NEWS RELEASE

HRM to Commence Work on Canada Games Oval

 

(August 5, 2010) Residents of the Halifax Regional Municipality will get first crack at the new Canada Winter Games speed-skating oval, once it is built on the North Common.

The Games are slated for February 2011, but the venue will be available to the public in December, Mayor Peter Kelly announced today.

“As hosts of the Winter Games, residents have a unique opportunity to enjoy these facilities,” he said. “I would encourage everyone to lace up their skates and take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to skate on the big-ice.”

Site clearing for the temporary facility will begin after the concerts this weekend and construction will run through the fall.

In addition to recreational and fitness skating on the oval, residents will be able to take part in a wide variety of free programs, including learn-to-skate clinics, DJ nights, a family New Year's Eve Event, and Skating for Schools.

Given the positive impact the oval is expected to have on the community, Chris Morrissey, CEO of the Winter Games, asked for the public’s patience during the construction phase.

“The oval has the potential to be the most exciting Games-time venue,” he noted. “Long-track speed skating will be a free event, and one that not many Nova Scotians have seen in person before, so we want the Halifax Common to be hopping with activity leading up to, during, and after the Games.”

The Canada Games Oval will be used for a long-track speed skating test event January 15 and 16 of next year as well as for the Canada Games themselves, which run from February 11 to 27, 2011.

The former playing fields will be reinstated next summer and be ready for use in the fall of 2011.

For additional information visit www.halifax.ca/canadagamesoval.

-30-

Mayor Peter Kelly

Halifax Regional Municipality
490-4010
 

Chris Morrissey, CEO

Halifax 2011 Host Society

490-7460