The Olympic Villages
While previous Olympic Winter Games host cities built entirely new Olympic Villages, the Calgary 1988 Organising Committee chose an alternative solution by using the university campus and temporary facilities.
Following the decision to house the 2,144 athletes and team officials at the campus of the University of Calgary, two new halls of residence were built, comprising 226 apartments, to add to the existing accommodation on the site. Costing just CAD 12 million and funded by the Canadian government, these apartments were seamlessly integrated into the university’s housing stock after the Games for use by its students.
The successful use of university campus accommodation as an Olympic Village created a model for subsequent Games hosts to follow, including Atlanta 1996 and Salt Lake City 2002.
Temporary accommodation and services (e.g. a kitchen and offices) were provided for 578 people at a second Olympic Village in the town of Canmore, where the cross-country skiing and biathlon events took place. In order to leave a legacy to the town, a new ice rink, a new swimming pool and a new clubhouse were built beside the accommodation. These facilities are still in use by the local community.
Meanwhile, the international print media, technical support personnel and other members of the Olympic family were housed at the Lincoln Park Media Village. Its 500 units were pre-sold to two local mortgage and housing corporations and were made available to buyers on the open market after the Games.