Status of the Canada Games Oval in Halifax
The Canada Games Oval was built as a temporary venue for the long track speed skating event at the 2011 Canada Winter Games. The Halifax Regional Municipality provided major funding for the oval, and is operating it outside of the Games period. They have provided free public programming including public skates, learn to skate lessons, and school skating programs, with free skate and helmet rentals, as well as dedicated speed skating times.
Two major events of interest to masters have been held on the oval, the Skate the Common Marathon, and the Canadian Masters Open Championships.
Public response to the oval has been overwhelming. Thousands of skaters have come out to skate on the oval. At times, the gates have had to be closed, with people having to wait until others leave before being allowed to enter the venue. Skates are flying off the shelves of local businesses, and skate sharpeners can’t keep up with the demand.
A local “Save the Oval” group has organized a campaign to make the oval permanent, and recently presented a petition with nearly 9,000 signatures to the HRM Council. John-Paul Cody-Cox, the CEO of Speed Skating Canada, attended the presentation of the petition, and was quoted in the Halifax Herald: “For us, Olympians don’t start at high-performance centres. They don’t start in Calgary ovals. They start on ponds. They start on community ovals like this with their families.”
Sponsors are coming forward with proposals for sponsorship funding, including a $100,000 donation from the World Figure Skating Championships Legacy Fund.
For more info, see this article on the SSC website, visit the Save the Oval website, or just Google “save the oval”!
2 comments:
In a discussion with some people at the Oval, I was told that that the oval construction was temporary and may be missing a layer that would enable its permanence. What may be missing is a heated concrete layer, insulated below the chilled slab to keep the ground below from freezing and cracking. I hope that this is not the case, but, if it is, this will factor into the cost of keeping the venue.
The municipality is doing a study to determine the costs of making the oval permanent, including any upgrading of the base construction.
Post a Comment