Old Steel Mill Transforms Into Big Air Venue For Beijing 2022
As early as at the end of 2019, fans of big air might see the Beijing 2022 Olympic venue for the spectacular snowboard and ski events being completed. The Beijing 2022 Organising Committee plans to begin the construction of the 60-meter-high ramp and refurbishment of warehouses for broadcasting, media and hospitality functions during the Games this year, with the goal to be finished by the end of next year.
The Shougang steel mill in the west of the capital city has been idle since being closed before the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics in order to reduce pollution in the city. Now it’s cooling towers, smokestacks and a large lake will provide a spectacular backdrop for the competitions, in a nod to the site’s industrial past.
"We had other proposals to build the venue elsewhere, but the idea to combine dynamic sporting action with industrial heritage won over the International Olympic Committee for the vision of sustainability," said Liu Yumin, Executive Deputy Director of the Beijing 2022 Committee's general planning and construction department.
"The project will serve as an anchor for the entire plan to repurpose the industrial compound into a future destination of winter sports and related leisure activities."
Next to providing a spectacular stage for the big air events, the Shougang complex is also home to the Beijing 2022 headquarters. The Organising Committee has been headquartered in the Shougang compound since May 2016, with office buildings retrofitted from such industrial facilities as “silo,” “bunker,” and “transfer station”.
The Shougang Group, one of China’s largest manufacturing companies, had shut down the facilities and moved to Hebei province in 2008 as part of the Chinese capital’s plan to restructure its economy and reduce pollution for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. It became the Official Urban Regeneration Services Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on 5th June, 2018.
