from Martin Merk of IIHF.com,

IIHF.com sat down with Vladimir Cherkasov, 40, who started as Sochi 2014’s Sport & Venue Manager for the Ice Hockey Complex and is now the Venue General Manager of the Bolshoy Ice Dome, the main hockey arena in Sochi.

What can the players expect from the hockey venues?

The first special feature is that the Bolshoy Ice Dome is maybe one of very few in the world with 12 permanent dressing rooms near the ice. Usually organizers have to create temporary dressing rooms because normal venues have six to eight dressing rooms and here they have 12 for all teams who participate in the men’s tournament and there are 10 dressing rooms at Shayba Arena for the women’s teams. We also have the practice arena at Bolshoy Ice Dome just 15 metres away from the dressing room. It’s not always that comfortable for players but here it is.

All the necessary zones for the athletes are very close to each other like the dressing rooms, sport zone, athletes’ lounge, information room, medical centre, anti-doping centre, rooms for skate sharpening and uniform repair and a big gym and warm-up area.

I think we have everything we need. The press zone is really huge, the mixed zone was designed especially for the Olympics, like with the whole venue. The location is very comfortable. Players don’t have to go long ways to the media and then to the dressing room while at the same time the ways for the media are short too.

Can you say something about the athletes’ village?

The athletes will live 500 metres from the arena at the sea. They can basically walk or take a bicycle. Everything is very close – that’s the concept.

more