Beijing Olympic stadiums still in use

(Ecns.cn)--As London builds its Olympic stadiums for the 2012 Games, Beijing's venues are still in service four years after the event was held here, Beijing Evening News reported.

For most people, the main stadiums for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games were mainly the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, which are well known for their unique shapes and have become major tourist destinations.

However, there are also many other stadiums built at universities that are now used by students or are open to the public, according to the newspaper.

The badminton stadium at Beijing University of Technology (BJUT) is now partly open to the public, for example. Students take athletics classes in smaller training halls, while the main stadium is also open to those from outside the campus.

The stadium charges the same for both students and nonstudents, with the highest price at 70 yuan per hour and the lowest at 40. Few students exercise there because of the high cost, however.

A student named Wu Chao told the newspaper that the basketball stadium was also open to the public, but charged 700 yuan per hour, so very few can afford to get in.

At the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), the stadiums are also open to the public, except for the natatorium. But opening times are restricted to the students' after-class period, in order not to affect their sports courses.

Students and teachers only spend 10 yuan per hour in the badminton stadium, while others have to pay 30 yuan during the daytime. After 6 p.m., all are charged 60 yuan per hour.

Different from BJUT and USTB, China Agriculture University only allows teachers and students to use the stadiums.

"We need the stadiums to serve the sports classes, since the east campus of the university didn't have a fairly good stadium before the Games," a teacher told the paper.

The badminton stadium might open to the public in April or May, said a staff member at the stadium.

People living around the campus hope the university will open its Olympic stadiums to the public. A man surnamed Yin suggested that if the stadiums opened, the university could also make a profit and save its budget.