Get ready to bring out your red, white, and blue because UMBC’s event center is hosting the 2022 Spring Olympics! The recent win in the NCAA March Madness tournament brought national attention to the university and this is one of the many perks. It is such an honor to host this prestigious event!
Since there is such a wide variety of sports in the Summer Olympics, events will take place in various spots across campus. Most of the indoor events like gymnastics, fencing, ping pong, and boxing will be held in the new UMBC Event Center.
The water events will be in the indoor pool and Pig Pen Pond. Hopefully these activities won’t disrupt the pig skeletons resting at the bottom of the pond!
President Hrabowski has already started preparing for the games. He is honored that “UMBC is going to hold the first ever Olympics on the East Coast.”
He went on to say, “I know I will be seeing some of my own students in the games, and they won’t even have to leave campus!” He also announced that students will be getting an extra week off to celebrate this once in a lifetime opportunity.
UMBC athletics is also getting ready to work towards getting their teams ready for the games. The men and women’s tennis teams will increase their practice times to five days a week.
The swim and dive team will be moving their commuting members into the RAC locker rooms so they will be ready for all night practices. The extreme pressure on these athletes will only fuel their drive to be the best they can be.
As if hosting the games was not exciting enough, President Hrabowski has signed off on the construction of a new row of parking all around Hilltop Circle.
The new spots will guarantee parking for all of the tourists coming in town to view the games. They will also be open for students to use year round, although C and A permits will have priority to the good spots.
Tickets to the Olympics usually range in the thousands, and that’s not including airfare and housing. UMBC students will be able to buy tickets at a much lower cost.
Students will get a special pre-sale code for tickets at a discounted price that is yet to be determined. There will also be payment plan options that include the choice of adding ticket payments to financial aid packages.
Even though 2022 seems like lightyears away, time will fly by. Students should buy gear before prices go up and the bookstore sells out!
If UMBC wasn’t on the map before, it will be now. People all over the world will know it as the real University of Maryland.
