PyeongChang 2018 Venues

[yoshi]

Oh hey it's the Pentagon.

[paul]

Looks fun but what is the fantasy light source?

[Ikarus360]

About time they finally decided on the look of the ceremonies arena. Not bad. Pretty much reminiscing of the Albertville ceremonies stadium though with a pentagonal shape. Also good to see they will mount temporal structures on each corner to support the lifting of props.

[Ikarus360]

http://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1003362041

For what I understood, the original plan was to make it rectangular, but it was changed to a pentagonal shape considering both the conditions of the terrain and budget.

[LatinXTC]

Oh so they're no longer going to build a white elephant stadium for the opening/closing ceremonies? Well that's good news.

[Ikarus360]

^^ I think that was never the plan to begin with, they always talked about a temporary stadium. Information about the Pyeongchang venues was very vague for a couple of years mostly because of lack of english info, therefore a lot of confussion was brought in. Making a permanent 40.000 stadium on a snow resort town would had been a very stupid idea.

Overall the venues seem a bit more relaxed than the Sochi ones, except for the always expensive Luge track. I hope the costs are less than 2014 for the sake of the WOG.

[hektor]

The original plan - which I liked very much - was to do the ceremonies in the ski jumping stadium, as in Lillehammer 94.

[Ikarus360]

^^ Yes, but it was changed shortly after they won, because the IOC recommended them to do the ceremonies elsewhere since they feared the stage would interfere with the Ski Jumping events.

[pcpcpc12]

kwandong hockey centre

PyeongChang Olympic Stadium

[Ikarus360]

Wow, they're going very fast with the Hockey stadium. Last time Korea hosted the Olympics, they had everything ready 2 years before the games, and used the venues for the 1986 Asiad. I wonder if this will be a similar situation.

[gotosy]

https://www.facebook.com/PyeongChang2018/photos_stream

[Ikarus360]

Not bad either, they're going very fast with it. I just hope all these venues are still extensively used after the games, though Pyeongchang was already building a reputation as an important winter resort ever since the last decade.

[Nacre]

Not bad either, they're going very fast with it. I just hope all these venues are still extensively used after the games, though Pyeongchang was already building a reputation as an important winter resort ever since the last decade.

Most of the outdoor venues should be. For all the criticism the expense for these games South Korea and China will incur, they will also be left with facilities their national teams will use heavily. South Korea and China are both large economies that can support a bobsled program, ski jumping, etc.

Even in Sochi building the actual ski resort was not bad choice, and will be used. It was the idea of building a city from scratch for the media, athletes, etc that cost so much.

[TeamBlakeUSA]

The Games Are 2 Years From Now. Any PyeongChang Is Going Fast So Far.

[gotosy]

https://www.facebook.com/PyeongChang2018/?fref=photo

[Ikarus360]

I'm glad they're finally posting more pics of the construction works these last months, since we literally knew almost nothing of them.

[gotosy]

Sliding track for 2018 Olympics dealing with ice issues

A group of international luge, bobsled and skeleton athletes are getting their first look at the sliding track that will be used in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, albeit without enough of one key component.

They need more ice.

The homologation of the Alpensia Sliding Centre track in South Korea is not going as planned, because only the bottom section of the artificially refrigerated track has ice. Saturday should have been the third day of sliding for the international group, but problems with the cooling system on the upper half of the course has turned the trip into a vacation for the invited athletes.

"It puts us in a situation where we really can't move up the track any higher," USA Luge men's slider Chris Mazdzer of Saranac Lake, New York, said Saturday by telephone from South Korea. "That's the unfortunate issue right now."

Mazdzer said athletes have gotten some runs from the lower starts, which is standard for a homologation - or certification - process. From there, they work their way up to the top, and that's not possible on this track right now. Without those runs from the top, the track can't be certified and the athletes who went to collect data and offer feedback essentially have neither.

The homologation process allows athletes to test the track's safety, ensure that the venue is technically sound and suggest any potential modifications or improvements. It must occur before any newly built track can be certified by the governing bodies for luge, bobsled and skeleton.

A track official in Pyeongchang told The Associated Press in an email that "an official statement" on any schedule changes was expected soon.

Mazdzer said sliders have been making the best of the situation. He went swimming one day, skiing another day and was touring temples on Saturday. Unless the problem was resolved Sunday or Monday, he was intending to visit Seoul for a couple days before flying back to the U.S. this week.

The homologation period is scheduled to end Tuesday. If the process isn't completed now, organizers could invite teams back later this month - which some sliders would prefer, Mazdzer included - or possibly delay the homologation until next fall.

