The Richmond Olympic Oval (french: Anneau olympique de Richmond) is an indoor multi-sports

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

in the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

city of

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a coastal city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough), between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the adja ...

. The oval was built for the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...

and was originally configured with a

speed skating rink A speed skating rink (or speed skating oval) is an ice rink in which a speed skating competition is held. The rink A standard long track speed skating track is, according to the regulations of the International Skating Union (ISU), a double-laned ...

. The venue has since been reconfigured and now serves as a community multi-sport park and includes two ice hockey rinks, two running tracks, a

climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used i ...

, a

rowing tank A rowing tank is an indoor facility which attempts to mimic the conditions rowers face on open water. Rowers sit in fixed rowing positions, with a channel of water to either side of the 'boat'. Older tanks used the power of the athlete to circu ...

and a flexible area which can be used for, among other sports,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

, indoor soccer and

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

. The Olympic bid called for the oval to be located on the grounds of

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

(SFU) in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

, but Richmond was instead selected in 2004. Although twice the price of the SFU alternative, the location was selected because the city offered to cover all costs exceeding $60 million. Construction started in 2006, cost $178 million

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...

and the venue opened on 12 December 2008. In addition to

speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at the Richmond Olympic Oval, Richmond, British Columbia, between 13 and 27 February 2010. Notes Haralds Silovs became the first athlete in Olympic history to participate in both short trac ...

, the venue has hosted the

2009 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships The 2009 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships were held between 12 March and 15 March 2009 in the Richmond Olympic Oval, Richmond, BC, Canada. Schedule Medal summary Men's events :Note: ''TR = Track record'' Women's events :Note ...

. Designed by

CannonDesign CannonDesign is a global architecture, engineering and consulting practice that provides services for a range of project types, including hospitals and medical centers, corporate headquarters and commercial office buildings, higher education an ...

, the oval's elements are made to resemble the heron.

Construction

Work on Vancouver's bid process started in 1998 by the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Bid Society, replaced by the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation in 2002. SFU started planning their grounds as a potential speed skating oval in 2000, SFU pledged to finance $5 million of the venue, in addition to the land. The 2010 Games Operating Trust was established in November 2002 with a capital of $110 million, equally financed by the provincial and federal governments, to subsidize post-Olympic operation of selected venues. Forty percent of the payouts would be used to cover the operating costs of the speed skating oval. Richmond Olympic Oval front view 2

The bid book called for the speed skating oval to be located on the premises of Simon Fraser University atop

Burnaby Mountain Burnaby Mountain, elev. , is a low, forested mountain in the city of Burnaby, British Columbia, overlooking the upper arms of Burrard Inlet. It is the location of Simon Fraser University Burnaby Campus, the Discovery Park research community, and ...

in Burnaby. This would result in both of Greater Vancouver's major universities receiving a new sports venue, as the

Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre The Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre (formerly UBC Winter Sports Centre, also known as UBC Thunderbird Arena) is a LEED Silver certified indoor arena in Greater Vancouver, on the campus of the University of British Columbia. Located in the ...

ice hockey rink would be built at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

. The bid book cited a construction cost of $63.7 million, which would give a arena and met all requirements for speed skating at the Olympics. The post-Olympic operating costs of the oval, along with the

Whistler Sliding Centre The Whistler Sliding Centre (french: link=no, Centre des sports de glisse de Whistler) is a Canadian bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in Whistler, British Columbia, that is north of Vancouver. The centre is part of the Whistler Bl ...

and

Whistler Olympic Park The Whistler Olympic Park is the location of the Nordic events facilities for the 2010 Winter Olympics and is located in the Madeley Creek basin in the Callaghan Valley, west of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. The facility hosted the biathlon ...

, were according to the bid book to be covered by $71 million endowment trust. The legacy plans for the venue were to convert it to a multi-sports park, with the speed skating track being removed. Two months after being awarded the games on 2 July 2003, the responsibility for planning the Olympics were transferred to the

Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) (french: Comité d’organisation des Jeux olympiques et paralympiques d’hiver de 2010 à Vancouver - COVAN) was the non-profit organization responsible ...

