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Jaca 2014 Olympics Bid: Something New
An aerial view of the town of Jaca. (ATR)
Jaca is the latest in the series of profiles of the seven cities hoping to bid for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Gathered on-the-scene in each of the cities, it?s the most authoritative review yet of the 2014 hopefuls. Still to come in the next week: PyeongChang, Salzburg, Sochi and Sofia.
To view a copy of the dossier submitted by Jaca to the IOC, click here.
The fourth bid from Jaca for the Winter Olympics is trying something new. Instead of depending on the limited resources of the Pyrenees mountain village (population 13,000) to host the Games, the burden will be shared by Zaragoza, the capital city for the region. Its population of 650,000 is nearly five times that of Jaca, and 140 km away.
The decision to host events in both cities was done to "promote the whole Pyrenees" and use the traditional capital city of the area, says Jaca managing director Antonio Fernandez.
Transit Challenges
While the job of hosting the Winter Games would be shared between two main cities, the burden has been shifted in some ways to the spectators, athletes, media and officials. They would spend plenty of time at these Olympics in transit, bouncing between the locations.
To be sure, Jaca is not alone in this regard. Other bids, such as Borjomi, PyeongChang and Sofia, have significant and daunting distances between venues.
Signs for the European Olympic Youth Championships in Jaca. (ATR)
The tale of travel to a Jaca Olympics will begin for most people in Madrid, where they will board a high speed train to Huesca for a 90-minute journey. From there, Jaca is one hour by car; Zaragoza an hour away in another direction.
The trip has the potential to be much shorter. A proposal to continue the high speed train from Huesca to Jaca would cut the total trip time from Madrid by about an hour, to 90 minutes.
Should Jaca win the bid for 2014, organizers plan customized train service for athletes, press, and spectators. There would be departures every ten minutes from Zaragoza to Jaca, where bus trips would then await those heading to ski events.
Jaca's Charm, but No Medals
The Ciudadela, a centuries old fort in Jaca.
Visitors to Jaca will find a city more than 1000 years old, with a medieval feel throughout. During an April visit, the town was clean, quiet and friendly. A stroll through the center is a pleasant experience. Along with heritage buildings, shops and restaurants are plentiful. The food selection includes crowded little restaurants selling tapas, or fancier places with gourmet interpretations of regional cuisine.
Jaca offers far more places to go than a city of similar size might in a less picturesque setting. Jaca lies in a valley, with nearby peaks reaching 2300 m. It would be a quaint and charming setting for the Games, but in reality, no medal events will be held in Jaca.
Only one event will take place in the town proper, preliminary ice hockey matches that will be held in the spectacular new Ice Palace under construction. Jaca also will be the site of a 2,000-bed Olympic Village and the MPC/IBC complex for the mountain events.
Construction of Jaca's new ice rink for the European Olympic Youth Championships, taken during ATR's visit in April. (ATR)
Accommodation in Jaca currently does not feature anything more luxurious than three star hotels within 10km of the Olympic center. Planned accommodation will have one five-star and five four-star hotels. This would increase the room numbers in the area almost five-fold, from slightly more than 6,000 to more than 28,000.
Zaragoza as it stands has a total of more than 10,000 hotel rooms in 181 hotels. Planned expansion consists of 18 hotels that would have be just shy of 7,000 rooms.
Ski Venues North of Jaca
The alpine and Nordic events will take place in venues up to 45 minutes from the Jaca Village. To cut that time, a third village will be placed in Candachu to serve cross country and biathlon. The biathlon venue is the "safest and one of the most technically challenging courses," said Fernandez.
The trip from Jaca to Candachu took about 45 minutes during ATR's visit in April. Skiing had stopped for the season, but the slopes still sheltered some snow and a few brave skiers could be seen on the higher slopes.
The scenic trip winds its way along a well-kept and smooth two-lane road, with centuries old churches and buildings dotting the hills.
When ascending the mountain, an extra lane is added to increase speed. This set up and quality of roads was typical throughout the region.
Also planned are a series of ring roads that will allow travelers to avoid small towns and delays.
Zaragaoza Will Host Ice Events
Zaragoza will host nearly all of the ice arena events and the opening and closing ceremonies as well as daily medals plaza events. That fact of geography that does not jibe with the Olympics being named Jaca instead of Zaragoza, a disconnect that may prove to be an obstacle to the bid moving ahead.
The only new construction planned for Zaragoza would be a 1500-bed Olympic Village. Existing facilities include the exposition center that would serve the media for an MPC/IBC and 35,000 seat La Romareda Stadium, which is said to need no renovation.
Experienced Jaca
While Spain is looking to host the Winter Olympics for the first time, Jaca has its fair share of winter sport history. Among the 2014 cities, it ranks high in experience hosting winter sports events.
Two versions of the Winter University Games have been held in Jaca; next year the winter European Youth Olympic Festival will take place in Jaca.
Jaca Mayor Enrique Villarroya in with some of the trophies of the Jaca Ice Hockey club. (ATR)
The men's ice hockey club in Jaca -- Horcona CH -- is one of the most successful teams in Spanish league history.
"We want to change the culture of sport in Spain," says Fernandez.
"Right now we are a summer country, but with the Olympics we will be able to become a winter country, too," he says.
The bid is enthusiastically supported within the region. Polls show that 91.4% of residents in the Aragon region are in favor of bringing the Games to Jaca.
With reporting from Ed Hula III.
Your best source of news about the race for 2014 is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only.
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