"This track needs to be homologated," Mazdzer said. "The sooner we can do it, the better."

There are tentative plans for bobsled, skeleton and luge athletes to have training weeks on the new track in the winter of 2017, before the Olympics there the following year. Ideally, homologation would be completed long before those training periods.

AP

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_307134/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=NiE8pHor

[stryker]

This is a reason why the IOC had such a mess with the 2022 bid. Venues that become white elephants. Building a state-of-the-art speed skating oval only to demolish it after the Olympics? What a waste. Well at least the Koreans are coming to their senses and at least trying to figure out a post-Olympics use for it, though it could still be torn down. I'm also skeptical about the secondary ice hockey venue being portable as well. I doubt Pyeongchang reaches the costs of Sochi but they aren't exactly being economical about it either.

http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1035367/pyeongchang-2018-speed-skating-venue-set-to-change-from-temporary-to-permanent-facility

[Ikarus360]

Korea has a bad reputation for white elephants. They decided to build a brand new huge stadium in Incheon instead of using the already existing Munhak Stadium which could had done the job perfectly. Whatever happened to it, now. Not mentioning the Seoul Olympic stadium was somewhat abandoned until a new K-League team picked it recently as their new home.

I hope they're careful with their winter olympics. The last thing we need is another Sochi (which I won't stop saying managed to single handedly destroy the reputation of the WOG considerably)

[stryker]

The Incheon stadium built for the Asian Games was supposed to be downsized to 30,000 but those plans were put on hold indefinitely (another example of why the much talked about temporary stadium solution for the Olympics is so far a failed option). On top of that, Incheon actually constructed a smaller 20,000 seat stadium for Incheon United so now both the Asian Games stadium and Munhak Stadium lack regular tenants. The K League team that finally gave the Seoul Olympic Stadium a tenant is actually a second division team, one that won't come near close enough to filling the stands.

So yes, if I'm the IOC right now, I'm watching the Koreans' plans, especially post-Olympics, very carefully. Another spending splurge with whit elephants and there could very well be no bidders from Europe for 2026. The IOC requested the Koreans not build a sliding track for 2018 (I'm guessing they would've used the one in Nagano) but they refused. How much useage is the track going to get post-Olympics? Turin couldn't keep theirs open. Why would it be any different for Pyeongchang? I also don't necessarily buy into the fact that the 50,000 seat Olympic Stadium for the ceremonies is going to be dismantled after the Olympics either. Even if it is, it's still a waste of money when Pyeongchang could've easily done what Lillehammer did and used the ski jumping stadium. To my knowledge there were some concerns about conflicts with ski jumpers' practice times, but I'm sure this could've easily been worked around. Lillehammer did it.

[hektor]

Pyeongchang's arenas, except curling, are brand new. Beijing will be the opposite, with only speed skating being brand new.

[TeamBlakeUSA]

I Don't Know About That, We're Still 2 Years Away.

[baron-pierreIV]

They need to build more stadia otherwise skyscrapercity will fold and we won't have anything to discuss here!!

[Tulsa]

Most of the outdoor venues should be. For all the criticism the expense for these games South Korea and China will incur, they will also be left with facilities their national teams will use heavily. South Korea and China are both large economies that can support a bobsled program, ski jumping, etc.

Nobody's cares about Bobsleigh in Korea or China... It will be a white elephant after 2018 and 2022.

Some news about the futur WOG disaster in Korea ?

[gotosy]

Ice sports venues for PyeongChang 2018 to remain in place after Olympics

SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- Two ice sports venues that had been slated for destruction after the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics will now remain in place afterward, the government announced Friday.

In a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, the government said the Gangneung Hockey Centre and the Gangneung Oval in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, will continue to be used after 2018. They are currently under construction and are scheduled to be finished by November this year and March next year, respectively.

PyeongChang, west of Gangneung in the same province, will host South Korea's first Winter Olympics from Feb. 9-25. Gangneung, one of the subhosts within the province, will host hockey, curling, figure skating, short track and speed skating events.

Unable to find needs for the after-use of the two venues, PyeongChang organizers had decided in June 2014 to tear them down following the Winter Games. The decision reached on Friday will give Gangneung ice sports facilities that meet international standards.

Gangneung Hockey Centre will serve as the home arena for local semi-pro and youth hockey clubs. South Korean company Daemyung Holdings will manage the facility.

No corporation has offered to take over Gangneung Oval after the Olympics.

These two venues, along with other ice sports facilities in the region, could serve as South Korea's main training grounds for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2016/04/29/0200000000AEN20160429007300315.html?15957000