Kraków 2022

[PaStKaz]

It's almost confirmed that Kraków will bid for 2022 WOG. Poland never host Olympic Games, the only bid was Zakopane 2006 which wasn't shortlisted. In late 1930s Warszawa started to plan SOG in 50s, but WW II stopped ideas of OG in Poland for decades.

There will be 3 zones in those bid. Venue concept is not confirm of course (especially for ice hockey) but i can show what's going on in general, i think.

Kraków Zone

Czyżyny Arena, cap. 16000. Under construction, will be ready in first half of 2014. First big event - Men's Volleyball WC in 2014. Will host figure skating and short-track.

ICE Conference Center - also under construction, works should end in autum 2014. MPC.

Henryk Reyman Stadium (home of Wisła Kraków football team), cap. 35.000, our "5th" UEFA Euro Stadium. Firstly announced as ceremony place but now: ice hockey. Temporary roof (or maybe permanent retractable) could be build. Stand in the middle will create place for two ice-rinks: for matches and training.

Józef Piłsudski Stadium (home of Cracovia Kraków football team). Cap. 15.000. Also ice hockey, constructed in the same way as Wisła Stadium.

Błonia - Recreation area. Could you imagine ceremonies without a stadium? This is actuall concept. And now look cerefully. Big green area - this is Błonia. Cracovia Stadium in right down corner, Wisła Stadium on the top. And ceremonial place in the middle. All in circle with radius about half of kilometer. https://maps.google.pl/?ll=50.060583,19.91272&spn=0.008265,0.021136&t=h&z=16 .

Other ideas of ice hockey include using arenas outside Kraków (e.g. Spodek in Katowice) but because of obvious compacting Games Krakow comitee don't want to do it. Experts said that roofing those stadiums is possible, estimating cost is in progess.

There are no indoor speed skating oval in Poland, so will be build it in Kraków anyway, Polish speedskaters take medals in both men and women relays on last World Champs. Zbigniew Bródka won World Cup in 1500m. So this investment is necesarry.

Curling Arena. Here we have a few ideas, Polish curling society wants first professional arena dedicated to this sport, but most possible is use arena of polish ice hockey champs, Cracovia. Actual cap. 2500.

* this arena is also called Grzegórzka Hall. We will be killed if we start to use this name outside.

Sliding Center will be build in Myślenice, about 25 km south from Kraków.

Zakopane Zone

Great and Middle Krokiew. Our pride, favourite ski jumping arena of many ski jumpers in the world. Middle Krokiew lost FIS certificates one or two years ago but it's not a big problem.

Cross-Country facilities are near but needs a lot of work. Zakopane bid for Nordic Skiing World Championships in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 but without effects.

Biathlon will take place in Kościelisko (less than 10 km from Zakopane), where the shooting range exist and very nice but little wild skiing routes are. Many works necaserry, there are in projecting phase.

Snomboard and Free Skiing will take place in new ski center in Jurgów - also few kilometers from Zakopane.

Jasna zone(Slovakia)

Jaska ski resort has already all necessary FIS homologations.

---

First big problem is transport. Last part of road from Kraków to Zakopane (pupular Zakopianka) is a synonime of traffics in Poland. And how to communicate well Poland with Slovakia is very big question still without answer. Another problem is local sociaty. Polls give Kraków 60-70% of support but in this region all investments are blocked by very small group of land owners who don't want to sell their ownership. Because of this nordic skiing routes in Zakopane wasn't rebuild from years and Zakopianka can't be enlarge. Blocking of everything is strange strategy for people who earn money becouse of tourism. But as i say, sometimes they are single stubborn people who don't understand what does it mean the common good.

Kraków have good fame but when we look at this at general, Poland isn't a new exotic place and also isn't a classic. On the sport map is simply a little neuter.

Sport experience. European Champioships in football, basketball men and women, women volleyball in last few years, many important events of e.g. weightlifting, rowing... oh, but it's winter. So ski jumping World Cup in Zakopane every year. Winter Universiade 1997 also there. Figure Skating European Champs in Warsaw 2007. Junior Biathlon World Champs in Kościelisko in 2003. And... Nordic Skiing World Champs in Zakopan three times. Last in 1962.

It looks like very hard campany for Kraków.

Your opinions?

[JMarkSnow2012]

Certainly, the Winter Olympics are Poland's best bet for joining the Olympic hosting family, but those awkward landowners could become a major headache for a fixed-time project.

[baron-pierreIV]

I'm sure the IOC would love to have another bidder. Munich will need someone to compete against.

[zekekelso]

Sounds good to me. I think Munich will be hard to beat. IF they bid. if not, it's a wide open field.

As an Olympic tourist, I'll probably be skipping Pyeongchang. But I'd love to go to Poland.

[p85]

Krakow 2022 is probably considered as a trial bid to warm up for future Olympic campaigns - especially with Oslo and Münich still in the race. I can't see any other winning Slavic bids untill 2030.
WOG 2026 will go to North America or "new frontier" like Chile or New Zealand (but personally I don't believe it).
WOG 2030 is another good time for Krakow to bid.

PaStKaz's done good work presenting the initial bid venues. I'd like to add that:

- olympic medal ceremonies in Krakow Zone will be held either in the Main Square

or Wawel Castle

I love the idea that athletes will get their medals in the very same place, where kings were crowned

- Olympic Village would be built in a park next to Czyżyny Arena, 0,5 km from speed skating indoor arena. All the Olympic Village buildings would be sold after the Olympics for commercial use or given to Cracow's universities as dormitories since it's just minutes away from University School of Physical Education and Cracow University of Techinology campuses. The Speed Skating Arena will be owned by University School of Physical Education anyway since it's planned to built for like 10 years.

