{"id":830737,"date":"2026-07-28T05:28:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T05:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/830737\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T05:28:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T05:28:03","slug":"calgarys-olympic-oval-to-get-52-million-upgrade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/830737\/","title":{"rendered":"Calgary\u2019s Olympic Oval to get $52-million upgrade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Speed skaters train as federal and provincial officials announce a funding agreement to refurbish the Olympic Oval in Calgary on Monday.Jeff McIntosh\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Calgary\u2019s Olympic Oval is getting an upgrade.<\/p>\n

The federal and provincial governments are equally splitting a $52-million contribution to the renewal of the speed skating facility built for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.<\/p>\n

The federal government also announced Monday an additional investment of $7.67-million into ski racing and snowboard facilities in Quebec, Yukon, Alberta and B.C., as well as a $3-million top-up to the Athletic Assistance Program, which provides Canada\u2019s high-performance athletes monthly cheques to help pay their bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just a good day for Canadian sport or speed skating in Canada. This is a good era of Canadian sport because we\u2019re making the largest investments our country has ever seen in sport from the playground to the podium, from the people and the places and everything in between that sport requires to continue being Canada\u2019s greatest nation-building project,\u201d secretary of state for sport Adam van Koeverden said Monday in Calgary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Calgary Olympic Oval has produced an extraordinary and probably immeasurable number of Olympic medals, but also memories, heroes and beyond that, I understand you can fit more than a dozen volleyball courts in there. A lot of kids have learned how to skate here as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tremendously important asset to our community and our country.\u201d <\/p>\n

The federal and provincial governments are equally splitting a $52-million contribution to upgrading Calgary’s Olympic Oval built for the 1988 Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The oval on the University of Calgary campus was completed in 1987 for $40-million and was the Olympic speed skating venue the following year. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a community, university and high-performance athletic facility and the home of the national speed skating team for almost four decades.<\/p>\n

Canadian speed skaters who trained there have produced 40 Olympic medals, with Catriona Le May Doan, Cindy Klassen, Clara Hughes, Denny Morrison, Jeremy Wotherspoon, Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin among its alumni.<\/p>\n

Almost a dozen players on Canada\u2019s Olympic women\u2019s hockey teams, including Hayley Wickenheiser, played club hockey at the oval.<\/p>\n

But the oval\u2019s ability to make ice is nearing end of its life because of brine leaks among the 400 aging pipe connections under its large floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople came together to save this facility, and it would not have survived, and speed skating would have had to move out of Calgary,\u201d double Olympic gold medalist Weidemann said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that we get to continue the legacy that was grown from the \u201888 Olympics, I have chills. I\u2019m really overwhelmed by the community that\u2019s come together to save it.\u201d <\/p>\n

A new running track and improved accessibility for people using mobility aids are other oval needs, according to its director, Mark Messer.<\/p>\n

Fundraising for another $13-million to complete those elements is ongoing, he said, but Monday\u2019s announcement means jackhammers can hit the floor in January of 2028 for what\u2019s expected to be a nine-month replacement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t really get at it until January of 2028 to do the floor, but that is a priority,\u201d said Messer, who has worked at the Oval since its inception. \u201cThat\u2019s where things are deteriorating rather quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 52 [million], that\u2019ll save us. We know now we can do the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Team Canada with Isabelle Weidemann, centre, Valerie Maltais, left, and Ivanie Blondin, right, celebrate winning the gold medal in the final of the women’s team pursuit speed skating race at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.Ben Curtis\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

The venue\u2019s location on the university campus had made applying for government funding complex because it was considered an educational institution. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s been able to access $26-million from the federal government\u2019s $51-billion \u201cBuild Communities Strong Fund\u201d for projects across the country, as well as provincial money.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis facility is truly a multi-sport facility. We have judo, volleyball, other competitions here,\u201d Alberta sport minister Andrew Boitchenko said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely worth investing in and keeping it going.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had it here since \u201888, and hopefully we\u2019ll have it here another 40, 50 years because having such a beautiful big building where people can come and do all these events and competitions is so important for Calgary, the province and for Canada.\u201d <\/p>\n

Added van Koeverden: \u201cI\u2019ve been meeting with Minister Boitchenko for the last year or so. In those engagements, we\u2019ve talked about the most important investments that we are going to collectively make in sport and the Calgary Olympic Oval has been top among those priorities.\u201d <\/p>\n

Dubbed \u201cthe fastest ice in the world\u201d with help from Calgary\u2019s altitude and dry climate, over 300 speed skating world records were set in Calgary by Canadian and international skaters. <\/p>\n

But Salt Lake City\u2019s younger oval has recently gained the upper hand in the long-standing contest between the two venues for world records.<\/p>\n

Calgary\u2019s is the oldest of Canada\u2019s three indoor ovals. <\/p>\n

Quebec City\u2019s Centre de glaces Intact Assurance, which opened in 2021 for $68.7-million, has hosted international speed skating competitions.<\/p>\n

The $44-million Pomeroy Sport Centre in Fort St. John, B.C. opened in 2010.<\/p>\n

The feds will also invest just over $4-million into snowboard facilities in Quebec, Yukon and Alberta, and $3.65-million into ski racing facilities in Alberta and B.C.<\/p>\n

The Athlete Assistance Program, or \u201ccarding,\u201d envelope increased to $43-million annually for Olympic and Paralympic athletes, who each currently receive about $2,175 monthly.<\/p>\n

About 1,900 athletes in more than 90 sport disciplines are approved for AAP annually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Speed skaters train as federal and provincial officials announce a funding agreement to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":830738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,2798,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-830737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}