导出博客文章ATLANTA -- Twenty years after the Olympics were held in Atlanta, some remnants
of that improbable summer remain a highly visible part of the citys landscape,
while others quickly faded away.Centennial Olympic Park and Turner Field --
known as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 -- were the greatest legacy of those
games, though the latter faces an uncertain future after just 20 seasons as home
of baseballs Atlanta Braves, who are moving to a new suburban stadium next
year.Other venues barely outlasted the extinguishing of the Olympic flame, while
still more failed to live up to their intended purpose.A look at Atlantas
Olympic facilities two decades later:CENTENNIAL OLYMPIC STADIUM: The 85,000-seat
main stadium was site of athletics (Michael Johnsons world record, Carl Lewis
farewell) and both the opening and closing ceremonies (Muhammad Alis poignant
lighting of the torch). Afterward, the arena was converted into a 50,000-seat
baseball park and renamed after the longtime owner of the Braves, Ted Turner. It
hosted both the World Series and the All-Star Game during its early years, but
the Braves have fallen on hard times and are moving to SunTrust Park in 2017.
Georgia State is exploring the possibility of another conversion, which would
downsize Turner Field into a 30,000-seat football stadium.GEORGIA DOME: A
divider transformed this 70,000-seat football stadium into two separate arenas
-- one the site of second Olympic Dream Team winning gold in mens basketball,
the other where the Magnificent Seven captured Americas first victory in womens
team gymnastics. Just 25 years after its opening, the dome is slated for
demolition after $1.4 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium opens next door in
2017.CENTENNIAL OLYMPIC PARK: This was the hub of the games, a gathering spot
for sponsor tents and nightly concerts. Tragedy struck midway through the
Olympics when a deadly bombing ripped through the park, but it emerged afterward
as a catalyst of downtown development, now surrounded by the hugely popular
Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, College Football Hall of Fame, National
Center for Civil and Human Rights, and a giant Ferris wheel.GEORGIA TECH AQUATIC
CENTER: Temporary seating was used during the Olympics, providing a 14,600-seat
main pool for swimming, diving and synchronized swimming. There also was a
4,000-seat temporary pool for water polo. After the games, Georgia Tech enclosed
the facility and reduced capacity to just under 2,000. This year, it hosted the
NCAA swimming championships as well as a pre-Olympic camp for the U.S. swim team
before it departed for the Rio Olympics.GEORGIA WORLD CONGRESS CENTER: One of
the worlds largest convention centers (and even more sprawling today after a
post-Games expansion), it was divided into five separate arenas during the
Olympics, reducing the need for wasteful new venues for fencing, handball, judo,
table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. That became a model for future
Olympics.ATLANTA-FULTON COUNTY STADIUM: Site of baseball during the Olympics,
the former home of the Atlanta Braves served out the 1996 season, then was
imploded the following summer to make way for a parking lot serving adjacent
Turner Field.OMNI COLISEUM: Just a week before Atlanta Stadium came down, this
facility used for volleyball during the Olympics met the same fate. Philips
Arena now occupies the site.GEORGIA INTERNATIONAL HORSE PARK: Equestrian, modern
pentathlon and the first Olympic mountain bike competition were held at the park
about 30 miles east of Atlanta. It remains an equestrian and events center, with
horse and mountain bike trails plus an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course open
to the public.STONE MOUNTAIN PARK ARCHERY CENTER AND VELODROME: Temporary
facilities for archery and track cycling came down shortly after the Olympics.
