Alaska towns prepare for Arctic Winter Games

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When the residents of Juneau, Alaska, voted against building a hockey arena, they forced the capital city to bow out as host of the 1996 Arctic Winter Games. There was no shortage of candidates willing to step into the breach, but Eagle River and Chugiak, just north of Anchorage, applied to keep the games in America's largest state.

"We're about 45 days out, and we're pretty confident," said Dan Sullivan, executive director of the games, last week. "There's always a few things that fall through the cracks, but we're having a general meeting of all the committees, and we'll then have about 30 days to clean up anything that might be going wrong." Sullivan was confident that the huge volunteer staff of the games will have every angle covered.

"This will be a great event for this area," he continued. "There are plenty of financial benefits from having about 2,500 people staying in town for a week." Sullivan estimates that each of those visitors will contribute something like $1,000 each to the Anchorage economy.

"I'd say $2 million is a conservative estimate," he said.

The organizing committee was gearing up to begin registration of the athletes, coaches, dignitaries and media. Sullivan explained that there would likely be plenty of places to stay in the Anchorage area, but that those hoping to stay at the host hotel should book ahead.

The 19 sports include ice hockey, basketball, dog mushing and Nordic and Alpine skiing, and will see more than 1,500 athletes and coaches from Alaska, Alberta, Greenland, the Northwest Territories, Russia and Yukon. Included will be cultural performers.

One ticket will give admission to all athletic competitions. A Native American Entertainment Concert will feature comedian Charlie Hill, musician Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman and singer Bunny Swan.

"The only thing we're missing now is snow," Sullivan laughed. "But we've still got 45 days to go. And one of the beauties of the games is that 13 of the 19 events are indoor, and we can make other arrangements for downhill skiing-we'll make snow-and mushing-they can compete on a lake with some snow cover. The only sport that needs more snow is the cross-country skiing. But I'm confident we'll get it."

Further information can be obtained from the games office at (907) 694-8866, or at http://www.ak.net/articgames on the internet.