chicago's soldier field

[la2stl]

i read in the chigao tribune that chicago could potentially have the ceremonies (and also soccer?) at soldier field and have the track and field events at another venue. have the summer games ever had the caulron at a venue other than the track and field venue?

[baron-pierreIV]

Melbourne?  I suppose it is possible.  

Indianapolis had this arrangement for the 1987 PanAm Games, with the Ceremonies in part of the Indy track; and I think T&F at one of the unviersity tracks.  

2 other failed US Olympic bids proposed such an arrangement.  New York's early bid for the 1984 Games (sort of studied in 1977) envisioned having the Parade of Athletes marching down Broadway (never exactly said where they'd begin and end; altho I imagined they'd sort of follow the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade route); and Washington, DC-Baltimore's run 2-3 years ago had early plans of having the Ceremonies in the Mall.  However, these un-gated plans proved impractical, especially in the light of security considerations, and that the OC is perhaps the biggest single money earner (& expenditure also) for an Organizing Committee.  So why stage it for free?  

As for having the cauldron elsewhere, good question.  I think it's always been placed in the T&F stadium (or in Melbourne's case, it stayed at the cricket grounds).

[DrunkWithBode]

Where would Chicago likely hold Track & Field?

It seems like all American bids run into the same problem: there's no need for a 75,000 to 100,000 seat track & field/soccer stadium.  

It seems like the only practical approach to take is the Atlanta approach, of building a new Olympic Stadium, and then renovating it into a football or baseball stadium.  Soldier Field has recently undergone an extremely costly renovation, so it seems like the only option would be to build a stadium that would become a new Wrigley Field or Comiskey Park, and that doesn't seem that likely.

[LA84]

Where would Chicago likely hold Track & Field?

It seems like all American bids run into the same problem: there's no need for a 75,000 to 100,000 seat track & field/soccer stadium.  

It seems like the only practical approach to take is the Atlanta approach, of building a new Olympic Stadium, and then renovating it into a football or baseball stadium.  Soldier Field has recently undergone an extremely costly renovation, so it seems like the only option would be to build a stadium that would become a new Wrigley Field or Comiskey Park, and that doesn't seem that likely.

There is still a lot of land available down near Soldier Field/McCormick place.  The best bet would be to do a London scheme and build something that can either be knocked down to a smaller stadium at the conclusion of the games or used for another purpose.

[Sir Rols]

Melbourne?

Nuh _ MCG still held the athletics.

[Kenadian]

Every Olympic cauldron (starting in 1928), Opening and Closing Ceremony (starting in 1908) and 100 m final were in the main stadium.

[Aronious]

Melbourne?  I suppose it is possible.  

Indianapolis had this arrangement for the 1987 PanAm Games, with the Ceremonies in part of the Indy track; and I think T&F at one of the unviersity tracks.  

2 other failed US Olympic bids proposed such an arrangement.  New York's early bid for the 1984 Games (sort of studied in 1977) envisioned having the Parade of Athletes marching down Broadway (never exactly said where they'd begin and end; altho I imagined they'd sort of follow the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade route); and Washington, DC-Baltimore's run 2-3 years ago had early plans of having the Ceremonies in the Mall.  However, these un-gated plans proved impractical, especially in the light of security considerations, and that the OC is perhaps the biggest single money earner (& expenditure also) for an Organizing Committee.  So why stage it for free?  

As for having the cauldron elsewhere, good question.  I think it's always been placed in the T&F stadium (or in Melbourne's case, it stayed at the cricket grounds).

Melbourne did have 2 extra Athletics venues during 56's, although the bulk of the eevnts where held at the MCG, with most warm ups only at Olympic Park Stadium and Olympic Park Stadium No.2 (what original names).

Now No.2 has gone, and OPS is due for redovelopment. The MCG held Athletics, Ceremonies and the Baseball final.

[la2stl]

what are IAAF's dimensional requirements? would the dimensions fit at wrigley or u.s. cellular field? those venues could be used assuming that baseball and softball aren't put back on the program? (i don't think baseball will ever return.)

[DrunkWithBode]

what are IAAF's dimensional requirements? would the dimensions fit at wrigley or u.s. cellular field? those venues could be used assuming that baseball and softball aren't put back on the program? (i don't think baseball will ever return.)

An outdoor track is nearly 500 feet long (from curve to curve), so that makes it virtually impossible for a baseball stadium to host a meet, unless the outfield walls are moved.  With Wrigley's history and its brick walls, and with Comiskey being fully enclosed, that couldn't happen.

Your average football field, including the one at Soldier Field (which recently underwent heavy renovation), is also too small to hold an outdoor track.

That's the problem that I mentioned a few posts ago.  With football stadiums nowadays, the premium is set on getting fans closer to the action, which is why none of these 70,000+ seat stadiums are capable of housing tracks.  In the past decade, major college football programs have removed their tracks in order to house more fans (U. of Washington, Texas, even USC at the L.A. Coliseum have done this).

The result is that there's now only one way to have an Olympic stadium in the U.S.; build it from scratch, and then change it into a baseball or football stadium when the Olympics are over (see Atlanta in 1996).  Chicago could do this.  As much as people love Wrigley, the place will be over 100 years old when 2016 rolls around and the Cubs have to move out eventually.  The new Comiskey Park was built in 1990, and it'll only be about 25 years old in 2016, but the stadium has widely been considered a failure from the start; cold, sterile feel, drastic seat incline, bad seats everywhere.  Personally, I think it'd be an excellent idea to build a 70 or 80,000 seat stadium, and then knock out 30,000 seats and turn it into the new Wrigley Field.

[Kenadian]

Athletics does not fit into a baseball stadium.

Compare Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996...

To its transformation as Turner Field today...

Those pillars in the front were the support beams for the seating in 1996.

[Kenadian]

Here is an old and odd design used in Yokohama, Japan.  I don't know if it is still standing.

[Kenadian]

The result is that there's now only one way to have an Olympic stadium in the U.S.; build it from scratch, and then change it into a baseball or football stadium when the Olympics are over...

You are absolutely right.  Currently, I think the only stadiums in the USA that are "Olympic ready" with track are the 1932 & 1984 stadium from LA or are part of a university campus (such as Stanford in the Bay Area or Franklin Field in Philly).  The US has a great track tradition at the Olympics but they don't have the big fields.  Most of their stadia for t&f are small.

[DrunkWithBode]

The result is that there's now only one way to have an Olympic stadium in the U.S.; build it from scratch, and then change it into a baseball or football stadium when the Olympics are over...

You are absolutely right.  Currently, I think the only stadiums in the USA that are "Olympic ready" with track are the 1932 & 1984 stadium from LA or are part of a university campus (such as Stanford in the Bay Area or Franklin Field in Philly).  The US has a great track tradition at the Olympics but they don't have the big fields.  Most of their stadia for t&f are small.

Side note: the track at the L.A. Coliseum (site of the '32 and '84 Olympics) was taken out around 1994, and seats were put in to generate extra ticket revenue and limit the amount of unused sideline space during football games.