One year from Sochi: A look at the venues
While Sochi organizers have promised snow will be on the ground despite warn temps in the coastal town (on Thursday, it was 66 degrees there and 59 in the mountains), one thing we can say for sure: The venues for the 2014 Winter Olympics will be there.
Here's a look at some of the locales you'll see next year:
Shayba Arena
The Shayba Arena will host ice hockey games and is in close proximity to other ice skating venues. Capacity: 7,000.
AP Photo/Ivan SekretarevFisht Olympic Stadium
The Olympic Stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies, and most medal ceremonies. Capacity: 40,000.
Mikhail Mordasov/AFP/Getty Images'Ice Cube' Curling Center
You guessed it -- curling competitions will be held here. The venue is in the center of the "Coastal Cluster," where all of the ice-based venues are located. Capacity: 3,000.
AP Photo/Ivan SekretarevBolshoy Ice Dome
The ice hockey venue is said to be modeled after a "frozen water drop," but spectators may think it resembles a disco dance floor when they see the roof light up in multiple colors at night. Capacity: 12,000.
AP Photo/Ivan SekretarevAdler Arena
The oval venue, which will host all speedskating events, has two competition tracks and one practice area. Capacity: 8,000.
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images'Iceberg' Skating Palace
The futuristic-looking venue will host all figure skating events. Capacity: 12,000.
AP Photo/Igor Yakunin'Rosa Khutor' Alpine Center
The center will host all alpine skiing disciplines: downhill, combined, giant slalom and super-G. Crowd capacity: 7,500. First impressions of the course were good from a year ago (when a World Cup event was held there in February 2012), but some skiers were concerned the jumps were big.
AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati'Laura' Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center
The venue for the cross-country and biathlon events is located within the Psekhako Ridge. "Laura" is in reference to a mountain river of the same name in the area. But the "Laura" story doesn't end there. According to the official Sochi 2014 site: "The name of the river is based on a legend of a young girl Laura who chose death over living with an old prince she did not love. After running away from the prince, Laura jumped of a rock into the river that was later named after her." Crowd capacity: 7,500.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images'RusSki Gorki' Jumping Center
The venue will host events for ski jumping and Nordic combined. The name? According to the Sochi 2014 site, "The name 'RusSki Gorki' evokes associations with the shape of the venue, as well as roller coasters that are sometimes referred to as 'Russian mountains' in English." Capacity: 7,500.
Julian Finney/Getty Images'Rosa Khutor' Extreme Park
The venue will host freestyle skiing and snowboarding events, as the Winter Games begin less than two weeks after the 2014 Winter X Games in Aspen. Capacity: 4,000 for freestyle, 6,250 for snowboarding.
Mikhail Mordasov/AFP/Getty ImagesSanki Sliding Center
The venue for all bobsled, luge and skeleton events begins at the Alpika Service Mountain Ski Resort and ends at Rzhanaya Polyana. Capacity: 5,000.
Francois Xavier Marit/AFP/Getty Images
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