Atlanta Olympics: The big story

The 1996 Olympic Games were held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, from 19 July to 5 August 1996. The Para-Olympic Games followed 18-25 August 1996. The Games hosted over 10,000 athletes from 197 delegations, more than two million visitors and 15,000 media personnel. Over 3.5 billion people around the world viewed the Games on television. These Centennial Games were the largest Olympic Games in history and were privately funded with a budget of $US 1.8 billion. The Games are estimated to have a economic impact on the Atlanta area of almost $US 4 billion. O'Brien-Kreitzberg Inc joint-ventured to provide program management, design, design management and procurement management for the temporary and portable facilities and equipment (TPFE) for the Games. The TPFE program totalled almost $US 100 million. The Olympic Stadium was constructed to host the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletic events. The budget for the Stadium was $US 220 million. It was designed to be converted to a baseball stadium for the Atlanta Braves following the Games.