LOS ANGELES – LA 2024 today celebrated a successful early “dress rehearsal” of the Olympic and Paralympic Village opening, as the bid released a video of 12,800 new students moving over a single weekend into UCLA’s modern residential facilities – the proposed accommodation for the world’s athletes should the City of Angels be awarded the 2024 Games. The video, which features UCLA’s Olympic gold medalists Dawn Harper-Nelson and Kyla Ross helping new students move into their suites, highlights the superb campus environment, housing, dining and athletic facilities that have helped attract the most accomplished students and athletes from around the world.
UCLA’s easy and trouble-free move-in for 12,800 new residents from September 16-18 demonstrates the operational advantage of LA 2024’s use of existing facilities and staff. LA 2024’s approach ensures certain delivery, without risk, and allows LA 2024 to give even greater focus to the athletes’ experience, shaping the most innovative and creative Games to inspire a new generation.
LA 2024’s Olympic and Paralympic Villages align with the committee’s commitment to a high-tech, low risk and sustainable Games. In addition to using existing, planned and privately funded or temporary venues, the plan to house athletes at UCLA further reduces the costs and risks of hosting the Games, aligning closely with the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms that encourage cities to host sustainable and fiscally responsible Games.
In total, more than 16,000 residents will call UCLA’s state-of-the-art housing facilities “home” for the 2016-17 school year.
Situated in the heart of its picturesque 419-acre campus, UCLA’s residential village offers fully accessible, modern housing, complete with beautiful reception and hosting centers; world-class medical facilities and expansive athletic facilities within walking distance from all residences; and a professional staff, security and operational structure that serves thousands of guests every year. UCLA refurbishes its housing facilities every seven years, meaning that all will have undergone at least one round of renovations by the time athletes move in in 2024.
As part of LA 2024’s enhanced Games Plan and the bid’s commitment to building on the best of Rio 2016, the Olympic and Paralympic Village will incorporate an on-site Main Athlete Training Center, providing extensive integrated training facilities within the same secure perimeter as the accommodation complex. Like Rio 2016’s “Athletes’ Park,” the LA 2024 Main Athlete Training Center will offer convenient access to a host of elite training, recovery, medical, wellness and nutrition facilities. LA 2024 will supplement existing state-of-the-art facilities that already serve elite student athletes, professionals and aspiring Olympians and Paralympians every day with further temporary facilities. Thanks to the unprecedented array of facilities available at the Main Athlete Training Center, LA 2024 will be able to offer every single athlete the opportunity to train at specialized facilities co-located either with the Village or their competition venue.
The Olympic and Paralympic Village is centrally located between LA 2024’s four primary Sports Parks, ensuring maximum convenience and easy access to all of LA 2024’s competition and non-competition venues.
As part of its residential dining program, UCLA operates eight restaurants serving an average of 20,000 meals per day, and prepares a variety of fresh, healthy and delicious meals in comfortable dining rooms for all residents. Each of UCLA’s restaurants has the capacity to serve more than 100 meals every six minutes, positioning the facilities to meet and exceed athletes’ nutritional needs in 2024.
LA 2024 Athletes’ Commission member and Olympian Dawn Harper-Nelson said: “The housing, dining and sports facilities at UCLA are ideal both for athletes and students. UCLA facilities are world-class and convenient, reducing the need athletes in 2024 would feel to travel beyond the Village or competition venue. With all the personalized and high-tech services that UCLA and LA 2024 can offer, I know athletes from every nation will feel at home at the LA 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Villages and will be ready to realize their dreams.”
LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said: “On behalf of LA 2024, we want to congratulate UCLA and its residential staff for their flawless operation to move-in thousands of residents over a few days, just as we would do for the 2024 Games. We like to think of this as LA 2024’s early dress rehearsal for the Olympic and Paralympic Village opening, and it is a tremendous boost to have this unique opportunity as a bid city. Every year, thousands of students eat, sleep, study and play on UCLA’s gorgeous and state-of-the-art campus, and are given all the tools they need to succeed academically and athletically. We are honored to partner with UCLA to offer athletes the best and most personalized Games experience in history, should we be awarded the honor of hosting the 2024 Games.”
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said: “We are excited that UCLA is an integral part of the LA 2024 Olympic and Paralympic bid. Our top-flight residential, dining and athletic facilities are perfectly suited to host the world’s athletes as they prepare for competition, rest between events and enjoy the company of their peers from other nations.”
LA 2024 Vice Chair and Director of Athlete Relations Janet Evans said: “It’s no coincidence that UCLA has produced more than 400 Olympic athletes who have gone on to win 261 medals, including 123 gold. UCLA’s comfortable, modern residences, world-class training grounds and state-of-the-art medical facilities are key ingredients of the university’s proven recipe for athletic success. Over the course of six Athlete Town Halls all across the nation, we have heard directly from more than 250 athletes about what they need to succeed at the Games, and we have no doubt that LA 2024’s Olympic and Paralympic Village at UCLA will provide an unparalleled Games experience for all athletes.”
