THE XXVIth OLYMPIAD The 83,100-seat, $209 million Olympic Stadium, site of athletics, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies, will be downsized to 49,831 seats after the Games when it will become the new home of the Atlanta Braves. Jan. 3, 1996: The Olympics will feature a full international lineup Feb. 7: Following the confiscation for the first time, as of counterfeit Olympic Games Feb. 15: ACOG names North Korea accepts its Jan. 31: Coca-Cola begins merchandise at Atlanta’s Super 5,500 “Community invitation to the Games, national and international Show and an apparel trade show Hero” torchbearers bringing the total search for its 2,500 in Las Vegas, USOC and ACOG selected by number of competing “Share the Spirit” announce a new plan to community judging nations to 197. torchbearers. eliminate the problem. panels. Jan. 10: ACOG strikes a deal February: ACOG’s financial Feb. 6: Celebrity with the family of Martin report for 1995 is released, photographer Annie Luther King Jr. to use his showing that the committee Leibovitz named as image on medallions and has $1.51 billion in financial official U.S. Olympic other memorabilia. commitments — 11 percent team photographer short of the amount needed following a year of to pay for the Games. negotiations. 32 ATHLETIC BUSINESS July 1996 Opportunities B After the Olympics and Everywhere “There weren’t you look there is Paralympics have come enough profes- something new. sional, institu- First and fore- and gone, Atlanta and its tional and most are the new municipal and renovated surrounding communities will facilities where we sports facilities could put all 31 of dotting the city, as be left with a vast legacy these fields of play well as neighboring and all of their var- communities. Then of world-class sports ied configurations in there are the new facilities. existing facilities,” says highways, parks, hotels, Bill Johnstone, an execu- offices, retail outlets and over- tive vice president with Lehrer all citywide beautification. Ever since McGovern Bovis Inc., who is on assign- Atlanta learned on Sept. 18, 1990, that it ment to the Atlanta Committee for the would host the XXVIth Olympic Games Olympic Games. “We just weren’t as well (held for 17 days from July 19 to Aug. 4), endowed as southern California.” the city has experienced a building Lehrer McGovern Bovis, along with frenzy unlike anything it has seen sister firm McDevitt Street Bovis Inc., before — or likely will ever see again. and the firms of Charles F. McAfee Although the massive amount of con- Architects and MHR International — struction has brought some growing collectively known as the Program Ser- pains — heavy traffic congestion for vices Group — were selected in March one — as well as its share of dissenters, 1992 by ACOG to provide management the legacy of sports facilities the services for the Olympic construction Olympics will leave the Atlanta area is program. unparalleled in the United States. Unlike “Those four entities came together, Los Angeles in 1984, which used exist- brought all of their strength and exper- ing venues for all events except shoot- tise, and our mission then became to ing, Atlanta didn’t have enough existing organize and manage the construction venues to host all 26 Olympic sports (31 program within ACOG,” says John- disciplines). stone, who serves as director of project © 1996 Simon Bruty/ALLSPORT USA Mar. 23: 135,000 tickets to 105 Mar. 29: The IOC previously sold-out announces that March: Tickets to Coca- Mar. 19: Two 10,000-pound events go on sale; Olympic athletes in Feb. 27: ACOG, USOC and Cola’s Olympic City go on Mar. 13: The Olympic steel beams designed to 5,845 sold in two Atlanta must agree to EMI/Latin Records announce sale. Also, ministers in the Stadium Design Team support a temporary roof being hours; hundreds of take any disputes that the first-ever Olympic Olympic ring ask ACOG for sues ACOG for $4 million constructed over the Olympic hotel rooms begin to about issues such as Games’ Latin album, Voces $2 million to offset because of frequent swimming and diving complex show up as available in drug-test results to a Unidas, will be released in projected losses in church design changes causing collapse on the Georgia Tech what was previously special court of connection with the 1996 contributions during the 47,600 hours of unpaid campus and fall 130 feet. No called a completely arbitration instead of Games. games. overtime. one is injured. booked market. civil court. Feb. 20: IOC officials March: Bill to Mar. 6: Avoiding a possible Mar. 14: Olympic Mar. 21: Mar. 26: City of Mar. 30: affirm that Taiwanese prevent rent gouging Chinese boycott over Taiwan, organizers accuse stadium Olympic theme, Atlanta announces Olympic flame lit officials have not been by landlords dies in Olympic organizers announce designers of suing them in “Summon that ACOG is 11 by high priestess invited to the Games, Georgia Legislature. that no