(VANOC). They started reviewing the plans for the various venues, and costs started to increase for the oval. At the same time the Richmond City Council started working on plans to instead locate the venue there. UBC also started working on a proposal for a speed skating oval in the

University Endowment Lands The University Endowment Lands (UEL) is an unincorporated area that lies to the west of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and adjacent to the University of British Columbia and the lands associated with that campus. Pacific Sp ...

, which could then be built in conjunction with the hockey arena. Chris Giacomantonio, president of the Simon Fraser Student Society, stated that he was opposed to the project, as the university's contribution would give little benefit for students. The anticipated

cost overrun A cost overrun, also known as a cost increase or budget overrun, involves unexpected incurred costs. When these costs are in excess of budgeted amounts due to a value engineering underestimation of the actual cost during budgeting, they are known ...

s were caused both because of a general shortage in construction labor, and challenging geological conditions at the proposed site. Two formal proposals were submitted: one from Richmond and a revised bid from SFU. The Richmond bid was for a significantly larger venue, at . Unlike SFU, the city was willing to pay for most of the construction cost, including all cost overruns, limiting VANOC's costs to $60 million. The budget for the Richmond Olympic Oval was $155 million, while the cost of building a venue at SFU was $78.6 million. VANOC announced on 17 August 2004 that they had selected Richmond as the site of the Olympic oval. VANOC stated that in addition to a cost cap, the Richmond alternative featured better transport, as it would be located on the SkyTrain's

Canada Line The Canada Line is a rapid transit line in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, that is part of the SkyTrain system. The line is owned by TransLink and InTransitBC and is operated by ProTrans BC. Coloured turquoise on route maps, it op ...

. Burnaby Mayor

Derek Corrigan Derek Richard Corrigan is a Canadian politician and the former longtime mayor of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Early life and education Corrigan is a graduate of Vancouver's Sir Charles Tupper Secondary School and studied political science ...

stated that the price increases were subject to cost escalation caused by increased general construction costs, rather than cost overrun. 2010 Winter Olympics, Richmond Olympic Oval

2010 Winter Olympics, Richmond Olympic Oval

Planning of the venue was centered around its post-Olympic use, rather than its function during the games. It was incorporated into the River Green development project, which saw $2 billion spent on real estate development along the section of the Fraser River. Financing of the venue was split between Richmond City Council and VANOC, with the former guaranteeing for any cost overruns. The city allocated its funding for the venue from several sources: $50 million in revenue sharing with

River Rock Casino Resort River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, British Columbia is the largest casino in the province of British Columbia. The casino is owned by Great Canadian Gaming. The hotel has a total of 396 rooms, including standard rooms and suites and it is situ ...

, $54 million from the nearby real estate development, and the remainder from sponsorships and fees on near-by projects. The venue's main architect was Bob Johnston, of Canon Design, who had previously worked on the

Olympic Oval The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is North America's first covered speed skating oval; it was built for the 1988 Winter Olympics and opened on September 27, 1987.Calgary and the

Utah Olympic Oval The Utah Olympic Oval is an indoor speed skating oval located southwest of Salt Lake City, in Kearns, Utah. The Oval was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics and it hosted the long track speed skating events for the 2002 games. Inside the facili ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

. A feng shui consultant was used during the design process as its implementation is important to the large Chinese Canadian population in Richmond. The initial design cost $206 million, but this was cut back by removing features. One that was kept was an underground parking lot under the venue, which increased construction cost by $23 million. The city split the construction work into 23 separate contracts. The city sent delegations to sixteen ovals around the world, costing $459,000. It was topped off on spending $120,000 to send nine officials, including the mayor and a councilor, to attend the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

. Project management was contracted to MHPM Project Managers, construction manager was Dominion Fairmile Construction and structural engineers were

Fast + Epp Fast + Epp is an international structural engineering firm headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia with offices in Edmonton, Calgary, New York, Seattle, and Darmstadt, Germany. The company first achieved international acclaim following the desi ...

