Doug Ward
Sun
Artist’s sketch of the plan for a revitalized Robson Square, which will be renamed GE Ice Plaza and see the return of the skating rink. General Electric will contribute $ 1.6 million to the plaza, which will be used for public celebrations during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
VANCOUVER – General Electric will spend $1.6 million over the next three years to restore the outdoor ice rink at Robson Square in time for the 2010 Olympics, Premier Gordon Campbell said Monday.
In return, the Robson Square facility will be called GE Ice Plaza or, when the ice surface is not in use, GE Plaza.
The sponsoring agreement with the multinational American conglomerate means the ice rink at Robson Square should be back in operation by the winter of 2008.
Campbell said GE Plaza should become a central location for public celebration during the 2010 Games.
“This is the centre of the city in so many ways,” Campbell told reporters, “and to be able to create a real centre of attraction for all of the public will be a great thing for 2010.”
GE also sponsored the GE Ice Plaza in Torino, host of the 2006 Winter Games.
“I hope that this plaza, whether it’s the GE Ice Rink or the GE Plaza, is a real centre of activity and excitement for everyone” Campbell said.
He said the province, which will continue to own Robson Square, will complement efforts by the City of Vancouver and the federal government to provide public spaces during the 2010 Olympic period.
The city plans to stage two public gathering places on the former bus depot site on Beatty Street and in David Lam Park on the north side of False Creek.
There will be nightly celebrations, including live music.
GE chief marketing officer Dan Henson said the return of the ice rink “is a great opportunity to bring people together for fitness, and to share the excitement of the Olympic Games.”
The Robson Square ice rink first opened in 1982 but closed in November 2000 because of maintenance problems with the ice.
The GE announcement is just the latest example of corporate branding of public facilities in B.C. GM Place is probably the best-known example of the phenomenon here.
The GE brand presence at Robson Square will expire in 2010 unless the corporate giant renews its sponsoring agreement.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007