Flash! Omaha Will be Site of 2008 Olympic Trials

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 28. THE 2008 United States Olympic Trials are headed for Omaha, Nebraska. That announcement was made official during a Tuesday afternoon teleconference in which Chuck Wielgus, USA Swimming’s Executive Director, detailed the selection. Omaha is no stranger to major sporting events, as it has hosted the College World Series for 50-plus years.

By choosing Omaha, USA Swimming tabbed the Qwest Center as the venue for the Trials, the biggest swimming competition in the nation. A 17,000-seat venue, the Qwest Center is expected to seat anywhere from 13,000-14,000 for the June 30-July 7 event, depending on the room needed to construct the portable pools that will be used for the competition.

When USA Swimming opened the bid process last fall, it sought bids from across the country and, ultimately, received interest from five cities. That number was eventually reduced to three finalists: Omaha, San Antonio (Texas) and St. Paul (Minn.). A task force examined each of the finalist’s bids and made on-site visits before unanimously recommending Omaha as the place to go.

While the competition pool will be erected in the Qwest Center, the warmup pool will be located in the adjacent convention center. The convention center will also be the site of the USA Swimming Aqua Zone, a location for sponsors and fan experience. Already, 400 volunteers have offered their services in making the event a rousing success.

Last year, the U.S. Olympic Trials were held in Long Beach (Calif.), where two portable pools were erected outdoors on a parking lot. During the eight-day event, crowds measured in the 8,000-10,000 range. Consequently, USA Swimming only considered bids that could provide seating of at least 10,000 fans. For all intents and purposes, that decision guaranteed the event would be held in an arena with the construction of portable pools.

“The first time we saw portable pools in use was at the 2000 Short Course World Championships in Hong Kong,” Wielgus said. “They were used before, but that was the first time we saw it. When we made the decision to go to Long Beach in 2004, that was the first time it involved a temporary pool. The reason we did that was the largest natatorium in the country, Indiana University, was insufficient to hold capacity crowds. We had crowds of 10,000 (in Long Beach). We set a minimum of 10,000 seats (for the bid process), which effectively eliminated (natatoriums).”

A company has not yet been selected for the building of the portable pools, although Yamaha, Myrtha and Astral are among the companies being considered. Whichever company is chosen, the city of Omaha hopes to retain one of the pools for its use.

Coming off a successful Trials in Long Beach, USA Swimming is confident it will continue to see sizable crowds. After all, the sport’s profile continues to grown in this country, thanks to the likes of Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin, among others.

“The crowds we saw in Long Beach, I think absolutely will be passed,” Wielgus said. “Omaha is a sports area and we’ll see family and friends (attend). Couple those things together, and I can foresee 15 sessions of packed houses.”

The U.S. Trials will select the team that will compete at the Olympics in Beijing, China. The swimming competition for the 2008 Games will be held in an indoor facility. Within walking distance of the Qwest Center are hotels, restaurants and shopping areas.

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