(ATR) Chicago 2016 wants to use an array of existing venues for the Games, at the same time using the network of shoreline parks as locations for temporary venues and gathering space.
Central Chicago
The biggest new and permanent construction project would be the Olympic Village. To be built across the street from Lake Michigan near downtown Chicago, the $1.1 billion project would become in-demand private housing following the Olympics.
Apartment-style buildings would put 17,000 athletes within 15 minutes of 80 percent of venues. The site is now a parking lot and staging area for adjacent McCormick Place.
The sprawling McCormick Place is one of the world’s leading convention and exhibition centers. The core of the building opened in 1971 as a 522,000 square foot convention center. With two newer annexes and a third underway, McCormick Place will soon be 2.7 million square feet that can be configured as several halls of approximately 5,000 seats. It would also house the International Broadcast Center and Main Press Center.
McCormick Place would host volleyball, weightlifting, handball, wrestling, judo, fencing, taekwondo, table tennis, rhythmic gymnastics and the fencing and shooting portions of modern pentathlon.
All of the central Chicago venues are within a 15-mile radius of the Village.
Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears NFL team, would host the Olympic soccer finals. The 62,000-seat facility hosted the opening game of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
United Center, the 21,500-seat home of the Chicago Bulls basketball team, will host basketball finals and artistic and trampoline gymnastics.
The University of Illinois at Chicago’s UIC Pavilion is on stage for boxing. The arena can be configured to seat 9,000 to 10,000 people for center-stage degree events.
A new aquatics center is proposed for Douglas Park, a few miles west of UIC. The center would include three permanent pools, two temporary ones and temporary seating for 20,000.
Chicago 2016 plans to build a temporary 80,000 seat Olympic Stadium at Washington Park to hold the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the Athletics competitions. After the Games, the stadium would be downsized to a 10-15,000 seat amphitheatre.
Lakeside Parks
Upgrades and additions to parks on the Lake Michigan waterfront are the second major component of Chicago’s plan. The chain of parks is about 10 miles long with the Olympic Village near the center.
Starting in the north, Lincoln Park would get a new Olympic Tennis Center while the North Avenue beach would host triathlon and also get a whitewater canoe/kayak course.
Along Grant Park, Chicago 2016 proposes building a new breakwater in the lake to permit the flatwater canoe/kayak competitions in a two-mile harbor backed by the Chicago skyline. The park would also host archery.
Just to the south, Northerly Island would get a major overhaul in the form of the proposed Olympic Sports Complex. Plans include a velodrome for track and BMX cycling as well as an outdoor venue for beach volleyball.
Further south on the shoreline is Olympic Village Harbor for sailing, with Jackson Park at the south end of the waterfront where field hockey is to be played.
The city’s Grant Park has been mentioned as a location for medal award ceremonies.
Suburban Sites
Road cycling will be plotted for streets throughout Cook County with mountain biking at the Palos Forest preserve, about 25 miles from the Olympic Village
The Lake County Forest Preserve District has approved the construction of an Olympic Equestrian Center pending the Games, which would include a 15,000-seat area and stabling for 280 horses. The site is 50 miles from the Olympic Village.
Also proposed for suburban Lake County is the Olympic Shooting Complex to be handed to law enforcement use after the Games.
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