It’s a city within a city. The Salt Lake Athletes Village, which will be the University of Utah’s new $164 million student housing complex, will house 3,500 athletes, coaches and officials during the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games.
The village will be protected by a 10-foot high fence and have 24-hour military surveillance.
About 5,000 staff and volunteers and 1,600 visitors will occupy the site during the day along with 1,600 visitors.
Occupants of the village will consume 25,000 meals a day, and use more than four million rolls of toilet paper during their stay. Also 15,000 bed sheets will be changed and 270,000 loads of laundry will be washed during the 29 days of the Games.
The village has a post office, barber shop, and fast food, as well as live entertainment.
There will be two zones in the village; the international zone at the western edge which can be compared to a main street, where athletes can purchase groceries, flowers or process their photos. In this area visitors and the news media can interact with the athletes.
The residential zone is sealed off from visitors, and contains living accommodations, two dining facilities seating 650, a fitness centre, theatre, chapel and a large nightclub with a small stage and karaoke equipment. There will be no alcoholic beverages.
The village will also have a clinic, open 24 hours a day, and the staff of 365, (doctors, dentists, nurses, physical therapists, radiologists and psychiatrists) will treat everything from serious injuries to the common cold. They expect about 2,000 visits.
Three days after the village closes down, organizers will have to make way for the Paralympic athletes who compete in March.
