May 18, 2011
Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame is now displaying at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre a preview of artefacts and a selection of work from Gordon Milne’s Canadian Sport Heroes collection to inform Calgarians and visitors about Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame which opens July 1, 2011 at Canada Olympic Park.
“We are extremely thrilled about this opportunity to showcase works of Gordon Milne and want to thank the TELUS Convention Centre for providing the space, as well as thank the Canadian Sport Centre Calgary for loaning these gorgeous pieces of art,” said Claire Buffone-Blair, President and CEO of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. “We are very excited to open our brand new 44,000 square foot facility on Canada Day and invite Calgarians and visitors to the city to come and learn about Canada’s rich sporting history.”
Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame is located on the west end of Canada Olympic Park and will feature 11 sport galleries with video and sound features, more than 550 interactive experiences, and exhibit 1,000 out of over 15,000 artefacts from many of our 520 Honoured Members’ sport careers. In addition, a 120-seat movie theatre will feature a video recalling Canada’s amazing sporting history and highlighting memorable moments in sport.
“The Calgary TELUS Convention Centre is extremely honoured to be the first Calgary home to a sampling of artefacts and providing a small piece of what Calgarians can expect in July”, notes Marcia Lyons, General Manager, Calgary TELUS Convention Centre. “Anyone walking through or having business in our building must make a point to stop by and have a look.”
The artefacts on display at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre include Olympic gold medalist curler Kevin Martin’s jacket from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, a pair of “Crazy Canuck” Ken Read’s skis, the Grenfell Challenge Cup for polo won by all-round athlete Hartland MacDougall and the Montreal Polo Club ten times between 1911 and 1928, and more. The display cases are located on the main floor of the South Building, and can be viewed from 6:30 am to 11:00 pm daily.
“The Canadian Sport Heroes collection was created as a tribute to the legendary athletes who have made an impact in sport through representing our country, and we are excited to showcase these paintings at the TELUS Convention Centre in preview to the opening of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame where the entire collection will be on exhibit”, said Dale Henwood, President of the Canadian Sport Centre Calgary.
The four paintings on display are of athletes Kurt Browning, world figure skating champion and Olympic medalist, Cassie Campbell, captain of Canada’s Olympic gold medal winning women’s hockey team, Alex Baumann, two-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming and Silken Laumann, three-time Olympic medalist in rowing.
The Calgary TELUS Convention Centre has been one of Canada’s premier convention and meeting facilities since opening its doors in 1974. Operated by the Calgary Convention Centre Authority on behalf of the City of Calgary its mandate is to market, manage and operate in an efficient and competitive manner in order to maximize overall economic benefits to the City of Calgary.
Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame is committed to preserve and showcase Canada’s rich sporting history in innovative and meaningful ways; celebrate sport’s contribution to what it means to be Canadian and connect communities from coast-to-coast-to-coast; and inspire new generations of Canadian youth to get involved in sport and dream big. With its roots dating back to 1955, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame is relocating to Calgary from Toronto and will be opening the doors to its new home at Canada Olympic Park on July 1, 2011. For more information, please visit us at www.sportshall.ca.
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Bridget Cox
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame
P: 403.836.2662
E: bcox@cshof.ca
For interviews or further information, please contact:
Heather Lundy
Director of Marketing
Calgary TELUS Convention Centre
Phone: 403.261.8514
Email: heatherl@calgary-convention.com