Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9407200045
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When and Where: July 19 through Aug. 4, 1996 in Atlanta, which has a population of 394,017 in the city and more than 3 million in its 18-county metropolitan area.
Sites: The "Olympic Ring" that surrounds downtown Atlanta and Stone Mountain Park, 17 miles east, include the venues for most of the events. Other sites in Georgia are Athens, Savannah and Columbus, the Ocoee River in Tennessee (canoeing/kayaking) and four cities that will host soccer preliminaries - Washington, Birmingham, Miami and Orlando.
Olympic Village: The main village, housing Olympic athletes and officials, is located on the Georgia Tech campus.
Budget: The ACOG (Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games) has a projected budget of $1.58 billion to stage the '96 Games. The Games are expected to break even financially. Visitors: About 2 million visitors to Atlanta are
expected for the 1996 Games.The TV audience is projected to be two-thirds of the world's population. Hotels: Atlanta currently has 53,000 hotel rooms
available within a 20-minute radius of the Olympic Center in downtown Atlanta and another 20,000 within 90 minutes of the Olympic Center, which is the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown. Reservations for accommodations in Atlanta, Athens, Columbus, Gainesville, Savannah and at the Ocoee River site in Tennessee will be coordinated by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG). Rooms can be reserved beginning in 1995, after the ACOG announces details. ACOG also is facilitating the creation of a private-housing network of single-family residences, apartments and condominiums.
Transportation: Two years before the games, Atlanta's MARTA has 32 miles of rail lines and more than 1,600 registered taxi cabs. About 2,800 buses also will be available for transportation during the Games.
Climate: Atlanta is 1,150 feet above sea level, the highest major city in the eastern U.S. During the summer months, Atlanta's average temperature is 78.8, with an average high of 87.8 and low of 69.8. The average rainfall during the July 19-Aug. 4 Olympic period is 4.3 inches.
Volunteers: More than 50,000 will help stage the 1996 Games.
Mascot: IZZY, originally called Whatizit during the Barcelona Games two years ago, is the official mascot of the 1996 Atlanta Games. IZZY is best described as an animated blue character with human features. Matt Groening, creeator of TV's "The Simpsons," says IZZY is a "bad marriage of the Pillsbury Doughboy and the ugliest California Raisin." Hey, it's a kids' thing.
The "Look": The official "look" of the Atlanta Games, to be seen at all venues and on signage, is a multi-colored "quilt of leaves.
Opening ceremonies: Scheduled Friday night, July 19, 1996, at the Olympic Stadium, which is currently under construction next to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, home of baseball's Atlanta Braves. The Atlanta Games ceremonies will focus on three central themes - the centennial of the modern Olympics, the American South and its diversity, and youth. Don Mischer Productions of Los Angeles is creating the opening and closing ceremonies. The closing ceremony is Sunday night, Aug. 4.
Other events: Atlanta played host to the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Super Bowl XXVIII was played last January at the Georgia Dome, site of the 2002 NCAA men's Final Four. The 1993 women's Final Four was played at the Omni. The 1991 and '92 World Series stopped at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
What's next: The 2000 Summer Olympics are scheduled in Sydney, Australia, from Sept. 15 through Oct. 1. The Winter Games, now on an alternating two-year schedule with the Summer Games, are set for Nagano, Japan, in 1998.
-Staff
by CNB