September 19, 2005 was the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Richmond Oval. It is scheduled to open in 2008. This will be the venue for long track speed skating during the 2010 Olympics.

Through to the spring the "construction" will consist primarily of pre-loading the site, construction for real will begin in May of 2006.

For more information see the City of Richmond Press Release

It is quite well known to most in the industry that Vancouver has been undergoing a incredible construction boom. The Globe and Mail has reported that this construction boom has caused 40% inflation in construction costs since 2002 (when the budgeting for 2010 was done). This comes as no surprise to those familiar with the construction industry. A number of projects i am aware of have undergone huge redesigns due to higher than expected costs (especially steel construction). I have also heard of cases where there has been difficulty in finding contractors for the trades.