political leaders will retaliation for demanding the Heroes,” days late with a at Temple of which would likely lead be formally invited to the that the designers pay $3 is released. $1.9 million Hera in Olympia, to a Chinese boycott. Games. million in repairs to the payment for city Greece. steel infrastructure. services. July 1996 ATHLETIC BUSINESS 33 Atlanta’s Olympic Legacy NEW PERMANENT FACILITIES Games. An existing gymnasium was also Wassaw Sound Yachting Facility upgraded into a warm-up facility. (Savannah, Ga.) Olympic Stadium Georgia International Horse Park Yachting will be staged in the Atlantic Project team: Heery International Inc.; (Conyers, Ga.) Ocean off the coast of Savannah. The tem- Rosser International; Williams, Russell & porary, $10.8 million day marina is 250 Johnson; and Ellerbe Becket Inc. Project team: Lord Aeck & Sargent, Delon miles from Atlanta. Hampton & Associates, Tunnell-Spangler & Site of athletics, as well as the opening Associates, Duckett & Associates, and and closing ceremonies, the 83,100-seat International Equestrian Design. RENOVATED/ADAPTED stadium will be downsized to 49,831 seats after the Games when it will become the Located at the 1,139-acre Georgia Inter- FACILITIES national Horse Park, this $24.7 million per- new home of the Atlanta Braves in time for Adaptations paid for by ACOG or the facili- manent facility, 33 miles from downtown the 1997 season. The stadium will replace ties themselves were made to the following Atlanta, will host equestrian and mountain the 52,563-seat Atlanta-Fulton County Sta- existing facilities: dium, which will be utilized as the Olympic biking events, as well as the equestrian baseball venue and then torn down after and cross-country competition of the mod- Georgia Dome the Games. The $209 million price tag ern pentathlon. The center includes sta- Host to the men’s and women’s basket- includes the new stadium, conversion to a bles, dressage and jumping areas, a track ball finals, as well as gymnastics and team baseball stadium and destruction of the course, trails and a steeplechase oval, handball events, the 72,000-seat dome, old stadium. The Atlanta Braves added which will be given to the Horse Park after which opened in 1992, is the largest cable- another $21 million worth of improve- the Games. The main arena will feature supported stadium in the world. ments, bringing the total stadium price tag 31,000 seats, 8,000 of which are perma- to $230 million. nent. Georgia World Congress Center The facility’s track will be relocated to Rowing and Canoe/Kayak Venue Site of fencing (regular competition and Clark Atlanta University. modern pentathlon event), judo, table ten- (Lake Lanier) nis, handball, wrestling and weightlifting, the Aquatic Center Project team: Armour, Cape & Pond; B&E 2.5 million-square-foot building is the second (Georgia Institute of Technology) Jackson. largest convention center in the nation. Project team: Stanley Love-Stanley P.C.; This $16 million, permanent rowing facil- Smallwood Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart and ity, located 55 miles northwest of Atlanta, The Omni Coliseum Associates Inc.; Counsilman-Hunsaker & is the site of flat-water canoeing/kayaking Home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks bas- Associates (natatorium consultants). and rowing, and will be given to the city of ketball team, the 16,400-seat arena will Site of the swimming, synchronized swim- Gainesville and Hall County after the serve as the volleyball venue. ming, diving, water polo and modern pen- Games to be used for competitions and as tathlon events, this $14.4 million complex a public rowing center. The site will have Alexander Memorial Coliseum includes separate competition and diving 1,500 permanent and 18,500 temporary (Georgia Institute of Technology) pools, as well as a $6.2 million, temporary, seats, a permanent cabling system and fin- Currently Georgia Tech’s basketball 5,000-seat water polo facility. The main ish tower, two permanent boat houses and arena, the 10,000-seat facility, which will complex includes 2,000 permanent and permanent storage facilities. The site will host boxing events, upgraded its floor, 13,000 temporary seats. After the Games, also include a temporary day village for ath- seating, suites, concessions, air condition- ACOG will give the facility to Georgia Tech, letes. ing and access for the disabled for the which plans to enclose it and convert it into The biggest challenge of the venue was Olympics. an intercollegiate aquatic center. securing a temporary, 14,000-seat plat- Georgia State University Gym form that could be easily and safely placed Hockey Center (Clark Atlanta The gymnasium at Georgia State Univer- University, Morris Brown College) within the water. The temporary seating platform was built in lieu of locating ter- sity, which received $2.6 million worth of Project team: Turner Associates and raced seating on a heavily forested hillside.