and Glotman Simpson, with the former responsible for the roof structure and

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

and the latter for the base building.
StructureCraft
designed, manufactured and erected the 452 wood wave panels of the roof. The plot of land next to the venue was placed for sale during the development. Initially asking for $40 million, the lot was sold for $141 million. Additional land was bought by developers, resulting in the oval being surrounded by luxury condos. The neighborhood was planned to be pedestrian-friendly, and there were no at-grade parking. The River Green project is part of Richmond's plan to become more urban and less suburban and build up community centers, backed with the arrival of the Canada Line. Richmond Oval

A 2005 geological report concluded that the venue would have geological challenges, similar to those which had been used as argument to move them from Burnaby Mountain. The venue is built in a

river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more ra ...

on top of up to of

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

, and the report warned that despite the design measures, significant seismic activity prior to the Olympics could mean that the venue bed would not be flat enough. The

International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, N ...

only allows a deviation of per of track, and along the entire course. VANOC's official back-up plan was, in case of a major earthquake, to move speed skating events to Calgary. Construction began with the compressing of the ground, which included bolstering two thousand columns of rock down and the piling of of sand on the site. A December 2005 report found that this was not sufficient, resulting in franki piles also being installed. To finance this, $1.9 million was cut by reducing the building's width by . To minimize the risk of

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

, the height of the

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

between the venue and the river was raised from . Construction required the pouring of of concrete, the use of 5,600 tonnes of steel and 305 board-kilometers (one million board-feet) of pine beetle wood. The roof was completed in January 2008, but in April

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

and algae were discovered in the lower

insulation Insulation may refer to: Thermal * Thermal insulation, use of materials to reduce rates of heat transfer ** List of insulation materials ** Building insulation, thermal insulation added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency *** Insulated ...

layer of the roof. To get at the area, seventy percent of the roof's membrane needed to be detached and replaced. The replacement cost $2 million, with the city claiming the amount compensated from the contractor. When the venue opened on 12 December 2008, it was the last of the Olympic venues to be completed. The Richmond Olympic Oval Corporation was created as a municipal corporation in 2010, with the sole purpose of operating the venue. Following the Olympics, the venue was transformed into a community multi-sports park, which opened in April 2010. Bleachers for 800 spectators were sold to be used for the

Vancouver Island University Vancouver Island University (abbreviated as VIU, formerly known as Malaspina University-College and earlier as Malaspina College) is a Canadian public university serving Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia. Malaspina College began in 196 ...

gymnasium. Costing $300,000 new, they were sold for $4000.

Facilities

The facility is located on at 6111 River Road in Richmond, immediately south of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, on the south shore of the Fraser River. The building is long and wide; the roof covers an area of , while the building is . The main design inspiration is the heron, the official bird of Richmond. The roof is held up using fifteen

glued laminated timber Glued laminated timber, commonly referred to as glulam, is a type of structural engineered wood product constituted by layers of dimensioned lumber, dimensional lumber bonded together with durable, moisture-resistant structural adhesives so that ...

beams, and is designed to resemble the wings of the heron. 2009 WSD Speed Skating Championships - 01

The oval's roof uses

pine beetle ''Dendroctonus'' is a genus of bark beetles. It includes several species notorious for destroying trees in the forests of North America. The genus has a symbiotic relationship with many different yeasts, particularly those in the genera '' Cand ...

damaged wood, which was selected as a showpiece to aid the use of a material which has caused a negative economic impact in many British Columbia communities. The building received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. Environmental design includes the capture of rain water on the roof and the recycling of waste heat energy from the refrigeration system for the ice surfaces. The Olympic configuration, which was in place from the opening until April 2010, consisted of a

. While configured for speed skating, the venue had a capacity for 8,000 spectators, of which 7,336 were bucket seats. In addition there were 200 broadcast commentator positions and 200 seated press positions. Four

scoreboard A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...

s and four videoboards were mounted in the arena and the Olympic doping laboratory was located at the oval. After the games the venue was reconfigured. The upper level consists of a fitness center with views of the North Shore mountains and the river and houses more than 200 pieces of equipment. The main floor consists of three activity zones: the Ice Zone consists of two ice hockey rinks with international dimensions, the Court Zone consists of ten

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor sur ...

