Sochi 2014 Grand Ice Hockey Arena Construction to Commence
At a ceremony that included the Governor of the Krasnodar region Alexander Tkachev and a representative of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), Tkachev officially presented to the press a Certificate proving the allocation of the land. Construction of the Arena is scheduled to start in 2007 and it is a top priority of the Federal Target Program (FTP), to be built regardless of the outcome of the International Olympic Committee’s choice of a host city in July 2007.
Located in Sochi’s Imeritinskaya Valley along the Black Sea coast, the Olympic Park’s site makes it an ideal location for a modern sport, entertainment and tourist complex, in keeping with the rapid development of the Sochi region. The FTP’s US $11.7 billion investment programme for the Sochi region has provided the necessary support to complete the Park by the beginning of 2013. The Grand Ice Hockey Arena will be the first Games venue constructed on the site.
Dmitry Chernyshenko, Sochi 2014 CEO, had this to say after the ceremony:
“We are delighted that construction of the Olympic Park is continuing on schedule and that we can now begin the Grand Ice Hockey Arena. This venue will serve the city and the region regardless of whether Sochi wins the right to host the Olympic Winter Games, leaving a lasting legacy.”
The planned Olympic Park will include five competition and two training arenas, a stadium for the opening and closing ceremony, two Olympic Villages, MMC (IBC & MPC) and a Media Plaza. In the event that Sochi does not win the right to host the Olympic Winter Games in 2014, the site will be used as leisure centre, housing a convention hall, a series of 5-star hotels, and entertainment and trade centres.