European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 30, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Speed skaters practice on the racing Oval built at Albertville this summer for the games. Speed skating is among the events for which tickets Are still  David Tarrant staff writer the tickets Are almost All gone. There Are very few hotels with vacancies. But that still won t Stop some people from making a last minute trip to the Winter olympics in Albertville France in the upcoming weeks. Most tour groups Are All booked up and ski dubs report Long waiting lists for any spots that open up on their trips to the olympics which will be held feb. 8-23. One possibility for those who still want to go is to simply drive to Albertville or one of the other 10 olympic resorts in the Savoy Region and take your chances. There Are still some hotel rooms and apartments available. The Best source of information on rooms in the Region is a booking Agency called Maison de Savoy at 79-45-92-92 or fax 70-45-3952. These numbers Are for Calls inside France for Calls from outside the country be sure to add the country code. Best bets in terms of Price and availability appear to be in the outer areas of the Savoy Region including the towns of Chambery Aix Les Bains or Annecy. Free train rides for olympic ticket holders run from Chambery and Aix Les Bains to Albertville where you can catch round the clock buses that run Between the olympic Sites. Even those with accommodations in Albertville Are advised to take the bus since traffic is expected to be a Nightmare. Albertville is easily reached by train and is also near Bourg St. Maurice which connects by High Speed train to Geneva Switzerland and Lyon Grenoble and Paris in France. The Alpine Village s Are easily connected by frequently running Public buses which accommodate skis and Luggage. Tour groups have just Alx iut sold out but sch ruled airlines travel offices overseas a said last week that there were still spaces on their Tours for both the first and second weeks of the olympics. The first trip runs from feb. 7-1 5 and the second trip goes from feb. 14-22. Transportation is by bus to either Val do Sere which h is hosting downhill events or i is menu res the site for the men s slalom. I he trips ii Lude seven nights of lodging a seven Day ski pass and several olympic events. The Cost which varies according to the Tyx of lodging Range s from 954 Marks last minute tips for making the olympics a amps Ken George a 6,500-seat rink was constructed at Meribel for the ice hockey Competition. About $615 to 1,372 Marks about $885 for Val d Sere and 1,015 Marks $650 to 1,448 Marks about $935 for Les menu res. The trips Are being managed for Sato by Scherer Tours located in Hochberg Germany near Wurzburg. For More information Contact any local Sato offic e. On the other hand Many of the american ski clubs report they already have Long waiting lists. Heidelberg ski club booked up quickly with two bus trips totalling 100 people. Rolf Nielander director of Public relations Lor the German travel Agency Der said his company which is the official olympic tic Ket Agency in Germany is All sold out of both tickets and lodging on its Tours. Quot we sold Over 3,000 tickets Quot Nielander said. Olympic officials said last week that tickets were still available for most events. The Only events sold out Are the ice dancing final on feb. 17, a figure skating session on feb. 22, and 10 hockey games including the finals semifinals and several Early round games involving France. Because of potential traffic jams tickets for certain other events Are on Sale Only at their venues to those living or staying in the areas. These events include three men s skiing events a the downhill super giant slalom and the women s super giant slalom a plus ski jumping freestyle skiing and the four Man bobsled. Tickets without restrictions Are available Tor Cross country skiing the biathlon Speed skating and nordic combined As Well As some Alpine skiing events. Ticket prices Range from $ 1 1.50 for the Cross country ski portion of the nordic combined to $ 192 for top figure skating events and $288 Tor select seats at the opening ceremony. The organizing committee for the games said 700,000 of the 800,000 available tickets had been sold and its goal of $26 million in ticket Revenue has been met. Credit card companies have been Busy getting ready for the games. A network of customer centers has been opened in France by american express to provide travel and financial services for olympic visitors. Opening the centers was described by local businessmen As a counterattack by american express on visa which has the exclusive on credit card sales at ticket windows at the olympic Sites for events tickets. Quot we Don t see it in those terms a said an american express spokesman. Quot we re interested in serving our  the largest of the american express facilities is an office in Cour Chevel the ski resort and site of the ski jumping and nordic skiing events. The office will provide tourist information and make travel arrangements As Well As offer financial services like Selling and cashing traveler s checks and exchanging currency. The other customer centers Are at Albertville Val d Sere Meribel where the ice hockey and women s downhill skiing competitions Are being held Moutier where train and bus stations provide connecting service to Many of the events and at the airports in Lyon and Chambery which offer most of the connecting flights to the Savoy Region. The company says at least one Mobile travel office will be deployed at the busiest event Sites on each Day of Competition. Visa is opening one customer Center to Deal with traveler s checks and lost checks and cards in the main olympic Village at Albertville. Those not planning to attend the games won t have to miss out on the action. A spokesman for armed forces radio and television service in los Angeles said it will offer More than 100 hours of coverage from opening ceremonies to closing events to the armed services networks in Europe. Some of the action will be live some of it tape delayed. In addition european television networks will be providing coverage. Tim Cahill in the new York Bureau and several wire services contributed to this article. 10 stripes Magazine january 30, 1992