Federal budget offers glimmer of hope for Calgary’s beleaguered Olympic Oval

Canadian national long track speed skating team members train on the ice at the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alta., Friday, June 11, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY — The fastest ice in the world that’s on borrowed time may have a lifeline.

Calgary’s Olympic Oval, a legacy of the 1988 Winter Games in the city, will soon lose its ability to make ice because of brine leaks among 400 pipe connections under its 38-year-old floor.

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The Oval has been a hub of international, university and community sport since it was completed in 1987 for $40 million.

A speedskating World Cup from Friday to Sunday will be the second at the Oval in 2025, and again draw the world’s best in the sport.

Canadian athletes who train there year-round are worried, however, about how long the aging system can hold out.

“We had some pretty difficult conditions this summer with the ice surface,” said Olympic medallist Ivanie Blondin. “It’s on its last leg.”

Federal, provincial and municipal government money has been sought for a $60-million renovation that includes floor replacement, ice plant upgrades, a new running track and improved accessibility for people using mobility aids among other items.

“We are putting Band-Aids on top of duct tape so that we can keep the place running,” said Oval director Mark Messer, who has worked at the facility since its inception.

“We’ll keep things going because that’s what we do. We’ve maintained it. We’ve replaced as much as we can. At some point, we know that things are going to fail.”

He feels more optimistic about the Oval’s future than he did when it last hosted a World Cup in January.

The federal budget that passed this week in Ottawa committed $115 billion to infrastructure over the next five years under a “Building Canada Strong” banner.

“It’s a hugely positive sign,” Messer said.

The Oval’s location on the university campus had excluded it from some previous federal infrastructure money because it was deemed an educational institution.

“Now they’ve developed another infrastructure fund that we could qualify for,” Messer said.

“We have people in Ottawa that are working on it, they’re supposed to be meeting this week to see, now that the money is there, how do we get it? We’ve had talks for two years, it’s been back and forth that yes, we can do it, we just have to find a way to do it. Now we have the way to it.”

Canada’s Secretary of Sport Adam van Koeverden indicated Saturday in Toronto that sport-related projects like Calgary’s Oval could get in line for infrastructure money.

“The answer is yes,” van Koeverden said. “We know that sport, physical activity, recreation and play, the entire spectrum of physical activity has a really strong role to play in the cultural fabric.

“In the safety, in the health, in mental health, in the vibrancy of our communities, sport plays a strong role.”

Alberta’s government gave $1 million to the Oval in its February budget, which was used to replace its 1987 lights with LED lights, and thus save money on energy consumption.

“Our government granted $1 million in last year’s budget to the U of C to address some of the pressing renewal pressures in this venue,” said a statement from the office of provincial Minister of Tourism and Sport Andrew Boitchenko.

“In Budget 2025, the Government of Alberta gave the University of Calgary over $22.45 million in capital maintenance and renewal funding to maintain and upgrade all university infrastructure, including their sports facilities.

“Our government continues to encourage federal and municipal governments to recognize the Calgary Olympic Oval for its contributions. The Olympic Oval is owned by the University of Calgary. It would be up to them to pursue such funding opportunities. We encourage them to explore all revenue options, including through the federal budget.”

A renovation needs to start in the spring of 2027 to limit disruption for not only Olympic athletes, Messer said.

“We’ve got 15, 20, 25 different organizations that train out of here,” he said. “If we’re going to shut down for nine months, we need give them some advance notice.

“We need have some sort of a commitment and we need to have it as quick as we can so we can start this ball rolling.”

Calgary’s is the oldest of three covered Ovals in the country.

Quebec City’s Centre de Glaces Intact Insurance that opened in 2021 at a cost of $68.7 million has hosted international speedskating competitions.

The $44-million Pomeroy Sport Centre in Fort St. John, B.C. opened in 2010.

The $178-million Richmond Olympic Oval constructed for the 2010 Winter Games in B.C. didn’t keep long-track ice, but was reconfigured for multi-purpose use.

— With files from Neil Davidson in Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press