Calgary’s Olympic Oval will officially get a new lease on life today when the federal government signs off on a change to its legacy fund for day-to-day operations and provides $10 million to repair the facility — such as fixing its leaky roof.
The plan, which has been in the works for months, will be formalized today at a ceremony with officials at the Oval.
"For us, it’s the best thing that’s happened," said the Oval’s director, Kameron Kiland. "It’s a win-win."
As previously reported by the Herald, the University of Calgary and WinSport Canada had pitched a rescue plan to the government that would keep the Oval running for another 20 years.
It required an amendment to one of the endowment funds — created to pay for Olympic facilities in Calgary after the 1988 Winter Games — by allowing for an annual draw rather than relying only on interest generated by the fund.
Sport Minister Gary Lunn will make the change official today.
"We’ll allow WinSport to draw down the principal," said Lunn’s spokeswoman, Vanessa Schneider. "Minister Lunn has been supportive since the very beginning.
"It just took some time to cross the t’s and dot the i’s."
The changes come after WinSport, which manages the legacy funds, took a multimillion dollar hit on its endowments as financial markets plunged in 2008.
As a result, the non-profit organization was unable to draw on any interest generated by the funds for daily operations at Calgary’s legacy facilities — including the Oval — threatening to reduce ice time prior to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
The amendment will allow an annual draw from the Olympic Endowment Fund, which was created to bankroll two-thirds of the operations and capital at the Oval. The remaining third will still come from the U of C, which manages the building.
It will allow the Oval, which houses Canada’s high-performance speedskating program, to operate for another 20 years.
Meanwhile, officials and athletes at the Oval have raised concerns the aging structure’s leaky roof, which has become a safety concern for skaters since it often drips on the ice.
Kiland said the Oval will receive $10 million in capital funding to make improvements to the facility.
"The No. 1 priority is the roof," he said.
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