Beaver Creek Will Have Plenty Of Seating For World Alpine Championships
BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (CBS4) - It's been 15 years since the World Alpine Ski Championships was in the U.S., and that was in Colorado. Back then the venue only held 2,500 people. This time Beaver Creek is building a huge seating area for fans.
Beaver Creek will be only the second place in the world that has hosted the event three times, but with just more than three months to go, there's still a lot of work to be done.
"I am amazed every time I come up here and see the new additions and just how massive everything is," John Dakin with the Vail Valley Foundation said.
Construction only started two months ago but already significant structures are nearing completion.
"We started building the stadium here on Sept. 1, and then everything else has just sort of followed into place -- the international broadcast center, the VIP structures … the scoreboard," Dakin said.
Because of the size, the structures are being built now and won't be take down until after the ski season next summer.
"Structures of this size and scope, you want to build them on a hard surface, you want to build them on dirt as opposed to snow," Dakin said.
More than 3,000 people will be able to sit in the massive grandstand, and on the ground there will be standing room for another 5,000. Most years when the Birds of Prey event is held in Beaver Creek, the stadium only holds 1,000.
"It is by far the largest structure that has ever occupied this space for a ski race," Dakin said.
A three-story international broadcast center will be up and running in December. It will house 14 TV studios, putting Vail and Beaver Creek into millions of households worldwide.
"It's the World Championships, so I think this reflects our view of what the World Championships will be."
The stadium and crews will hold a type of rehearsal the first week in December.
The World Championships open Feb. 2.
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