The venue has since been reconfigured and now serves as a community multi-sport park and includes two ice hockey rinks, two running tracks, a climbing wall, a rowing tank and a flexible area which can be used for, among other sports, basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer and table tennis.

The Olympic bid called for the oval to be located on the grounds of Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Burnaby, but Richmond was instead selected in 2004.

Although twice the price of the SFU alternative, the location was selected because the city offered to cover all costs exceeding $60 million.

[6] The bid book cited a construction cost of $63.7 million,[7] which would give a 20,000-square-meter (220,000 sq ft) arena and met all requirements for speed skating at the Olympics.

[8] UBC also started working on a proposal for a speed skating oval in the University Endowment Lands, which could then be built in conjunction with the hockey arena.

The anticipated cost overruns were caused both because of a general shortage in construction labor, and challenging geological conditions at the proposed site.

VANOC stated that in addition to a cost cap, the Richmond alternative featured better transport, as it would be located on the SkyTrain's Canada Line.

Financing of the venue was split between Richmond City Council and VANOC, with the former guaranteeing for any cost overruns.

A feng shui consultant was used during the design process as its implementation is important to the large Chinese Canadian population in Richmond.

It was topped off on spending $120,000 to send nine officials, including the mayor and a councilor, to attend the 2006 Winter Olympics.

The River Green project is part of Richmond's plan to become more urban and less suburban and build up community centers, backed with the arrival of the Canada Line.

VANOC's official back-up plan was, in case of a major earthquake, to move speed skating events to Calgary.

[15] Construction required the pouring of 335,280 cubic meters (11,840,000 cu ft) of concrete, the use of 5,600 tonnes of steel and 305 board-kilometers (one million board-feet) of pine beetle wood.

The roof is held up using fifteen glued laminated timber beams, and is designed to resemble the wings of the heron.

[24] The oval's roof uses pine beetle damaged wood, which was selected as a showpiece to aid the use of a material which has caused a negative economic impact in many British Columbia communities.

Environmental design includes the capture of rain water on the roof and the recycling of waste heat energy from the refrigeration system for the ice surfaces.

[16] The Olympic configuration, which was in place from the opening until April 2010, consisted of a 400-meter (1,312 ft) speed skating rink.

The upper level consists of a fitness center with views of the North Shore mountains and the river and houses more than 200 pieces of equipment.

The sculpture is made of Tenara architectural fibre, supported by painted galvanized steel rings.

[28] The other three entries nominated for the award were the roof of Wimbledon Centre Court, the elephant house at the Copenhagen Zoo, and Beijing National Stadium (also known as the Bird's Nest) used for the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

[31] The Richmond Olympic Oval is located at 4 meters (13 ft) above mean sea level (AMSL).