A $1.4 million renovation is planned this year for the Richmond Olympic Oval’s museum.
The Richmond Olympic Experience, which opened 14 months ago, will undergo work intended to “improve the overall visitor experience in the ROX by reconfiguring the exhibit areas,” according to an annual Oval financial report to Richmond city council last week.
The project will be funded by hotel room tax revenue, via Tourism Richmond.
Recently, council approved a staff recommendation to increase the hotel tax from two to three per cent commencing this July, pending provincial government approval.
The renovations represent about half of the Oval's 2017 capital budget, which is funded from Oval reserves, which come from annual net income.
As a result of initially overestimating the useful life of ROX for budget purposes, amortization expenses are projected to be about $536,000 more in 2016, eating into net income ($1.3 million budgeted last year, $740,000 budgeted this year).
The City of Richmond will increase its “contribution” to the Oval by about two per cent, to $3.4 million, this year. The Oval will also receive $2.9 million from the 2010 Games Operating Trust. It expects to take in close to $8.4 million in earned revenue (memberships, admissions and programs). Such revenue is projected to have fallen about three per cent in 2016.
“Following the Oval’s first full year of operations for the Olympic Experience, the ROX SHOP and YYoga Richmond Oval, 2017 will be a year of enhancement and refinement for each of these areas,” notes the report.
Seven years after hosting the Winter Olympics speed skating competitions, Oval executives continue to market the then $178 million facility as a high-performance sporting venue.
This year 40 sporting events are booked at the Oval and a new practice, training and competition venue for the Women’s National Volleyball team is set to open.
The report notes increased competition for regular customers from a soon-to-open Steve Nash Fitness Centre in the Oval Village.
Council approved the construction of the $10 million ROX to build a “staycation” and tourist destination that serves to promote the Olympic movement and Richmond’s legacy to the games.
The Oval, a subsidiary of the city, created a subsidiary company of its own called VROX Sport Simulation Ltd. to build sport simulators, a key attraction of the museum.
The museum is sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee.
