Inside the Village: Where the Olympians live in Vancouver

[Harvey Specter]

More shit talking, I seriously hate the US media;

Millionaire snowboarder bunking it with the rest of Team USA



http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/van...urn=oly,219111



Shaun White is a millionaire. Louie Vito was on the popular ABC show "Dancing with the Stars." That doesn't keep either of them from bunking with the rest of the Olympians at the Olympic Village. White and Vito are sharing a room with fellow snowboarder Scotty Lago.

Compare that to the U.S. Olympic basketball team, who stayed at the Hotel Intercontinental in Beijing and on the Queen Mary 2 in Athens.

The Olympic Village is state-of-the-art, but as shown below, it is still humble. Athletes like White and Vito share rooms, a small kitchen and a bathroom with a shower curtain available at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Vito said over Twitter that the rooms were cool at the village, but "they just forgot TVs and everything."

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and the rest of Team USA basketball stayed in rooms with marble bathtubs, oversized beds, butler service, turndown service and, of course, a television with a satellite hookup, DVD player and free movie rentals.

It's not that White couldn't afford these accommodations; according to Forbes, White pulled in nearly $8 million last year. But in saying yes to the village, White is saying yes to being a part of Team USA and the camaraderie that comes along with staying in the same place as figure skaters, curlers, skiers and snowboarders.

It's possible White will be staying in private accommodations during competition, but no matter the outcome, his Olympic experience is likely to be much richer than his fellow millionaire Olympians'.

[bengy]

Originally Posted by Jah Gekko

More shit talking, I seriously hate the US media;

Boohoo. I agree with them for once.

[Harvey Specter]

Originally Posted by bengy

Boohoo. I agree with them for once.

Let's see, we have people bitching about how much money we already spent on the Olympics and you agree that we should have spent a shitload of more money so we could provide living conditions that are on par with 5 star hotels where rooms go for over $500 per night? Are you serious?

[DuhDang]

Originally Posted by q0192837465

These apartments will have cum stains all over when the Olympic is done.

Yup, going to turn to a huge all out olympian orgy..... EVERYWHERE in Olympic Village. Those 100 000 free condoms are going to be everywhere

[antonito]

Oh no, the US team isn't being treated differently than the other teams, how terrible

[bengy]

Originally Posted by Jah Gekko

Let's see, we have people bitching about how much money we already spent on the Olympics and you agree that we should have spent a shitload of more money so we could provide living conditions that are on par with 5 star hotels where rooms go for over $500 per night? Are you serious?

All that article says for me is that the American Basketball team are a bunch of spoiled babies. And no, I don't think we should have Olympic athletes with 5 star accommodations. However, considering how much money is going to be made by having this event in Vancouver, I think we could have done a little bit better.

[Harvey Specter]

Originally Posted by bengy

All that article says for me is that the American Basketball team are a bunch of spoiled babies. And no, I don't think we should have Olympic athletes with 5 star accommodations. However, considering how much money is going to be made by having this event in Vancouver, I think we could have done a little bit better.

True but supposedly some of the suites are pretty nice and bigger. I guess we'll have to wait and see other pictures from other sites/bloggers to say if that's true.

[antonito]

^ Again, those are the social housing suites. They are purposely small and shitty, because they are not-for-profit. The market units are about a hundred times nicer and significantly larger. And if I remember correctly, the US team is staying in the market units

[TheKingdom2000]

Originally Posted by skyxx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl0vxnOMewc

wow this is so cool !

[Razor Ramon HG]

Meh, looks fine to me. I wouldn't mind living there.

[-EuroRSN-]

man this is no surprise if ppl actually knew how disorganized the olympics are...did i say too much?

[Harvey Specter]

Inside the Village: Where the Olympians relax in Vancouver



As part of a select group of international media, Yahoo! Sports had the opportunity to explore the Olympic Village in Vancouver without many restrictions. Here's part two of our series, focusing on places in the village where the athletes relax and/or match wits at Wii Sports.

VANCOUVER – Built in the 1930s, the Salt Building is a landmark structure in the neighborhood where the Winter Olympics athletes' village currently exists. Its previous two incarnations were as a raw-salt refinery and a paper-recycling plant. Since neither of those activities would qualify as quality leisure time for Olympians, it's for the best that the structure now houses the main entertainment hub for the village.

Coming up, a look inside the Salt House, as well as the other relaxation options around the village – including a glimpse inside the exclusive country-specific lounges. Care to guess which one had the awesome slot-car-racing set?

First, inside the Salt House, located near the village courtyard and rather close to the U.S. athletes' housing.




The structure itself is like a gigantic barn, with social seating areas to the right and a variety of table games, like billiards and shuffleboard, to the left. Where's the 8-ball? Who knows? It's French rules.



On the far wall are video games and a pinball machine. The Wii's are popular and addictive, as evidenced by this gentleman continuing to play despite a hat-trick of 7-10 splits. But since the pavilion caters to athletes and their coaches, there's an old-school gaming table as well. We believe this is an early stage of Ikari Warriors; expect the Japanese delegation to own on this table.

Behind the game space is a large open dance area for late-night parties.



The Salt Building also has a massive, non-alcoholic bar on the right side of the complex. It's subtle, but see if you can figure out which nutrient-enhanced water beverage is an official Olympic sponsor.



Among the more interesting aspects of the room are three seating areas that feature circular couches enclosed by ropes dangling from the ceiling. It's all very 1970s boom-boom room, but certainly offers a clubby feel to the joint when the lights go down in the evening.

Speaking of which:



There is constant entertainment at this venue, either with live music acts like this one or via the house DJ in the back. In keeping with the Olympic spirit, many of the acts selected represent different cultures or a melding of cultures.



Finally, like you'd find at any hip coffee-bar-esque joint, there's a collection of board games and books on wall shelves. If you're one that believes books are a window into the book owners' soul, then Olympians would be small, white Marxist Mounties infatuated with Wayne Gretzky.



Leaving the Salt House, there are two Internet cafes located in the village, complete with Wi-Fi and webcams for athletes to connect with friends and family back home. According to the staff, there aren't many athletes who bring their laptops to the Games, and there isn't readily available Internet access in many of the residences.



Walking down the village sidewalk, a poster for "Watchmen" caught our eye. Inside the building was a DVD Theater for athletes: several couches and chairs with DVD players and monitors, as well as a large party/viewing room for group movies. (Oh, and there's a popcorn machine, which is spectacular.) The films range in genre and timeliness; no word if they removed all copies of "Miracle" for the Russians' sake.



Finally, a peek inside one of the nation lounges in the village, which line the streets and offer a place for athletes and officials to relax away from the masses. This one, with the amazing slot car track? Great Britain, which also has a television and its own video-game systems. But seriously: No Mini Cooper with a Union Jack on the roof. For shame, Brits.

The entertainment areas will be repurposed when the Games are over and the residences begin selling on the retail market. The Salt Building? It'll be used as a "bakery, coffee shop, restaurant and brewpub." May we recommend keeping Ikari Warriors?

[MWR34]

Originally Posted by invader

I can imagine an Olympic athlete, taking a HUGE dump in the morning before their event.

great imagination

[miss_crayon]

An old client of mine bought a 1 bedroom for about $699K

[winson604]

My friend just bought one right beside the village that will be ready in 2 years for 350k. 500 something square feet 1 bedroom.

[underscore]

Fuck the US media, the athletes are here to compete, not to lounge in 5 star hotel rooms watching tv.