I love the Olympics. They bring attention to less known sports and athletes all while giving us some fantastic entertainment. Unfortunately, they famous world competition can be quite… wasteful. Plenty of the facilities built for the games end up unused or completely abandoned, taking up money and space for only a few weeks worth of competition. Some cities, however, find unique ways to reuse those decaying facilities, like Montreal’s Biodôme, originally built as the velodrome for the 1976 Summer Olympics, or Beijing’s Happy Magic Water Cube, initially created for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
One of the coolest repurposed Olympic facilities, however, might be South Korea’s Alpensia Ski Jumping facility, located in PyeongChang. Ski jumps are few and far between, so seeing one get shut down completely shouldn’t be making you happy. Fortunately, the Alpensia facility hasn’t been shut down to ski jumping, and, in the winter, it continues to operate as such. But, from March to November, Alpensia operates as a soccer stadium.
Morning Tidbit. Apparently the Olympic ski jumping venue is also a soccer stadium. pic.twitter.com/VZxjZNBto4
— 3rd Degree (@3rdDegreeNet) February 18, 2018
The field operates as one of many for Gangwon FC, a club founded in 2008. Though organizers originally hoped it would become the club’s home, it hasn’t been the easiest for fans to get to, and its mountain location means snow and ice often cover the grass. To be completely clear, the facility wasn’t really built for the Olympics. Instead, it was built in 2009, hosting several international competitions throughout its life. It is, however, still one of the coolest facilities once used by the Olympics, and I have to imagine that watching a soccer game or a ski jumping event would be pretty sweet at Alpensia.
Image Credit: @3rdDegreeNet via Twitter & Andy Penders via YouTube