EvalCom 2015 SU in Edmonton – Day 2

Today, May 2nd, the second day of the three-day visit of the Evaluation Committee for the 2015 Summer Universiade in Edmonton, the FISU delegates continued their tour of the facilities. They started the day with a helicopter flight to have an areal view of the proximity of all the competition and training venues.

The flight took the delegates to the Millennium center, one of five existing in the Edmonton Area. The center consists of two ice hockey rinks, two indoor soccer fields, fitness area and weight rooms. Both rinks and soccer pitches can be turned into facilities for basketball (competition), volleyball (training), wrestling, judo etc. Outside the center are four FIFA football pitches which can be used for training also. Adjacent to the center are two hotels which can host officials.

After visiting the Millennium Center the delegates took off again and flew to Foote Field, the University of Alberta’s Canadian Football and Athletics training facility. The Athletic track was built as a training facility for the 2001 IAAF World Championships and today the facility houses the IAAF International Coaching Academy, the only one in North America. The training facility will be upgraded with bleachers all around the track turning it into a genuine stadium for the Games.

From there the delegates went to the Saville Sports Center, also operated by the U of A, which houses a curling ice rink with 10 competition sheets, a multi-functional sports hall and eight indoor tennis courts. The Bidding Committee proposes the Curling ice rink as the accreditation center with the adjacent multi-purpose hall as FISU’s CIC office.

In the Balmoral Lounge of the Saville Sports Center, the Bidding Committee made a number of presentations regarding the Athletes Village and the Accreditation System and the creation of a Western Canadian Center of sports and excellence.

A new Athletes’ Village, various Sports Complexes, and Support Facilities will be constructed and form part of the University of Alberta’s South Campus development. It’s the Bidding Committee’s vision to build a sufficient number of low and high rise buildings capable of accommodating up to 10,000 participants during the games. Post Games, the village will become affordable housing for undergraduates, married students and staff. The U of A North Campus residences have served as villages for major events within Edmonton over the past 30 years. Over 7,000 event participants have been housed within these residences.

The FISU delegates continued their tour taking the LRT or Light Rail Train which connects the campuses with the city center. During the Games, the LRT will be free four all participants.

The EvalCom members then had a work lunch at the Mayfair Golf & Country Club, which will host the golf competition if it is decided to have golf as an optional sport. During lunch a number of presentations were held on transportation, security and the 2015 Legacy.

Then the delegates visited Lister Center on the U of A Northern Campus which will be used as Visitors’ Accommodation and they also walked through the Universiade Pavilion a.k.a. the ‘Butterdome’, a legacy of the 1983 Universiade. There, volleyball competitions could be hosted and the Drake Ice Hockey rink adjacent to the dome will be used as a temporary basketball facility.

At the Van Vliet Center, another legacy venue from the 1983 Universiade, the FISU delegates listened to Dr. Connie Lebrun who gave an outline of the outstanding medical services and doping control for the 2015 SU.

The day ended with a Cultural Performance which was attended by sport administrators of the venues and associations involved in the Edmonton Bid.

Commonwealth Stadium, the venue for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies

The Millennium Sports Center

The 2001 IAAF WC traning facility

The ‘Butterdome’

The Drake Ice Hockey Arena would be a temporary basketball venue

Dr. Lebrun gives the FISU delegates a tour in the Medical facility at the Van Vliet Center