Backgrounder

Richmond Olympic Oval
The Richmond Olympic Oval is an international centre of excellence for sport, recreation, health and wellness. It is a world class multi-use facility that harmoniously brings together summer and winter sports, recreation, culture, business and environment in a signature architectural statement on a superb waterfront location on River Road.

The Richmond Olympic Oval provides significant and diverse social, recreational and financial benefits for the community. The Oval has allowed the City to achieve objectives within Richmond’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services plans and replace or upgrade aging civic facilities in a much shorter time frame than otherwise possible, with the cost being significantly underwritten by external funding sources.

Location
An iconic landmark, located at 6111 River Road, just across the water from Vancouver International Airport, the Richmond Olympic Oval will be seen from the air by millions of passengers travelling through YVR each year. On the water’s edge, with uninterrupted views from sea to sky, the Oval showcases the outstanding beauty of this region.

The Richmond Oval site borders the Middle Arm of the Fraser River and lies between the No. 2 Road and Dinsmore Bridges. The Oval will become part of a vibrant and integrated urban waterfront development, and is bordered by a City Centre Waterfront Park with a major outdoor plaza linking the facility directly to the Fraser River and the City’s 40-plus kilometres of waterfront trails.

Facility Concept
The Richmond Oval will be a world class multi-purpose facility and will have significant and diverse benefits for the community. A focal point for community recreation and wellness amenities and services, the Oval will also be a major new centre for sports training and competition.

The Richmond Oval provides a wide range of opportunities for sports and community users, whether they are seeking a playground or a spot on the Olympic podium. It offers programming accessible to all citizens including youth, women, people with disabilities, those with financial needs and other special requirements, as well as emerging and elite athletes. Community recreation and wellness programming blends with high performance sports training and competition to ensure the benefits of physical activity and athletic participation are extended to the entire community.

The Oval is now being transitioned to its Post-Olympic Games full-use model with the capability of hosting both summer and winter sports simultaneously. Indoor track, badminton, volleyball, basketball, combative and wheelchair sports, indoor soccer, gymnastics and special events are just some examples of the Oval’s many uses. It will also host high performance sport competitions, training, testing, rehabilitation and administration on an ongoing basis.

The main activity area will generally be divided into three zones: ice, court and track. The ice zone will be home to two Olympic-sized ice rinks. The court zone will be a hardwood surface playing area capable of hosting a wide variety of sports, while the track zone will have a rubberized turf surface that will be home to an indoor running track and other sport uses. The main activity area will be convertible to different configurations that will allow the facility to be used for a flexible variety of ice and dry sports as demand warrants, including short and long track speed skating.

Other Oval amenities will include: a 900-square metre athletic development centre; a 1,500-square metre sports science and research testing facility; a sport rehabilitation and medicine area; an indoor paddling centre; a fitness studio for group exercise; a rowing and cycling studio; and a community fitness facility. Retail and commercial leasing space will be available, as well as multi-purpose community meeting spaces.

The Oval is a premier facility for national and international competitions and has dramatically expanded hosting opportunities for British Columbia sports organizations. In addition, it provides increased opportunities for community recreational uses, athletic participation and development. The Oval will also be a major training centre for athletes from novice to elite levels. A number of Canadian national sports teams are expected to make the Oval their national training centre.

The City of Richmond and the Richmond Oval Corporation are committed to working with sports, health, education and other community organizations to develop a programming mix that meets a broad spectrum of needs.