Sochi Olympic Park Seems to Pass 1st Test

© RIA Novosti . Alexander Vilf / Go to the mediabankSochi Olympic Park Seems to Pass 1st Test
Sochi Olympic Park Seems to Pass 1st Test    - Sputnik International
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Sochi's coastal Olympic Park appeared to pass its first international test at this weekend's figure skating Grand Prix Finals, with myriad stars praising it to the hilt - although concerns remained about the low attendances.

SOCHI, December 9 (R-Sport, James Ellingworth) - Sochi's coastal Olympic Park appeared to pass its first international test at this weekend's figure skating Grand Prix Finals, with myriad stars praising it to the hilt - although concerns remained about the low attendances.

"I love the Olympic Park, it's beautiful. The day I came, I took so many pictures because I was just so excited," double world champion Patrick Chan said.

Winter Olympics often have venues scattered across a vast area, and Chan said he could not wait to experience the park in 2014, when it will be one two clusters of venues that aim to mimic the Summer Olympic spirit.

"Here everything's in the same place so it's going to be so exciting. It'll really feel like we're almost in a Summer Olympics," he said.

"It's very rare, a very special place."

The Grand Prix Finals took place at the the 12,000 capacity Iceberg Skating Palace, the most easterly facility in the Olympic Park with a patchwork of blue-and-white panels encased in a wavy yet rectangular structure.

Chan was instantly fond of the ice at the arena after Thursday's practice session, saying it was kept at the perfect temperature for an ideal skate.

The victorious American ice dance team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White praised the atmosphere inside the venue.

"The ice and the atmosphere and the audience is fantastic," Davis said Saturday.

Maxim Trankov lifted the home crowd's spirits when he and partner Tatiana Volosozhar skated to victory in the final event, the pairs competition. Trankov had earlier called the Iceberg "brilliant" and "ideal for figure skating."

There were, however, worries about attendance after promises of a sellout failed to translate into a packed venue.

Thousands of seats remained unfilled on each day of competition, although it came closer to capacity for Sunday's exhibition gala.

Finnish finalist Kiira Korpi picked up on the problem of empty seats after her short program Friday.

"Actually I was expecting a bit more audience because someone told me it would be sold out," she said. "Hopefully for the Olympics it will be more crowded."

In technical terms, the arena coped well with the demands of hosting one of skating's biggest competitions, with flickering lights during junior competition Thursday the only noticeable flaw.

International Skating Union president Ottavio Cinquanta criticised the "embarrassing situation" of the top tier of seats having thick rails more typical of a hockey rink that blocked visibility for spectators, and vowed to take up the issue with Olympic organizers.

The next test for the arena is the December 24-28 Russian national championships, which is expected to feature Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko.

 

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