2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials- Gymnastics All-Session Tickets go on sale Wed Jan. 30th

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Jan. 28, 2008- Mayor Michael Nutter, USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny, and legendary coach Bela Karolyi announced today that all-session ticket packages for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials- Gymnastics, scheduled for June 19-22 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, go on sale on Wednesday, January 30 at 12 p.m. ET via ComcastTIX.

As tickets go on sale, the public is invited to attend a “gymnastics gala” on Wednesday, January 30 at 12 p.m. at 30th Street Station to celebrate the official countdown to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Fans will meet legendary coach Bela Karolyi, top U.S. gymnast Alicia Sacramone, and watch local gymnasts perform on specially assemble gymnastics apparatus on the North End of the Main Concourse.

All-session ticket prices range from $100 to $500 and can be purchased via ComcastTIX.com, 1-800-298-4200, the Wachovia Center Box Office, or through participating area gymnastics clubs. Visa is the only card accepted for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials- Gymnastics.

“Hosting the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Gymnastics is an honor for the City of Philadelphia,” said Mayor Michael Nutter. “As a City passionate for all sports, we’re excited about opening the doors of our great community to the thousands of fans who will come and experience Philadelphia this June.”

“Philadelphia is our last stop on the road to Beijing and we are looking forward to coming to the Wachovia Center for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials,” said Steve Penny, President of USA Gymnastics. “This will be an exciting competition as the country’s top gymnasts vie for the opportunity to represent the USA in Beijing.”

“Our previous Olympic bid efforts served as a great launching pad for Philadelphia to bring more Olympic-related sporting events to this region,” said Joseph M. Torsella, co-chairman, Philadelphia Olympic & International Sports Project, an initiative of the Philadelphia Sports Congress. “Hosting the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for gymnastics will help us to celebrate the 2008 Road to Beijing, and sets us well on our way to positioning Philadelphia as a truly international sports city.”

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials begins on June 19 at 7 p.m. with the first day of men’s competition, followed by the women’s competition on June 20 at 7 p.m. Competition for the men concludes on June 21 at 3 p.m., and the women wrap up competition on June 22 at 6 p.m.

Past sites for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for gymnastics are: 2004, Anaheim, Calif.; 1996 and 2000, Boston; 1992, Baltimore, Md.; 1988, Salt Lake City, Utah; and 1980 and 1984, Jacksonville, Fla.

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for all sports is a collaborative, three-way partnership between the U.S. Olympic Committee, the national governing bodies and the local organizing committees.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008