With 2010 Richmond Olympic Oval Success, BTY Group Proves Value of Ongoing Cost and Project Management
02/19/2010 09:10
| The eyes of the world are on Vancouver, host of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The athletes may be the stars, but the facilities, infrastructure and landscape of British Columbia, Canada, are also on display and under scrutiny, both for how they play host and for the long-term impact the Games will have on the region. In
Since Vancouver won the bid for the 2010 Games, BTY Group has played an integral part of the lead-up by providing a range of services including due diligence, valuing, planning, and multiple cost management and monitoring services on a total of seven Olympic facilities and venues besides the Richmond Olympic Oval, the speed skating arena in the City of Richmond. The other projects include the Olympic Centre (curling venue) and the Killarney Practice Rink in Vancouver, both Vancouver and Whistler Olympic Villages, and the Whistler Sliding Centre for the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions. Crafting an Icon The Richmond Olympic Oval may well serve as a case study for the value of ongoing cost and project management. It may also become one of the 2010 Games' iconic facilities, just as the "Birds Nest" stadium did for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. "The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) held a design and business competition to deliver the speed-skating venue and the City of Richmond won," said Toby Mallinder MRICS, PQS, and Partner with BTY Group. The City wanted every aspect of delivering that facility to be a success. It further recognized that projects for major international sports competition need a great deal of financial scrutiny to prevent timelines and costs from getting away from planners' estimates, according to Mallinder. This recognition led to BTY Group's involvement from inception through completion and occupation. On Time, On Budget "It was the right choice," Mallinder said. "The Oval was the largest Olympic venue, and the development took place in an overheated market that saw double-digit, year-over-year cost escalation increases. The project itself also had significant scope changes as it progressed. BTY's ongoing involvement proved its value with the Oval's completion on time and on budget." Mallinder sees two main factors for the functional and financial success of the Oval's development. The first is the close working relationships with VANOC, the City of Richmond and the project's integrated design and construction team. The second is the cost management and control structures for the Oval that BTY Group developed and managed. "Much of the credit for the effectiveness of BTY's cost management program goes to Eldon Lau, MRICS, our team leader on the Oval Project," Mallinder said. "His ability to accurately gauge the project's full scope as well as its unique characteristics, were critical to establishing accurate pricing and an efficient cost management structure." A Legacy for British Columbia BTY's involvement with the Oval will continue after the 2010 Games, as the venue undergoes legacy transformation that will see it house a civic community wellness centre, a centre for training and developmental high-performance sport, a wellness services provider, and community meeting and public gathering spaces. The Oval's main activity space will allow ice sport to occur simultaneously with other sports or assembly uses and will also remain convertible to the former 400-metre long-track use. The transformation of the Oval is another stage in its design to also serve as an urban catalyst for local development. Under close public scrutiny for the substantial investments required, the City of Richmond, like other jurisdictions in the region developing facilities to be used as Olympic venues, looked closely at their long-term impact. They carefully chose locations in their communities where they identified long-term need -- and benefits. The City's close attention to making considered choices for locating facilities also extended to choosing a partner with the credentials -- and long-term experience -- to ensure the facilities themselves delivered full value. The Value of a Credential "The RICS designation is a strong differentiator for firms seeking to be considered for such major undertakings," Mallinder said. "I think BTY Group's credentials, strong professional designations and the breath and depth of experience among our individual team members all help build confidence in project proponents looking for expertise in managing costs." BTY Group's success managing costs for facilities development for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games is already having a major impact on its bids for future work. As BTY Group's Toronto office pursues work on the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, the RICS credential continues to demonstrate its value in the competition to provide services for major international sports competitions. Fast Facts:
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