Thursday March 4th, 2010 - Evaluating the Future of Vancouver’s Olympics Venues

Although the competition takes place over seconds, the hosting over weeks and the construction over a few years, the legacy of the Olympics affects a city for decades.  It is estimated that the buildings and transportation venues constructed with relation to the Vancouver Games will exist for more than 60 years.  

On one project, the Olympic Village, taxpayers in Vancouver are already behind the eight ball for $1 billion, due to costs coming in above estimates, as well as the effects of the 2008 financial meltdown.  It will be difficult to calculate the overall cost of the 2010 Olympics, but an overview follows of each venue and its prospective future benefits to B.C.:

The Olympic Village:  Built for approximately $1 billion, the accommodations were to have been a profitable venture for Vancouver.  The village’s developer was to have financed and constructed it on city-owned property, and then converted the lodgings to luxury condos.  The city would have been paid for the property.  However, construction was more expensive than anticipated, and Vancouver had to get permission for a $434 million loan to complete the accommodations.  It is now projected that the Olympic Village will become a mixed-income development to include services, parks and shopping. 

Olympic/Paralympic Centre: The 6,000-seat, $39-million building in Riley Park was host to curling tournaments for both men and women.  The venue will be renovated to include an aquatics centre, a rink and a community centre.  The “legacy” portion of the building will cost more than its original function, to host the curling event.  The estimated total cost to date of the venue is $85.5 million.

Canada Pavilion: The $10-million Pavilion is criticized as being a pre-fab shed, constructed by a United States company.  It received about 10,000 visitors daily during the Games.  It will soon go the way of other temporary Games venues.

Sea-to-Sky Highway:  The road was plagued by the absence of gaps for U-turns in the medians, causing long delays when accidents would occur.  Traffic on the highway was typically not a problem during the Olympics.  Following a $600-million upgrade, the Sea-to-Sky is expected to carry more than a 50 percent increase in cars during the next 15 years.  

Richmond Oval: It has been disclosed that the ice-skating arena was built upon alluvial ground, and constructed with wood infested with pine beetles.  The building may be at risk of sinking.  So-called “green” vehicles with a purpose to resurface ice loaded huge quantities of slush and ice around the arena.  The vehicles’ malfunctions almost caused the men’s 500-metre skating race to be postponed.  Although the arena is set to become a multi-use complex, it will retain the ability to be reconverted to a speed-skating location.

Whistler Sliding Centre:  An ominous portent occurred when, following the track’s approval by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, a number of athletes expressed concerns about the track’s excessive speed.  On the first day of the Games, Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili died during a luge training run.  The World Luge Championships will take place at the $105-million facility in 2013.

Canada Line SkyTrain:  This $2-billion rail link has provided Vancouver with an inexpensive, fast way to get between downtown and the airport.  Twice as many people used the Canada Line during the Olympics, when residents were encouraged to curb their driving.  Now that the Olympics have ended, it appears that more people than anticipated are using the SkyTrain regularly.