Opened: 1996 | Temporary
Leaders from Stone Mountain Park were involved in Atlanta’s Olympic planning since the very beginning of the idea. The large park land was always an option for venues, yet the location far outside the city center and lack of facilities for reuse lead to the final decisions. The park hosted two events for the 1996 Games that used temporary venues, a trend used by more Olympic cities in recent years – archery and cycling.
The cycling velodrome was a state-of-the-art computer aided construction feat. Planned to be temporary, crews assembled the site from over 230 pieces of steel that snapped together to form the 250-meter track. After the Games, the velodrome was disassembled and sold. It has since been used in other locations for cycling and amusement ride events.
Both the velodrome and the archery course were located on what is now the Songbird Habitat trail in Stone Mountain Park. You can see the footprint of the velodrome still from satellite images.