Figure Skating Venue Avoids Trouble

(ATR) As venues go at the Vancouver Olympics, Pacific Coliseum has lived up to its name: all is peaceful entering the final three days of competition, starting with tonight’s ladies free skate and the last events of short-track speedskating.

There have been no weather delays or deteriorating conditions (Whistler Creekside) no tragedy or controversy (Whistler Sliding Centre), no canceled tickets (Cypress Mountain), no ice -making machines breaking down and delaying competition (Richmond Olympic Oval).

The building, which opened in 1968, underwent accessibility upgrades for the Olympics, including entrances, restrooms and concession areas.

The Pacific Coliseum is usually a hockey arena, but the existing hockey boards and glass have been completely removed and replaced by a freestanding short track speed skating padding system -- which organizers believe improves upon the system used in Turin, to cushion and protect the athletes in case of falls. For figure skating, kick plates are put in place so skaters won’t catch a skate on the padding.

By the time the Olympics conclude, there will be about 30 field-of-play changeovers between the two sports at this venue. These take 50 people approximately 15 minutes for the main physical changeover, and then another 30 to 45 minutes for additional perimeter items.

Ice thickness varies between the figure skating and short track speed skating. A thicker (5 cm) and softer ice is needed for figure skating, while a slightly thinner (4 cm) and firmer ice is required for short track.

The target temperature at ice level is 18c for figure skating and 16 degrees Celsius for short track.

“Our ice-making team has done a great job at managing the transition of the ice surface for the two sport disciplines at the Pacific Coliseum, which require different ice conditions,” venue manager Jake Benson tells Around the Rings.

Athletes have been complimentary. “The ice is actually really fast,” said short track double-medal winner Apolo Anton Ohno of the U.S.

“I love this building, I love this ice, I love this crowd,” said figure skating gold medalist Evan Lysacek of the U.S.

Each of the three previous figure skating events has been historic: In the pairs event, China won its first gold medal in Olympic figure skating (Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo) while the Soviet Union/Russia was shut out for the first time since 1960. Lysacek became the first U.S. skater to win men’s singles since 1988, but silver medalist Evgeni Plushenko of Russia did not accept the result, proclaiming himself “platinum” medalist. And Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won Canada’s first ice dancing gold in front of the home crowd.

Experience for Spectators

Benson said sales for both food and souvenirs are higher than expected. He said popular merchandise includes venue-specific items such as figure skating or short track speed skating pins, T-shirts and hats as well as cow bells. “Spectators are enjoying a variety of healthy options including freshly made salads and sandwiches, as well as pizza and hot dogs,” he said.

The scoreboard has helpful information for spectators, including points to beat, seasonbest in segment, coach, music and rank after short program. However, the best acoustics are not the best for announcements and there are drafts.

The venue, which seats more than 16,000 for ice hockey, can hold about 11,500 spectators for the Olympics. VANOC has been tweaking the numbers to try to fill in empty seats, including a prime spot in the middle of the lower bowl that was reserved for photographers.

Sight lines are generally good for seats that are not listed as having obstructed views. In Salt Lake City, the Delta Center had poor sight lines.

Experience for Journalists

The ride from the MPC to the Pacific Coliseum takes journalists past the Olympic protest site/tent city on West Hastings Street, which has undoubtedly fueled some stories or photos in the world media.

Unlike previous Olympics going back at least to 1992, most of the figure skating events are not ticketed for media (except free dance and ladies free skating). This has been an inconvenience for photographers, some who say they arrivedat 7 a.m. to stake out a prime position, and writers who also had to arrive early for a tabled seat.

“For me, the biggest problem was I had to get here four hours early because the IOC did away with the ticketing,” John Powers, veteran Boston Globe Olympic writer, tells ATR. “We normally would have qualified for a table seat. We had one, and now because anyone can sit there, you have to be the first person there.”

He said he had to have a tabled seat because he had only 20 minutes to file for his East Coast deadline.

“Working conditions have been fine, a lot better than they were in Turin, especially on deadline to be able to get to things quickly,” Powers said.

Powers said the working area was spacious and it was easy to get to the mixed zone, although it took too long for the athletes to go through all of their television interviews on the way to talk to the print media. Some journalists have taken to sitting on the floor in the mixed zone to work while they wait. When the athletes finally do arrive, journalists no longer have to crowd around them because of a system in which a microphone transmits the quotes to a speaker. Now the journalists crowd around the speaker.

Because it takes so long for the athletes to go through the mixed zone, the press conferences usually take a while to begin. That makes it awkward for the venue to close three hours after the conclusion of competition.

“To kick you out three hours after the event ends is not cool,” Brian Cazeneuve of Sports Illustrated tells ATR. “Especially at an Olympics, reporters from around the world are on varying deadlines. If you pose an obstacle to one of those deadlines, you limit the coverage you can get from your event.”

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Written by Karen Rosen.