These two venues will be the home of men’s and women’s hockey during the Vancouver Games.
Better Know Olympic Venues: Canada Hockey Place And UBC Thunderbird Arena
The University of British Columbia Thunderbird Arena (aka the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, pictured above) is in the University Endowment Lands, just outside Vancouver, and just opened in 2008. It is usually the home rink for the UBC Thunderbirds (hence the name) and will have a capacity of 6,800 for the Winter Games.
Canada Hockey Place, which is also known as the GM Hockey Place (but no corporate sponsorship in allowed during the Olympics), is the bigger of the two venues for hockey, seating 19,300. It makes its living as the home of the Vancouver Canucks, an NHL team that will embark on the league’s longest ever road trip as a result of losing their rink: 14 games over six weeks, from Jan 27 to Mar. 13.
These Games will be the first Winter Olmypics ever to play hockey on a narrower, NHL sized rink, as opposed to the international size, which is four meters wider.
See More:
More in: Better Know Your Olympic Venues
