Editing 1996 Summer Olympics (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics cauldron 0460.jpg|thumb|left|The 1996 Olympic cauldron, designed by [[Siah Armajani]]]] 
[[File:Flair monument.jpg|thumb|The Flair Monument, erected in remembrance of the 1996 Games]]
Preparations for the Olympics lasted more than seven years and had an economic impact of at least US$5.14&nbsp;billion. Over two million visitors came to Atlanta, and approximately 3.5&nbsp;billion people around the world watched at least some of the events on television. Although marred by the tragedy of the [[Centennial Olympic Park bombing]], the Games were a financial success, due in part to TV rights contracts and sponsorships at record levels.<ref name="Chicago Tribune">{{cite news|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-09-21/news/0909200352_1_centennial-olympic-games-billy-payne-atlanta-committee |title=Olympics' impact on Atlanta still subject to debate |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=September 21, 2009 |access-date=July 14, 2012 |first=Dahleen |last=Glanton|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205004957/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-09-21/news/0909200352_1_centennial-olympic-games-billy-payne-atlanta-committee|archive-date=February 5, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Atlanta also set a new record for the most tickets sold at a single Games (8.3 million), and held it until 2024.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/greatest-attendance-at-olympic-games |title=Largest attendance at an Olympic Games |work=Guinness World Records |access-date=August 9, 2024}}</ref>

Beyond international recognition, the Games resulted in many modern infrastructure improvements. The mid-rise dormitories built for the Olympic Village, which became the first residential housing for [[Georgia State University]] (Georgia State Village), are now used by the [[Georgia Institute of Technology]] (North Avenue Apartments). As designed, the Centennial Olympic Stadium was converted into [[Turner Field]] after the Paralympics, which became the home of the [[Atlanta Braves]] [[Major League Baseball]] team from 1997 to 2016. The Braves' former home, [[Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium]], was demolished in 1997 and the site became a parking lot for Turner Field; the [[Omni Coliseum]] was demolished the same year to make way for [[State Farm Arena]]. The city's permanent memorial to the 1996 Olympics is [[Centennial Olympic Park]], which was built as a focal point for the Games. The park initiated a revitalization of the surrounding area and now serves as the hub for Atlanta's tourism district.<ref name="Chicago Tribune"/>

In November 2016, a [[commemorative plaque]] was unveiled for Centennial Olympic Park to honor the 20th anniversary of the Games.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/new-historic-marker-for-1996-games-unveiled-centennial-olympic-park/JEqxfDJLr2cCGbufu5GCYM/|title=New historic marker for 1996 Games unveiled in Centennial Olympic Park|work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=November 26, 2018|last=Vejnoska|first=Jill|date=November 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161102161227/https://www.ajc.com/news/new-historic-marker-for-1996-games-unveiled-centennial-olympic-park/JEqxfDJLr2cCGbufu5GCYM/|archive-date=November 2, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/11/02/historical-marker-planted-for-1996-centennial.html|title=Historical Marker planted for 1996 Centennial Olympic Games|website=Atlanta Business Chronicle|date=November 2, 2016|access-date=November 26, 2018}}</ref>

Following the Braves' departure from Turner Field to [[Truist Park]] in 2017, Georgia State University acquired the former Olympic Stadium and surrounding parking lots. It reconfigured the stadium for a second time into [[Center Parc Stadium]] for its [[Georgia State Panthers football|college football team]].

The 1996 Olympic cauldron was originally built and placed at the intersection of Fulton Street and Capitol Avenue, near the Centennial Olympic Stadium. After the Paralympics, in order to make room for the stadium conversion, the Olympic cauldron was moved (except its ramp, which was demolished) to the intersection of Capitol Avenue and Fulton Street in 1997, where it has stayed since. Since Georgia State University's acquisition of the former Olympic Stadium and surrounding lots, there has been proposals and growing calls to move the Olympic cauldron to [[Centennial Olympic Park]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://atlanta.curbed.com/2016/8/15/12453182/atlanta-olympic-cauldron-move-centennial-park|title=Atlanta's Olympic cauldron relocation floated five years ago; went nowhere|first=Michael|last=Kahn|date=August 15, 2016|website=Curbed Atlanta|access-date=February 15, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.infobae.com/aroundtherings/articles/2021/07/12/atlanta-cauldron-facing-possible-relocation/|title=Atlanta Cauldron Facing Possible Relocation|first=|last=|date=July 12, 2021|website=www.infobae.com|access-date=February 15, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://publications.risdmuseum.org/risd-grad-show-2020-interior-architecture/qianyu-liu|title=Qianyu Liu &#124; RISD Museum Publications|website=publications.risdmuseum.org|access-date=February 15, 2024}}</ref>

The Olympic cauldron was re-lit in February 2020 for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/atlanta-olympic-cauldron-lit-this-weekend-for-first-time-since-1996/7hfy3pOvtxQtOMzsVdoMDI/|title=Atlanta's Olympic Cauldron to be lit this weekend for first time since 1996|first=Courtney|last=Kueppers|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |access-date=February 15, 2024|via=AJC.com}}</ref>

The 1996 Olympics are the most recent edition of the Summer Olympics to be held in the United States. [[Los Angeles]] will host the [[2028 Summer Olympics]], 32 years after the Games were held in Atlanta.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-la-olympics-approved-20170913-story.html|title=L.A. officially awarded 2028 Olympic Games|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|last=Wharton|first=David|date=September 13, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920014321/https://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-la-olympics-approved-20170913-story.html|archive-date=September 20, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>