s and the Track Zone consists of a five-lane oval running track and a five-lane sprint track. A

is installed at the Track Zone, which offers thirty-one climbing routes. The venue can variously be configured to hold eighteen

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

courts, thirteen

volleyball court Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

s, ten basketball courts, three indoor soccer fields or sixteen

table tennis table Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

s. Within the oval running track is areas for in-field

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

. A

has been built at the facility. Outside the venue is Water Sky Garden, a sculptural environment designed by Janet Echelman. A 91-meter (300 ft) boardwalk weaves through the pond and two 16-meter (52 ft) pedestrian bridges cross the pond to reach the Olympic Oval. Above the pond hangs the artist's "sky lantern" sculpture. The sculpture is made of Tenara architectural fibre, supported by painted galvanized steel rings. The entire garden is approximately 7,000 m² (75,000 sq ft). The oval is within walking distance of Lansdowne Station on the SkyTrain's

. Alternatively, the venue can be reached using the C94 bus, which connects to

Richmond–Brighouse Station Richmond–Brighouse is an elevated station on the Canada Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport genera ...

. Parking is available, with 450 parking spaces being located on the structure's lower level. The venue is in the immediate vicinity of

Vancouver International Airport Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. It is the second busie ...

. The roof won the 2009

Structural Awards The Institution of Structural Engineers' Structural Awards have been awarded for the structural design of buildings and infrastructure since 1968. The awards were re-organised in 2006 to include ten categories and the Supreme Award for structural ...

''Award for Sports or Leisure Structures''. The other three entries nominated for the award were the roof of Wimbledon

Centre Court Centre Court is a tennis court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (also known as the All England Club) and is the main court used in The Championships at Wimbledon, the third annual Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar. It is co ...

, the elephant house at the

Copenhagen Zoo Copenhagen Zoo ( da, København Zoo) is a zoological garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1859, it is one of the oldest zoos in Europe and is a member of EAZA. It comprises and is located in the municipality of Frederiksberg, sandwiched betw ...

, and Beijing National Stadium (also known as the ''Bird's Nest'') used for the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Events

Prior to the venue being official opened, there were international World Cup trials conducted from 17 to 20 October 2008. The first week after the venue opened, it was open to the public for speed skating. In its inaugural season, the oval was used for the Canadian Single Distance Championships from 27 to 31 December 2008, the BC Speed Skating Long Track Championships from 24 to 25 January 2009, the Canadian Junion Allround Championships 2009 from 30 to 31 January, the Canada Cup from 30 January to 1 February, the 2nd Masters International Canadian Open from 21 to 22 February and the

from 12 to 15 March. The Olympic season saw international trials taking place on 17 to 20 October 2009, and 6, 8 and 10 February 2010. The 2010 Winter Olympics were conducted between 12 and 28 February. Twelve events were organized during the games, consisting of five individual and one team pursuit race for each gender. More than 100,000 people attended the Olympic events at the oval. Major post-Olympic events include the 2010

World Wheelchair Rugby Championships World Wheelchair Rugby Championships is an international wheelchair rugby competition contested by the national teams of the members of World Wheelchair Rugby ( WWR), the sport's global governing body. The first Wheelchair Rugby World Championsh ...

, the 2011 World Masters Badminton Championships and 2012 ISKF National Karate Championship. In 2014, the venue selected to host to the 2014 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships.

Track records

The Richmond Olympic Oval is located at

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

(AMSL). The higher air pressure compared to high-elevation venues means that the venue will have slow ice, with the organizers not expecting any world records to be beaten during the Olympics. Three Olympic records were set in the oval; all but one of the remaining Olympic records have been set in Salt Lake City, located at an elevation of AMSL, and all world records are set in Salt Lake City or Calgary, located at . As of 2013, the Richmond Olympic Oval is ranked as the world's eleventh-fastest ice.

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{Olympic venues in speed skating Venues of the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic speed skating venues Speed skating venues in Canada Indoor speed skating venues Indoor ice hockey venues in Canada Buildings and structures in Richmond, British Columbia 2008 establishments in British Columbia Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics Sports venues in British Columbia Badminton venues Basketball venues in Canada Sports venues completed in 2008 American Basketball Association (2000–present) venues The Basketball League venues