This weekend there will be plenty of Olympic Spirit shown by athletes at a venue outside of Athens. In the midst of the 2004 Olympic Games, Olympic Spirit Toronto will open to become the world’s first permanent Olympic-themed entertainment complex designed for “experiencing” the Olympic Games. The much-anticipated CDN$40 million attraction will quietly open it’s doors on Saturday, August 21 in Canada.
The 52,000 square foot venue will provide over 20,000 hours of filmed Olympic footage, several Summer and Winter Games sports simulators, static and interactive displays of Olympic trivia, memorabilia and sports equipment, a 200-seat restaurant and retail store. The attraction is said to be a two-and-a-half hour experience.
“About 50% of the content will have a Canadian Olympic theme and 50% will be international” explained Brian Stemmle, Spirit’s Chief Leisure Officer and former Canadian Olympian on the Alpine Ski Team. Stemmle is responsible for entertaining VIP’s and sponsors and ensuring visitors have a positive experience. He is just one of the 41 former and present Canadian Olympic athletes on permanent staff at Spirit – an attraction itself.
Olympic Spirit COO Peter Doyle, who worked on projects including EXPO’86 in Vancouver and the 1988 Calgary Olympic Winter Games, is particularly proud of how Spirit is able to help Canadian Olympians by giving them flexible employment that allows them to continue training, draw an income and work in an environment they love – and that allows visitors to meet and speak with Olympians who have experienced it all. As part of a licensing arrangement, a portion of revenues will be paid to the Canadian Olympic Committee for athletic programs.
But visitors don’t have to hear it all second-hand, they are encouraged to participate in one of the several sophisticated simulators on site. They can recreate a world-record long jump, race against their friends in the sprint challenge, push-start a real bobsled and compete for the best time, experiment with figure-skating spins or take shots at an Olympic hockey goalie. And for those who dare, they can participate in the biathalon by skiing for up to a minute and then shooting at virtual targets. A trivia challenge will test the brain and, if you brought your camera, you can take pictures of your family ski-jumping, weight-lifting or on the gymnastic rings. There are also simulators for speed-skating, rowing and curling.
The Olympic Stadium Theatre presents a 12-minute feature “The Calling” – a video collage of inspirational and emotional Olympic moments and memories.
“Everyone has a special Olympic Memory”, said Doyle, “That’s what makes Olympic Spirit a great attraction”.
Doyle said that Spirit is geared for families and is a great attraction for children from 6 to 14 years. Adult admission is CDN$17.95 with reduced pricing for children, seniors and family groups.
The idea for this project was first conceived at the opening of the 2000 Sydney Games according to Doyle. The Olympic Spirit idea was based on a similar temporary test project in Munich in 1999. In 2001 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) entered into a long-term agreement with the International Spirit Development Organization to develop Olympic Spirit attractions around the world and quickly inked a deal with Canadian partners to make Toronto the first.
Doyle told GamesBids.com that the IOC chose to approach private developers in Toronto instead of any of the former Olympic host cities because of Toronto’s multiculturalism, central location with a large population and tourist base, good transportation and parking and because it is safe and clean. The IOC also found that there was strong support for the project from the municipal government. This all happened around the time of Toronto’s failed bid to host the 2008 Summer Games.
The Spirit team admits that the Toronto venue is a pilot project for the IOC before they go to other cities and that their work will be watched closely. The IOC is known to be very protective of its branding and intellectual property rights.
City Councillor Kyle Rae who has been instrumental in the redevelopment of Toronto’s tourism areas recognized the opportunity of Olympic Spirit and how it could fit in with long-term development plans.
Olympic Spirit Toronto is the “…first [development] of the new century for Toronto to present itself to the world” said Rae.
