Better Know Your Olympic Venues

These two venues will be the home of men’s and women’s hockey during the Vancouver Games.

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The Opening Ceremonies will be the first ever held completely indoors, which is somewhat surprising considering the Winter Olympics are normally chilly. The budget for both the opening and closing was $40 million, half of which came from the Government of Canada.

The BC Place, which opened in 1983, is home to the BC Lions of the CFL, and has been since its inception. It has also hosted the Grey Cup seven times, and will do so again in 2011. Additionally, it will be the stadium for the new MLS Vancouver expansion team in 2011. The stadium’s website brags of its versatility.

With the Winter Olympics less than one week away, it is probably time you familiarize yourself with some of the venues you’ll be staring at for two weeks. And if you’re watching with friends, you’ll want to at sound somewhat intellegent, instead of just referring to it as “the mountain” or “the icy slide.”

There’s no Bird’s Nest or Watercube in Vancouver, but they are boasting the first ever Opening Ceremonies to be held completely indoors, so that’s something. And there is also the Richmond Olympic Oval, which is new and shiny and home to speed skating. Oh, and a ski venue that has been forced to use lots of hay already. Can’t you just feel the excitement?