The Olympic curling venue - The Vancouver Olympic Centre - is located at the geographic center of Vancouver, near Queen Elizabeth Park and Nat Bailey Stadium. It includes four curling sheets and approximately 108,000 square feet of space. During the Games, the arena will accommodate 6,000 spectators - roughly twice the capacity of the Torino venue. The curling venue is perched on one of the highest points in the city, with views of downtown and the North Shore mountains. It was the final Olympic venue completed, on February 16, 2006.
After the 2010 Winter Games, the curling venue will become a multi-purpose community recreation center that will include an ice hockey rink, gymnasium, library and eight sheets of curling ice. Attached to, and being constructed with the new curling venue and community center, is a new aquatic center with a 50m pool and leisure pool. The Vancouver Olympic Committee contributed $40 million, or roughly half, of the total cost of the complex.
Aboriginal art will be installed in the curling venue, featuring traditional and contemporary artwork by First Nations, Inuit and Metis artists from across Canada.
