Quote:
Originally Posted by jayswin
I wonder if under the new requirements that Winsport would be acceptable as one of the small capacity arenas (it seats 3000)? In terms of aesthetics it certainly would give a nice look to visitors and viewers, especially being right on the original Canada Olympic Park.
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I think there are two problems with using the rink at Winsport (this is based on the report the exploratory committee delivered to Council last year)...
1. COP will already be a very busy location during the Games with the sliding events and some of the freestyle/snowboarding events likely being held there (also one of the reasons why COP isn't a great location for ski jumping). As a result, it would be a parking and traffic nightmare if they need to move an additional 3,500 people in and out for arena events.
2. The capacity of the arena is too small for the anticipated demand for any event that might be held there. Curling could easily draw at least double that capacity in Canada, and even small hockey crowds would easily fill it up. The small arenas in Korea aren't much bigger than Winsport, but those sports are much bigger draws in Canada. One of the things that will make or break the financial viability of the Games is ticket sales, so using a smaller arena would hurt that.