The Mayor of Richmond is disputing any claim the Olympic Speedskating Oval is a financial burden to city taxpayers.
Malcolm Brodie says the oval was subsidized by three million dollars but it also made about three million dollars last year. Brodie says the net cost to Richmond taxpayers was very small.
He is also not entertaining any idea of putting the facility up for sale, "I think the idea of selling it is, I just can't tell you how extreme I think that idea is. Do we sell the Gateway Theatre? That costs us a million dollars a year. Do we sell all our community centres? Do we sell our libraries? Do we sell all of the other facilities? Of course not."
Brodie says some 600-thousand people visited the oval last year.