The 2010 Games mark another major milestone today with the opening of the speed skating oval in Richmond, B.C.
The project is billed as one the only architectural legacies of the Games but the city's Ted Townsend says the oval will leave a legacy for residents long after the Olympics.
That's when it will switch from an Olympic ice facility to a fully functioning community centre, complete with basketball courts and a rowing tank.
Even though it's a $178 million project overall, the ice won't help athletes set any records, come Games time.
That's because the oval sits at sea level and higher altitudes, like those in Calgary, make faster ice.
But the organizing committee's Cathy Priestner Allinger says what will matter during the 2010 Olympics is not records, but how the athletes compete against each other.
