If you have event tickets to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, you probably want to get a better idea of where your venues are.
Here’s some trivia thrown in for good measure.
o Canada Hockey Place – a.k.a. General Motors Place, this is the same sports arena that houses the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL… and in a distant past, the Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA (now the Memphis Grizzlies)
Aside from being a great place for rock concerts and international sporting events, Canada Hockey Place has had world-renowned guests speak there. Three that comes to mind are former US president Bill Clinton, Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth the Second and his Holiness, the Dalai Lama.
o Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre – Located inside Queen Elizabeth Park, the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre will be the largest curling venue at any Winter Olympics to date (at 100,000 square feet).
After the games, the centre will be converted to a multi-purpose recreation center with a ice hockey rink, a gymnasium, a library and six to eight sheets of curling ice.
o Pacific Coliseum – Home to the Vancouver Giants, junior hockey team and former home of the NHL team Vancouver Canucks, Pacific Coliseum is no stranger to international sporting events such as the World Junior Hockey Championships and ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.
The Pacific Coliseum has seens its share of historical hockey events, including the Stanley Cup finals of 1982 and 1994 and the 1977 NHL All-Star Game.
o UBC Thunderbird Arena – Located on the campus of University of British Columbia, the Vancouver Olympic committee decided to add a sports complex here under the name of Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sport Centre.
Interesting tidbit: At least 215 athletes, coaches and support staff from UBC have participated in the Olympics Games since 1928.
For a map of these locations, click on the following links… [make these anchor links]
Canada Hockey Place:
Vancouver Olympic Centre:
Pacific Coliseum:
UBC Thunderbird Arena: