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REVIEW RICHMONDREVIEW.COM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014
48 PAGES
Matthew Hoekstra photo Scheduled to open in June, the Richmond Olympic Experience will have elements on all three floors inside the Richmond Olympic Oval, along with the building’s grounds.
Olympic museum budget crests $10 million New government cash, sponsors to help bankroll Richmond Olympic Experience by Matthew Hoekstra Staff Reporter Federal ministers pledged $500,000 in new funding for the Richmond Olympic Experience Wednesday morning, raising the museum project’s budget to $10 million just six months before a scheduled opening. Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, made the announcement inside the Richmond Olympic Oval alongside Kerry-Lynne Findlay, MP for Delta-Richmond East and Minister of National Revenue. The announcement follows a $250,000 pledge from the provincial government
Tuesday. Elements of the 15,000-square-foot interactive museum are planned for all three floors of the Richmond Olympic Oval. But there’s little to see so far—despite the expected June opening. Black curtains surround a third-floor area where much of the action will be—sports simulators that include a bobsled run, kayak course and Paralympic sit-ski course. There’s a few more clues outside, where preparations are underway for a torch relay tribute leading to a cauldron in the oval plaza. Some elements, such as the torch tribute and a showcase of Richmond’s sports history, will be free to view, while others will require a
Matthew Hoekstra photo Speaking at the Richmond Olympic Oval Wednesday, Trevor Hirschfield, captain of the Canadian national wheelchair rugby team, says a new Olympic museum inside the venue will support Paralympic sport.
ticket that, according to a 2012 business plan, could cost $15 for adults. The new federal cash will pay for display units and lighting, according to Minister Glover, while the provincial money will finance Paralympic elements of the museum. Trevor Hirschfield, captain of the Canadian national wheelchair rugby team, put his weight behind the project at Wednesday’s press conference. “A lot of people know how important the oval is to Olympic sport, but they don’t often hear how influential they are to Paralympic sport,” he said. “They’ve always supported Paralympic sport, and they continue to do so with the Richmond Olympic Experience.”
The new money, along with undisclosed corporate sponsorship, brings the museum’s budget to $10 million, from an earlier base projection of $5.6 million. “Some of the private contributions haven’t been announced because the contracts have not yet been signed,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “We’re just waiting on the mechanics of it. The money’s all committed.” Funding sources that have been made public include $575,000 from city coffers and $1.5 million from the oval reserves. Tourists have kicked in another $2.5 million through hotel tax collected by Tourism Richmond. See Page 3
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