FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, January 5th, 2014
2014 Sochi Olympic Media Guide – SOCHI VENUES
The venues at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games are split into two groups — the Coastal Cluster and the Mountain Cluster. The Coastal Cluster features the first Olympic Park at a Winter Games and it will be situated in Adler by the Black Sea. The Mountain Cluster is located about 30 miles away in Krasnaya Polyana.
Sports taking place in the Coastal Cluster venues, which are all new constructions, include curling, figure skating, short track, speed skating, and ice hockey (two venues). The other sports will all take place in the Mountain Cluster.
COASTAL CLUSTER
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be held in Fisht Olympic Stadium, which is located in the Coastal Cluster. It is named after Mount Fisht, a peak in the Western Caucasus Mountains. It is being built specifically for the Sochi Games. After the Games, it will be used as a training center and venue for the Russian National Soccer Team. It has also been selected as one of the arenas that will host matches during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Figure skating and short track speed skating will take place in the Iceberg Skating Palace, which can seat about 12,000 spectators. Adjusting the ice from a short track surface to a figure skating surface takes just two hours. It is a moveable venue that can be dismantled and transported to another city after the Games. The venue opened in June 2012 and had its first international test event with the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in December 2012.
Adler Arena will host the Olympic speed skating competition, with the capacity to hold 8,000 spectators. It opened in 2012 and hosted the 2013 World Single Distances Championships in March. After the Games, Adler Arena is expected to be used as an exhibition center.
The Ice Cube Curling Center will host the curling events at the 2014 Sochi Games. It opened in 2012 and can seat 3,000 spectators, making it the smallest venue in the Coastal Cluster. In February 2013, it hosted the World Wheelchair Curling Championships, and the following month it housed the World Junior Curling Championships.
Two venues will host the Olympic hockey tournaments — Bolshoy Ice Dome and Shayba Arena. The Bolshoy Ice Dome, with a capacity to seat 12,000, will be the venue for the majority of the men’s hockey matches, as well as the women’s hockey medal matches. The rest of the women’s hockey games will be held at the Shayba Arena, which can accommodate 7,000 spectators. “Shayba” is Russian for “puck,” and the arena itself is puck-shaped.
MOUNTAIN CLUSTER
Biathlon and cross-country skiing events will share a venue, though the name will change based on the event that is currently being hosted there — either Laura Cross-Country Skiing Stadium or Laura Biathlon Stadium, named after the Laura River in the Caucasus. It can hold approximately 7,500 spectators and is located on the Psekhako Ridge in the northeast of Krasnaya Polyana.
The Rosa Khutor resort will host the alpine and freestyle skiing events, as well as the snowboarding events. The Rosa Khutor Alpine Center has a capacity of 7,500 and will be used as a ski resort after the Games. It is located on the Aibga Ridge and was developed by Bernard Russi, a ski architect from the International Ski Federation (FIS). There will be over 12 miles of competition courses. The Rosa Khutor Extreme Park will hold the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events. The capacity of the freestyle skiing center is 4,000, while the snowboard park can hold up to 6,250 spectators. After the Games, it will be used as a sports training center.
The luge, bobsled, and skeleton events will all take place at the Sanki Sliding Center, which opened in 2012, and can accommodate 5,000 spectators. The course is 1,500 meters long (4,921 feet), not including a 314-meter outrun area. It’s billed as one of the safest and longest tracks in the world, with three uphills helping to cap the speed at approximately 84 miles per hour. The track hosted World Cup test events for all three sports in February 2013.
The RusSki Gorki Jumping Center will host the Olympic ski jumping and Nordic combined events. The venue features two jumps (K95 and K125) and can hold 7,500 spectators.