The site is now part of a songbird and habitat trail.STONE MOUNTAIN TENNIS
CENTER: A permanent tennis facility built in a corner of Stone Mountain Park
quickly became a money loser and now sits idle, weeds growing through the outer
courts and the scoreboard in disrepair.SANFORD STADIUM (Athens, Georgia): The
home of the Georgia Bulldogs football team hosted soccer finals, including the
U.S. memorably winning the first womens gold. The stadium known for its famous
hedges (which were taken down during the Olympics and then re-planted) has been
expanded to hold more than 92,000.ALEXANDER MEMORIAL COLISEUM: Site of boxing in
1996, Georgia Techs basketball arena underwent a massive renovation that
completely gutted the interior of the building. It reopened in 2012 as gleaming
McCamish Pavilion.HERNDON STADIUM: Perhaps the saddest legacy of the games, this
15,000-seat stadium was used during the filming of the movie We Are Marshall but
was abandoned after Morris Brown College ran into financial difficulties. Gutted
by vandals, it is now covered in graffiti and piles of trash.LAKE LANIER
(Gainesville, Georgia): This man-made lake still has its rowing facilities,
which have been used for major competitions over the last two decades. This
year, it hosted an Olympic qualifier for Rio.WOLF CREEK SHOOTING COMPLEX: Some
facilities remain at this suburban venue now known as the Tom Lowe Shooting
Grounds, but it no longer holds major international events.ATLANTA BEACH:
Located south of the city, this venue was site of the first Olympic beach
volleyball tournament. It was renamed Clayton County International Park, with
the main stadium now used for concerts and other events though the park still
includes several beach volleyball courts, as well as a water park, lake and
biking trails.GOLDEN PARK (Columbus, Georgia): The 5,000-seat stadium, about a
two-hour drive from Atlanta, was used for the first Olympic softball
competition. It served for years as home to minor league baseball, but the last
of those teams, the Columbus Catfish, left after the 2008 season. The stadium
remains but no longer has a major tenant.OTHER VENUES: Georgias Stegeman
Coliseum (volleyball preliminaries), Georgia States GSU Sports Arena
(badminton), Clark-Atlantas Panther Stadium (field hockey) and Morehouses Forbes
Arena (basketball preliminaries) are still used by their respective colleges. In
fact, Panther Stadium now holds the athletics track used during the Olympics.
The Ocoee Whitewater Center in Tennessee (whitewater canoeing) and Wassaw Sound
near coastal Savannah, Georgia (sailing) were temporary venues. Preliminary
soccer matches were held in four stadiums outside Atlanta. Birminghams Legion
Field, Orlandos Citrus Bowl and Washingtons RFK Stadium are still in use, while
Miamis Orange Bowl was torn down to make way for a new baseball
stadium.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 .
His work can be found at
http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .
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Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing
for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65
times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months.
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Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off
the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the
Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. In soccer, the Dutch called it Total
Football. Kevin Sheedy broke Essendons premiership drought in 1984 with the
concept and Alastair Clarkson made it a feature of the Hawthorn three-peat
era.Now partly through the necessity of an injury-riddled season, Western
Bulldogs are making player versatility a hallmark of the campaign to break their
62-year AFL premiership drought.From the moment coach Luke Beveridge arrived at
the Bulldogs from Hawthorn, he preached the need for players to have more than
one string to their bow.Ruckman Jordan Roughead, for example, can also play as a
key defender or as a marking forward.It has been particularly useful this
season, with the Bulldogs repeatedly changing their line-up to cope with the run
of injuries.You have to be able to play more than one position, Roughead
said.Across the board, we have a list thats pretty strong in that area.It has
been crucial to us - regardless of the injuries, wed have been looking to play
in that vein.Jake Stringer can play in the midfield as well as a forward, while
Marcus Bontempelli is a dangerous resting forward when not wreaking havoc at the
stoppages.Liam Picken used to be a tagger - he has been a star for the Dogs in
this finals series as a marking forward.The Dutch refined Totaal Football on the
way to making the 1974 World Cup final.ddddddddddddA decade later, Sheedy
famously made sweeping changes to his side during the 84 grand final.Essendon
roared back in the last quarter to beat Hawthorn for their first flag since
1965.Over the last three seasons, star Hawthorn players Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell
and Shaun Burgoyne have alternated between the midfield and half-back with
devastating effect.Tactics aside, the Bulldogs are riding an emotional wave
heading into Saturdays preliminary final against the Giants.This is the first
time since 1961 that they have won consecutive finals in the same year.Its a
great feeling. We have to keep the ball rolling and take it as far as we can,
Roughead said.The Bulldogs big man added he needed the weekend to recover after
Friday nights emotional semi-final win over Hawthorn.The really positive energy
and excitement in the room straight afterwards gets you on a big emotional high,
he said.Then you head home, you come down and you crash - youre pretty
knackered.The Saturday and Sunday was a good time to refresh, that was the best
thing about playing on Friday night. ' ' '
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