The Richmond Olympic Oval is located on the banks of the Fraser River, 14 kilometres south of downtown Vancouver. Located in the northwest corner of Richmond, the Oval is across the river from the Vancouver International Airport and near Richmond city centre. The venue will host all speed skating events.

It has been built on a site beside the Fraser River, a few blocks away from Lansdowne Station on the Canada Line. From the air, it is the first Olympic venue many visitors will see flying into the Vancouver, and the roof takes the stylized native shape of a heron's wing, a tribute to the Salish First Nation and the large wading bird that cohabited the riverbank at first European contact 230 years ago. It is a 33,750 m² facility, including a 20,000 m² main floor that includes a 400 m refrigerated track. It can accommodate 8,000 spectators. The Oval was built to qualify the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Scale (LEED) Silver certification; for example, the Oval's refrigeration plant is designed to heat other areas of the building through the utilization of what is otherwise waste heat from cooling the ice surface.

A distinctive feature of the Richmond Oval is its unique "wood wave" roof. This roof, which is one of the longest clear spans in North America, includes one million board feet of B.C. pine-beetle kill wood linked together in undulating sections to create a beautifully rippled effect. These one of a kind wood panels were designed by structural engineers Fast + Epp and constructed at the design build firm StructureCraft Builders Inc. in Delta, B.C. As a result, the Oval was given an award of excellence in architectural innovation by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada specifically for the innovative use of pine beetle-killed wood in its ceiling.

Venue Capacity: 7,600
Elevation: sea level

Timeline

Construction began in September 2005 and was completed December 2008. The venue opened its doors to the public on December 12, 2008. The Richmond Olympic Oval houses a 400-metre track within the new 33,750-square-metre facility. Key design elements include a state-of-the-art ice plant with superior air quality and climate controls. Facilities and systems will include offices, timing and athlete monitoring equipment, and fitness and strength training areas.

Post-Games Use

After the Games, the Richmond Olympic Oval will become an international centre of excellence for sports and wellness. The facility’s flexible design will allow it to be used for a variety of sport and community functions with two international sized ice rinks, eight gymnasiums, a 200-metre running track and 23,000 square foot fitness centre. The facility will be the centrepiece of a major new urban waterfront neighbourhood featuring a mix of residential, commercial and public amenity development.