The Whistler Sliding Centre

Venue Description

The Whistler Sliding Centre will host the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and will also serve as a legacy which will be enjoyed by local residents, visitors and high-performance athletes.

The venue is situated on Blackcomb Mountain, complementing the many other adventure-oriented activities that the area offers. After the Winter Olympics are over, the facility will operate as a centre for high-performance development, youth and recreational club programming, and tourist and public admissions (passenger rides and tours), building upon the legacy of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Venue capacity: 12,000
Elevation: Men’s luge handles: 939 metres
Bottom: 787 metres
Highest vertical drop: 152 metres

Timeline
Construction began in June 2005, with the track being operationally complete in winter 2007-08. The formal public opening took place in fall 2008.

Post-Games Use

The Whistler Sliding Centre will be operated under the direction of the Whistler Legacies Society, supported by an endowment trust that was created by the federal and provincial governments as part of their 2010 Winter Games venues investment. The Whistler Sliding Centre will showcase sliding sports by hosting international competitions and developing sliding sports opportunities in the local communities. Its location, near several of the resort’s world-class hotels, will attract many tourists, providing a sustainable revenue stream towards the centre’s long-term operations and legacy.

Venue Events

Bobsleigh

Two-man
Four-man
Women's

Luge

Men’s Singles
Women’s Singles
Doubles

Skeleton

Men’s
Women’s

Venue Details

VANOC investment
The Whistler Sliding Centre was built at a cost of $104.9 million, funded jointly by the governments of Canada and British Columbia.

Sustainable attributes

• Smart site selection — adjacent to previously developed areas within a major ski area (such as ski trails, parking lots)

• Site designed to minimize required vegetation clearing and to reduce facility footprint (such as soft edging and tree islands)

• Long-term operations and revenue generation opportunities through athlete training facility and visitor use

• First construction contract (2005) awarded to local Whistler business

• Energy efficiency initiatives to minimize refrigeration plant energy use include:
  – ammonia refrigeration system — ammonia is one of the most energy-efficient refrigerants producing no chlorofluorocarbons (which contribute to ozone-layer depletion and global climate change)
  – track shading and weather protection system
  – tree retention to cast shade
  – track painted white to minimize heat absorption
  – capture and reuse of waste heat from refrigeration plant

Scope of work and plans for 2010
The venue features a new 1,450-metre competition-length concrete sliding track, refrigeration facilities, support buildings and access road. The Whistler Sliding Centre will host Sport Events for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton. Over the 13 days of sliding competition, athletes will compete for a total of eight Olympic medals.