The Utah Olympic Park is a winter sports park built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and is located 28 miles (45 km) east of Salt Lake City near Park City, Utah, USA. During the 2002 game, the park hosted bobsleigh, skeleton, luge, ski jumping, and a Nordic joint event. It still serves a training center for Olympic athletes and development levels. Other facilities beside ski jumps and sled tracks on site include the 2002 Winter Olympics and Ski Museum, day cottages, summer splash pools, ziplines and mountain coasters.
Video Utah Olympic Park
Garden History
Like the Utah Olympic Oval and Soldier Hollow, the park was designed and built exclusively for Olympic games, under the supervision of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC). The 1989 Olympic Referendum, endorsed by Utahns, allows taxpayer money to fund winter sports gardens, which will be used if Salt Lake City wins its bid either for the 1998 or 2002 Winter Olympics; The Olympic fund and income will then be used to repay the country. In 1990, the Utah Sports Authority announced their plans to build parks, including ski jumps and sled trails, at Bear Hollow near Park City. Before the construction in the park began, he faced criticism from local landowners and Summit County residents, concerned about traffic and environmental impacts. Construction is underway after the groundbreaking ceremony on May 29, 1991. The initial estimate of park fees is $ 26.3 million and includes ski jumps, sled tracks and cottage days, all to be completed by September 1992. The majority of the park is designed and engineered by Eckhoff, Watson and Preator Engineering and its joint venture partner, Van Boerum & amp; Frank Associates, all of Salt Lake City.
After Salt Lake City lost efforts to host the 1998 Winter Olympics in 1991, the Utah Sports Authority obtained permission from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to slow development in the park, extending the planned opening date. The four leaps skiing park (18, 38, 65 and 90 meters) was completed and opened on 12 December 1992, and was officially presented in a ceremony on January 9, 1993. On July 31, 1993, a summer training facility in the park, which included ski jump pool, dedicated. Cottage day park, located near the base of the jump, was completed in late summer of 1993.
The groundbreaking ceremony on June 3, 1994 marked the commencement of construction on the sled track. The track was completed December 28, 1996 and its opening ceremony was held on January 25, 1997. The first run on the new track was by luger Jon Owen on January 10, 1997. Upon completion of the track it was decided to relaunch the framework as an Olympic event during the 2002 Winter Olympics and plan to use the trajectory to host these three glide events.
While construction is under way on track, Salt Lake City won the 1995 bid to host the 2002 Winter Olympics, and plans were developed to expand the park. On 9 October 1997, SLOC approved a plan to spend an additional $ 48 million to upgrade and expand the newly completed park. The plan is called to replace and move the existing 90 meter ski jump, and build a new 120 meters jump. Also the construction of new houses on the tracks, chairlift, storage buildings, new access roads, pedestrian bridges, parking lots, sewers and drains are part of the expansion plans. The park transformation began during the Summer of 1998, with most of the expansion work completed in the fall of 2000. The ownership of the park was moved from the Utah Sports Authority to SLOC on July 14, 1999. Soon after, in Spring 2000, the name "Utah Winter Sports Park" became "Utah Olympic Park".
Today's park
The park still serves a training center for Olympic athletes and development level, as well as recreational spotlights in the state. Other facilities beside the Nordic springboard and sled tracks located in the park include the 2002 Winter Olympic Museum and Ski Museum at the Joe Quinney Winter Sport Center, day huts, summer air training jumps and spark pools, ziplines and a mountain hill.
Maps Utah Olympic Park
Joe Quinney Winter Sports Center
Located within Utah Olympic Park is the Winter Quarters of Joe Quinney Sports Center. The center stands next to the lodge of the day and the summer splash pool.
History
Over the years the Alf Engen Ski Foundation wants to build a museum to honor legendary skier Alf Engen, and showcase his winter sports collection. It was decided to do this in the future building in the park, also named for skier, Joe Quinney. The site dedication ceremony for the privately funded Joe Quinney Winter Golf Center was held on August 28, 1999, while the construction did not begin until after the groundbreaking of March 28, 2000. After the building was completed, it was temporarily handed over to the SLOC during a ceremony on September 18, 2001 During the match, the center will be used by Olympic officials, media members and world athletes, then after the game, the building will be returned to the foundation. The only empty building cost is $ 10 million, most of which are privately funded, but SLOC does contribute a percentage of the construction cost so that the building can be used during the game. The finished building is 29,000 square feet (2,700 m 2 ) in size with three floors, and its concrete exterior is covered with Plexiglas (various figures and designs etched into the Plexiglas).
After the Olympics, the building was converted into a ski and Olympic museum for $ 2.5 million more, for a total of $ 12.5 million. The Alf Engen Ski Museum opened in a soft opening on May 20, 2002, with exhibits designed by Academy Studios. The opening ceremony for the center was held July 5, 2002, and the building included the Engen Ski Museum, a souvenir shop, a café and a temporary Olympic photo exhibition (which will be replaced by a new Olympic museum in the coming years).
On September 27, 2002, two statues the size of Alf Engen and Joe Quinney were unveiled at the Olympic square near the building. In May 2004, the Alf Engen Ski Foundation sold the center to the Utah Athletic Foundation, which owns and operates around Utah Olympic Park. In early June 2005, the 2002 Olympic Photo Exhibition was replaced with the new permanent Olympic museum. The opening ceremony for the Olympic Winter Games Museum "George Eccles Salt Lake 2002" was officially held on June 9, 2005.
Exhibition
The center has two museums, the Alf Engen Ski Museum and the Olympic Winter Olympic Games of George Eccles Salt Lake 2002. The Ski Museum contains over 300 trophies, medals, uniforms, scrapbooks, skis, boots, photographs, films and other collections that take place about 70 years in Engen's family career. It also highlights Utah's rich skiing history and the Wasatch Range, along with efforts made by the US Forest Service to help develop the Utah ski resort, and an exhibit in winter in Utah.
The 2002 Winter Olympic Museum, currently located on the second floor of the center, includes athletic equipment used during games, Olympic medals (and how they are created), costumes and dolls used during the ceremony, many of the official pin licenses produced for games, op photo in an Olympic torch mounted in front of a large photo of a cauldron, along with video clips and other memorabilia.
See also
- Utah Olympic Park Track
- Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldron Park
Note
External links
- Utah Olympic Park - Official website
- The Alf Engen Ski Museum - Official Site
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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