Placing opening ceremony in a huge meddow (Błonie) sounds bizarre but it would be something new and original, especially if you cinsider beatiful surroundings like Wolski Forrest, Kościuszko Mound and nearby Cracow's Old Town.

[JMarkSnow2012]

That's a very nice-looking city centre!

[PaStKaz]

Yes, if beauty of city was the most important point of bid, Kraków would win.

Long-time shot sounds good and hope that our NOC and applicant comitee think about this. But we still don't really know how race for 2022 will look like.

[StefanMUC]

Kraków would be a nice option, but as long as there are single city/NOC bids, I don't see the IOC giving any games to a joint bid. Aren't there any suitable mountains on the Polish side of the Tatra? Maybe not with the best facilities now, but with potential for upgrading until an eventual hosting (beyond 2022)?

[p85]

Kraków would be a nice option, but as long as there are single city/NOC bids, I don't see the IOC giving any games to a joint bid

it's not a "joint bid".

It's Krakow 2022.

Alpine sking will be held in Jasna, Slovakia for environmental reasons. There's no single point in Olympic Charter, that forbid that kind of bid. Remember that IOC is "enivironmental friendly" bla bla bla...

Aren't there any suitable mountains on the Polish side of the Tatra?

All of them are pleced in Tatra National Park or Babigórski National Park. Zakopane bid for WOG 2006 with Kasprowy Wierch slope, and it was crushed for ecological reasons.

[StefanMUC]

Maybe it's not formally a joint bid, but it is de facto, and as long as there are other, straight-forward bids in the race, the IOC will have no real reason to make such a choice.

[PaStKaz]

Using slovakian slopes was consulted with IOC. Of course, some IOC members can take it as minus, it's almost certain. But technically and procedurally it's clear.

[intoronto]

Looks like a solid plan but I have my doubts about winning.

[p85]

Maybe it's not formally a joint bid, but it is de facto, and as long as there are other, straight-forward bids in the race

De facto it is, but did you call "Salzburg 2014" a "joint Austrian-German bid"? C'mon, just all of you use proper names...

the IOC will have no real reason to make such a choice.

I got it, I think Polish Olympic Comitee got it, we are not that delusional

but still it's not a reason for Krakow not to put a trial bid.

It would be a success for Krakow even to move to the Candidate City zone.

I really hope to see WOG in Carpathian Mountains. I don't even care if it's Romania, Slovakia or Poland. Just remove Alps from the race... Remove Alps!

[p85]

[baron-pierreIV]

Oh, I definitely understood that...even w/o an interpreter!! I think all 100+ members of the IOC can't miss on that one either.

[olympiaki-agones]

I'm sure the government of Lesser Poland is aware that they have to invest a fortune on the motorways to Zakopane.

[p85]

It's high time they finally build that motorway. (BTW it's expressway S7)

The planned cost is 223 mln €, it's already secured in an upcoming budget plan.

Oh, I definitely understood that...even w/o an interpreter!!

It's a landscape photo of Cracow and Tatra Mountains. You definitely don't need an interpreter to understand that.

There were some problems with linking that photo to Gamebids forum, that was the meaning of that caption in Polish. Sorry, my bad.

I think all 100+ members of the IOC can't miss on that one either.

I wasn't aware that any of my post is an official statement that will be sent to all 100+ members of the IOC

Back to the Krakow 2022 bid:

The whole thing is currently evaluated by the Polish Finance Minister and the final report is expected to be realised in October. I can't see any official bid till then. I don't really believe that the bid will be finalized, but who knows...

[p85]

I know that nobody cares about Krakow's bid in this forum, but Jagna Marczułajtis, who heads that bid, said in the latest interview that the application will be confirmed on the very last day, 14th of November.

The interview is quite interesting especially considering her opinion about other bids. On the other hand, it confirms that the real heart of the bid belongs to prof Szymon Krasicki, who substantially contributed to success of Sarajevo 1984 WOG, but failed with Zakopane 2006 bid.

[FYI]

The interview is quite interesting especially considering her opinion about other bids.

So then where's the interview.

[PaStKaz]

Here: http://www.krakow.sport.pl/sport-krakow/1,115665,14760679,Ile_zaplacimy_za_zimowe_igrzyska_w_Krakowie.html .

In very few words: other bids are incompact. Our applicant comitee chief, Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak (4th place in snowboard parallel slalom in SLC), called Monachium a masacre. Lviv and Oslo also have long distances (in my opinion they are simmilar to Kraków). On the other hand polish comitee still think about ice hockey in Spodek Arena in Katowice (about 80 kilometers west from Kraków) and bobsleigh track in Arłamów (very close to Ukraine, 250 km east from Kraków) which don't exist but is planned form many years. Idea of temporary bobsleigh track is also alive. Generally, she wants to play compact games card, but she still don't know how to connect this idea with reality.

[p85]

Adam Krzesiński, secretary of the Polish Olympic Committee said today that the official bid will be announced on November 7.

[PaStKaz]

Polish Olympic Comitee announced that application was sent today to IOC. Kraków is in the race.

[PaStKaz]

Almost every headlines about it have word "joint"... It will be long way to explain that it's not. And probably with no end.

[mr.bernham]

It's still nice to see such a mis-treated nation rise to this

[ScholaOsloensis]

I enjoyed Krakow a lot as a city.

The single most important factor to my judgment, is that the people of which ever country it is enjoys and care about the winter sports, and that's definitely the case in Poland.

It's perhaps easy to assume that the olympics is such a strong trademark that it would create enthusiasm and high attendance all over the world, but for the winter olympics, that's simply not the case.

The sports are the substance of the games, and it's IOC's responsibility to support and promote the games and thus the sports. Poland would be perfect. 2022 could be a strong race, and hopefully the "losers", whoever that becomes, will succeed later.