part — albeit a timely factor — in the expansion project, which has included the recent addition of four new lifts, two downhill courses for the 2002 Games and a myriad of new buildings, operations facilities and parking areas.
Two of the new lifts will benefit Olympic racers — the high-speed quad, which delivers skiers to the top of the women's downhill course (Wildflower); and the 18-person Olympic tram, which shuttles skiers from there along the steep mountain face to the top of the men's downhill course (Grizzly).
A welcome addition for local skiers and event spectators will be the Trapper's Loop cutoff, which whittled away nearly 20 miles of windy driving for those approaching from I-84.
SOLDIER HOLLOW
Previous Olympic-type events: 2001 World Cup cross country skiing event; 2001 World Cup nordic combined event; 2000 World Cup Class B nordic combined event; 2000 U.S. Cross Country Championships; 2000 U.S. Biathlon Championships
Upcoming events: 2001 World Cup biathlon, March 7-11; 2001 Paralympic nordic skiing World Cup, March 7-11.
Briefly: The 16-mile network of trails is complete. Those who competed in last month's World Cup cross country event praised Soldier Hollow as a great track with the right mix of varying degrees of difficult and a balance of climbs and downhills.
"This will be a great place to hold the 2002 Olympics," said Johann Muehlegg of Spain, who won two events at Soldier Hollow.
All of the North American skiers and many of the top international skiers are already training at the venue.
For fans, Soldier Hollow provides a new experience in cross country skiing, making events there almost stadium-like events. Spectators have great views of the start and finish lines as well as most of the trails. Those who want to venture out on the hillside will also find several key vantage points for close-up views of the competitors.
Biathletes praise Soldier Hollow for its beauty and challenging course. The Ukranian women were the first international biathletes to train at Soldier Hollow this summer. "They are not easy trails," noted Elena Petrova, a silver medalist in the 1998 Nagano Winter Games.
The United States Biathlon Team is counting on a definite home-turf advantage. "I'm not intimidated by the course," said Jay Hakkinen of Anchorage, Alaska, on his first visit last summer.
"In fact," said Hakkinen, the top U.S. hope for a medal, "I'm kind of excited about it."
UTAH OLYMPIC PARK
Name game: Previously named the Utah Winter Sports Park.
Previous Olympic-type events: 2001 World Cup nordic combined event; 2001 World Cup ski jumping event.
Current and upcoming events: 2001 World Cup luge event, this weekend; 2001 World Cup women's bobsled event, next week; 2001 World Cup skeleton event, next week; 2001 World Cup men's bobsled event, Feb. 24-25; 2001 U.S. Luge Nationals, March 3-4; 2001 U.S. Ski Jumping Championships, March 23-25; 2001 U.S. Nordic Combined Championships, March 23-25; U.S. Sliding Olympic Trials, January 2002.
Briefly: The K90 and K120 jump hills are almost completed and have already hosted several international competitions, including recent ski jumping and nordic combined World Cup events.
Work still needs to be completed on a spectator stand that will hold 11,000 people — nearly half of all expected Olympic jumping spectators. Also, additional stairs for officials, workers and trainers need to be built. Workers are putting the finishing touches on the judges' tower near the hills.
All projects are expected to be completed before the start of the Games.
The jumps have been given high marks from both national and international competitors and coaches.
Olympic medalist Masahiko Harada called the hill "fantastic." Austrian jumper Stefan Horngacher, who joined his team on the podium during Utah's recent World Cup event added: "It's a good hill, very well prepared."
"They're the best facilities in the world," said U.S. Nordic combined coach Tom Steitz, speaking of the jumps at Utah Olympic Park and Soldier Hollow's cross country course.
The only concern may be spectator accessibility to the hills. During the recent World Cup events, jump fans had to park well below Utah Olympic Park, then walk or catch a shuttle to the venue.
The bobsled/luge/skeleton track has been operational for several years. While the World Cup will be making its debut there this month in the three sliding disciplines, the track has played host to numerous national championships and the lower-level America's Cup competition.
Utah Olympic Park boasts a very fast track, with well-rounded curves and a relatively forgiving — compared to European courses — combination of dips, drops and curves. Speeds will be high, times will be fast and error-free sliding will be critical on this track, compared to courses that require more technical maneuvers.
MAIN MEDIA CENTER
Name game: Thousands of international journalists and photographers will be asking for the media center — most often by its MMC acronym — during the 2002 Winter Games. You know it better as the Salt Palace Convention Center
Briefly: The 2002 Games will be the Olympics to feature shared quarters for the print and electronic media — the Main Press Center and the International Broadcast Center. SLOC is signed on to use the entire floor space of 430,000 square feet to host journalists, photographers and technicians around the clock.
Even though it's not a competition site, the convention center may end up being one of the most lavish "venues" available to visiting media types. For example, print reporters and editors will be in the Grand Ballroom — a far cry from the converted equestrian stables used in Sydney and the Nagano facility that has since been turned into a supermarket.
RICE-ECCLES OLYMPIC STADIUM
Name game: For the 2002 Games, the University of Utah stadium gets to add "Olympic" to its title.
Briefly: Capacity is nearly 10,000 more than normal for Utah football, thanks to the addition of temporary seating for the Olympics. The stadium, which underwent a renovation and expansion effort that was completed by the fall of 1998, is the largest venue for opening or closing ceremonies in Winter Olympic history.
OLYMPIC VILLAGE
Name game: You'll often hear the name "Fort Douglas" mentioned along with the Olympic Village, since it was built on the northwestern portion of the existing Fort Douglas area of campus.
Briefly: For all intents and purposes, Olympic Village is ready for the Games.
With dormitories that will house the 3,500 athletes and their coaches finished, and a commerce and shopping area almost ready, organizers believe the village will be the definitive home away from home. Maybe better.
The village has tried to incorporate the best ideas from past Olympics and put more emphasis on privacy than fun. Because athletes have stressed that getting enough sleep is much more important than socializing during the Games, organizers have added extra soundproofing and quiet flooring in the million square feet of new buildings. Entertainment will be available, as will all-night dining and a so-called "hot-tub garden."
The 70-acre village, located at the University of Utah, has 2,100 bedrooms, each about 160 square feet. It has a shopping area and includes the $164 million Heritage Commons, a new student union and housing building that will serve as a cafeteria and recreation center. About half of the dormitories are now occupied by U. students, who will find other accommodations for next spring semester.