Backer Bros. create Olympic mega venue

Fans flock to 'On The Ice'

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Have you ever seen the interactive "Sports Challenge" just outside the Metrodome at Minnesota Vikings games?

Take that concept and place it on a much larger scale. It's Coca-Cola's "On The Ice," a 20,000 square-foot interactive attraction to help fans create unforgettable memories of the world's largest sporting event -- the Olympic Games.

That's what New Ulm natives Dan Backer and Doug Backer did for the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Dan is the build-out manager for Doug's company, Creative Promotional Concepts of Eagan.

The full-service, event management company, specializes in presence marketing. Its aim is right to the point -- "No one wants to see your product. They want to experience it. We make it happen."

CPC's in-house capabilities include a fabrication and production facility, a graphics department, an established shipping network, and a storage facility.

Dan Backer recently returned from Salt Lake. Prior to that, he worked on projects including "The NFL Experience" at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. Backer will soon head to South Padre Island, Texas for a spring break project.

Back at Salt Lake, "On The Ice" has skyrocketed to become one of the most popular attractions at the Olympic Winter Games, including the Olympic Winter Games themselves.

Fans wait in line for hours inside and outside the attraction in Salt Lake Olympic Square in downtown Salt Lake City. Some actual Olympic teams themselves have competed in the free attraction that is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily during the Games.

"We created a little monster. Coca-Cola and everybody else was really impressed. It's really a neat deal. It's so much fun to be a part of the Olympics," Dan Backer said.

Fans flock to high-tech simulations where they experience first-hand the thrill of the luge, bobsleigh, hockey, and curling. Life-size rinks and tracks offer a 110-foot luge course with a 90-degree turn, a 50-foot sheet of ice for curling, a bobsleigh on a 45-foot track, and a 40x12-foot hockey rink with a regulation-size net. A puck-shooting machine fires pucks at 45 mph at contestants.

Visitors wear bibs representing countries and compete in qualifying heats and championship rounds just like the actual athletes. After competition, award presentations every 15 minutes recognize them for gold, silver, or bronze place finishes.

The middle of the venue features Olympic competition updates, entertainment, and surprise appearances by athletes.

Backdrops allow fans free photo opportunities, including a miniature ice rink as if fans were in front row seats at a figure skating event.

Visitors e-mail photos of themselves to family and friends at no cost from on site Coca-Cola kiosks.

For pin traders, CPC created "Cola-Cola Live," an entertainment area in Salt Lake Olympic Square, in Park City off Main Street, and another kiosk in Park City. The menu includes multi-media shows, giveaways, and audience participation.

Plans are already in the making for the 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens, Greece.