* Event to be Built by Home Depot and Tied to Olympic Torch Relay     COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Based on the inaugural success of the 2003 Titan Games, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) today announced plans that a second Titan Games competition will be held June 17-20, 2004 and named Atlanta as the host city.  The Road To Athens for America's elite wrestlers, boxers, fencers, shot putters, weightlifters, judo and taekwondo athletes will make one final stop in Atlanta in a tune-up against the world's powers in each of these respective sports.    The USOC and the Atlanta Sports Council have agreed on a three-year deal for the Titan Games.  Atlanta will play host to the event for 2004, 2005 and 2008 with the U.S. Olympic Committee actively seeking city partnerships to host the 2006 and 2007 Titan Games.  The inaugural Titan Games were held in San Jose, Calif. in 2003 and its edgy, fast-paced showcase of Olympic sports was popular among athletes, National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and fans.    "I'm really excited about having a second Titan Games," said 2000 Olympian and last year's Titan Games showstopper in weightlifting, Shane Hamman.  "I thought it was one of the greatest events ever put on by the USOC and so I'm excited to do it all over again.  It's going to be one of the two main events for us next year, besides the Olympics and with it being halfway between the Olympic Trials and Olympic Games, I know the weightlifting team will be putting on some really big performances."    The 2004 Titan Games will be Built by Home Depot, as the Atlanta-based home improvement retailer will be the presenting sponsor of the event*.     A property of the USOC in partnership with the affiliated NGBs and hosted by the Atlanta Sports Council and the city of Atlanta, the Titan Games will feature a "USA versus the World" format in dual and quadangular meets.  Elite athletes representing the United States and other world sports powers, including top Olympic team members, are expected to participate along with many past Olympic, World and World Cup medalists.      With U.S. Olympic Team athletes expected to compete in six different sports, the 2004 Titan Games will be unprecedented in assembling the most U.S. Olympic Team members ever prior to the start of Olympic competition. The USOC is seeking a top-three world-ranked team in each sport and has received verbal commitments from Hungary (no. 3) in weightlifting, Korea (no. 1) in taekwondo and Georgia (no. 1) in wrestling.      "The Titan Games was one of our most successful ventures in 2003," said Jim Scherr, USOC's Chief Executive. "The continuation of these Games will give U.S. athletes elite competition opportunities in their preparation for Athens without the stress of traveling overseas and will give spectators and sponsors a preview of what awaits in these sports.     "The USOC is happy to be taking this property to the city of Atlanta as they build upon their Olympic legacy," Scherr added. This partnership with Atlanta is the start of the USOC's new strategy to build better relationships with key communities across the country.  We are committed to city partnering as we look to build and expand our Olympic brand and Atlanta should serve as the perfect model as we move ahead in this effort."     The 1996 Olympic Games host city will provide a great home for the Titan Games with the state-of-the art Philips Arena serving as the competition arena and Centennial Olympic Park serving as the backdrop for the shot put. The city will look to position the Titan Games as the marquee event in its quest to build its Olympic Legacy.     "Since hosting the Summer Games in 1996, Atlanta has developed a tremendous Olympic legacy by hosting and scheduling nine different Olympic events," said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Sports Council president. "There are very few cities in the world that earn a distinction as an Olympic city, and we are very proud of our city's support of Olympic events at all levels."    The unique mini-sports festival will feature competition in five Olympic combat sports including boxing, fencing, judo, taekwondo and wrestling as well as weightlifting and shot put.  Within Philips Arena, spectators will be entertained with simultaneous action happening on four "battle zones." Ancillary events of the Titan Games also include a Night of Champions, which honors past or current greats among the Titan Games sports, as well as an outdoor event complete with bands and more.       The Titan Games will coincide with the Olympic Torch Relay on June 18 and plans have been made to bring the two events together to provide an even greater festival within Centennial Olympic Park.  Prior to the arrival of the Olympic Torch, the Titan Games will stage a shot put competition with the world's top male and female shot-putters competing with the rare opportunity to have all eyes on them in what will be an intense and entertaining contest.  Titan Games organizers, in cooperation with Budweiser, Coke, Samsung and Olympic Torch Relay officials, are also lining up some quality bands to perform for fans awaiting the Olympic Torch as part of Budweiser's True Music Series. Coke and Samsung are the official sponsors of the Olympic Torch Relay.      The first-year venture to help bring attention to the journey of America's athletes on their way to Athens proved very successful in 2003 particularly among the athletes, coaches and NGBs.  The 2004 Titan Games will come less than two months prior to the start of the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece and for many of the sports, the competition will serve as the final big preparation before touching down in Athens.      "The Titan Games was one of the best events on our calendar last year," said Eric Parthen, USA Boxing's Executive Director.  "Our boxers are excited to have an opportunity to take part in this competition once again and we look forward to an even better competition this time around. The timing of the Titan Games makes it attractive in the eyes of our boxers and coaches as they can make those final preparations and assessments needed to have Olympic success."    The Atlanta Sports Council, a division of the metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, promotes the value of sports growth in Atlanta and Georgia by acting as an authority on the economic impact, visibility and quality of life issues associated with sports. Its mission is to lead, organize and support sports development with the goal of building Atlanta's reputation as the Sports Capital of the World. For more information, visit atlantasportscouncil.com.