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Author Topic: Sochi Skating buildings - moveable!  (Read 1534 times)

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Offline Query

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Sochi Skating buildings - moveable!
« on: February 09, 2014, 03:27:17 PM »
One of the most remarkable things about the $50 Billion or so equivalent effort put into making Sochi, principally a summer seaside resort, into a Winter Olympic venue, is that all or most of the skating buildings can be taken apart and moved to competitions in other areas.

 

I guess we have all noticed that the stadiums have been relatively empty during the games. Maybe that is because they seem to have segregated the stadiums by spectator nationality, and people only come to what interests them. Maybe it is because of the security, or spectator fears. Whatever the reason, I guess future competitions may fill those buildings - but I wonder if that moveable structures aren't an expensive way to build.

Some people assume that the huge economic investment should be evaluated economically. But NBC implies that the Olympics don't have to pay off economically to be a political success for Russian President Vladimir Putin. If there are no major hitches, it could solidify his political support. (NBC doesn't say this, but if significant terrorism occurs, it could unify the country, and to some extant the rest of the world, behind an all out military assault on the communities held responsible, which we can only hope wouldn't be nuclear.)

Anyway, fascinating, viewed as an engineering feat.

During one of the broadcasts, NBC mentioned that the ice was nice...