Janis says DePaul involved in housing Olympic spectators

April 13, 2009

Looks like DePaul University will play a role in providing housing and potential practice facilities if the Olympics come to Chicago in 2016, says Robert Janis, DePaul’s Vice President of Facilities Operations and key figure in DePaul planning for this potential international event.

DePaul is one of the two universities of Chicago that have a “real campus” and can offer the dorm space and athletic venues to be used if the Olympics come here, the other being the University of Illinois at Chicago. Particularly the Lincoln Park campus and its close proximity to the lakefront, lagoon, and major parks make it appealing to the planners of Chicago 2016.

“We have a key location that is easily reached within about ten minutes anywhere,” said Janis. “Chicago 2016 was very interested” in what the DePaul community has to offer the Games.

If the Olympics come to the city, the university has already cemented an important role in the housing aspect of the event. DePaul recently signed a committed letter of intent that agrees on their commitment, pending the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid, a decision to be announced on Oct. 3, said Janis. The agreement states that a minimum of 1,400-1,500 bed spaces would be offered, ranging from semi-suite dorm rooms to on campus apartments.

“As time progresses there will be more information,” Janis said. “We haven’t even hit the tropical storm status yet. We’re a little bit out yet.”

Limited housing is currently a primary issue of contention facing students. DePaul has 2,600 housing spaces that provide students with a place to live during the school year, not nearly enough for the number of students that seek on-campus housing. However, the dormitory occupation goes down in the summer, opening up spaces that could house Olympic support staff. The summer session and Premiere Chicago orientation students would still retain their dorm spaces. The Olympic visitors would be out of the dorms before the fall quarter begins. Don’t get too excited; the athletes would all be housed in the Olympic Village to be built on the South Side.

“We would want it to seem like nothing happened,” Janis said of how it would effect the students. “Our intent is to cause little to no disruption to the community and summer students.”

The Chicago 2016 committee is also interested in potentially using DePaul’s athletic facilities. DePaul has four full NCAA basketball courts and the well-equipped Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center that could be used for practice and preliminary events. The only obstacle is finding room for spectators. In return, Janis hopes that DePaul would be granted use of the newly built athletic arenas reasonably closer to campus than the Allstate Arena. He was clear to say that DePaul has no intent on purchasing the arena, but it would not be opposed to accepting it as a gift from the city.

Janis said that the university’s goal would be to recover the operating cost of hosting these extra visitors, so that the students don’t pay for the costs that will accrue for maintenance and operation. He estimated that the cost would be around $400,000 to be paid for by the Olympic Organization. Janis did stress that the university would have to do six weeks worth of building maintenance to the dorms in three weeks, but that it is possible to get done. The university is not likely to profit from the experience.

“We want to be good members of the community but don’t want to run on the backs of our students,” said Janis. “We don’t want to shortchange the students.”

As for the actual Chicago bid, Janis thinks that Chicago has as good of a chance as the other candidates. “I think we have a pretty good shot at it.”