 Ski Jasper Alberta News
Winter 2010 Paralympic Venue
WEDNESDAY, 23 AUGUST 2006
Following a decision by the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) Council not to build a new 2,700-seat arena in Whistler, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) announced that the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games ice sledge hockey tournament will be moved to the UBC Winter Sports Centre in Vancouver. To enhance the Vancouver program, VANOC also announced that wheelchair curling will be moved to Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park in Vancouver.
VANOC recommended that the RMOW forego the building of the arena in an Aug. 20th letter to Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed and RMOW Council. "The new proposed delivery model will bring the added advantages of more spectators and greater profile for the Paralympic Games in Vancouver. These are significant considerations for sports where Canadian teams have excelled and where we expect to be able to draw national attention and raise support and awareness for these sports along with those that will be hosted in Whistler. All things considered we see moving ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling as a positive move for all involved."
John Furlong, VANOC CEO, added in the letter: "We do not believe it is fair for us to expect Whistler to fund this project (new arena) to the level that would be required beyond our (VANOC's) $20 million commitment when there is another very good and viable option available to us. After careful examination we believe we can achieve an extraordinary Games experience for these sports and the athletes at the new high-capacity Olympic arena planned for UBC."
Whistler will remain home to the majority of Paralympic events, nightly Paralympic celebrations (84 events) and Closing Ceremony. The addition of Paralympic events in Vancouver will provide the opportunity for greater public exposure to both sports, particularly given Canada's gold-medal winning performances in both sports in Torino.
The previously planned Whistler arena would have permitted 2,700 spectators for sledge hockey while the Whistler Meadow Park Sports Centre would have held 500 spectators for wheelchair curling. The move to Vancouver will see dramatic increases in spectator capacity levels with sledge hockey played at the UBC Winter Sports Centre which, following estimated accessibility modifications, will seat approximately 6,000 while wheelchair curling will house approximately 3,500 spectators at Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park.
VANOC also committed today to continue to work with the RMOW to improve the legacy aspects of the Games in Whistler through the transfer of a minimum of $3 million originally committed from VANOC's privately funded operations budget for temporary nighttime celebrations facilities. This could assist Whistler in developing a permanent community celebration plaza as a sustainable and lasting legacy post-Games. This grant could then be supplemented by the $2 million the RMOW will have entitlement to in its contract with VANOC in the event the new arena was not built.
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