Edmonton is making a name for itself. From landmark festivals to celebrated infrastructure, the city has a history of building meaningful local highlights. This month, it adds another: the Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre, a year-round indoor triathlon training centre — the first facility of its kind in North America. But there are options for everyone from Olympians to ordinary weekend rec centre users.
Originally envisioned as a multi-purpose recreation hub with a running track, the project evolved through partnerships with the Alberta Velodrome Association and World Triathlon Series Edmonton, shifting toward high-performance sports and adding a 250-metre indoor cycling track which is already open for training. This track gives the centre the technical capacity to host World Cups, Continental Championships, Junior World Championships and even Olympic events, with opportunities for the public to watch these high level races.
Not an elite athlete or cycling fan? The centre still has a lot for the rest of us, and it opens to the public Jan. 27. “A high-performance sports building can be very intimidating and alienating. We didn’t want that to be the experience,” says Michael Dub of Dub Architects, who collaborated with HCMA and Faulkner Browns on the design of the new rec centre. From nearly every angle, visitors can see other sports unfolding around them, encouraging participation.
The new centre offers the gamut of formal and informal programs for users of all abilities. There are group fitness spaces and equipment, studios for dance, yoga, spin and mobility, as well as the Social Stair, a spot for rec centre users to visit and watch activities in the Urban Court — a colourful, multi-purpose play space for anything from three-on-three basketball to spike ball to hopscotch. If you need another excuse to go, there’s a bouldering wall and an indoor playground where you can take the kids to get their wiggles out.
Architecturally, the building is just as beautiful as its purpose. Visible from beyond the bounds of the park, the structure is held together by a Canadian timber-steel hybrid and is decorated with rose gold stainless steel shingles. Oval in shape, the exterior has an almost ribbon-like design that connects it visually to the peaked roof of the nearby Peter Hemingway Aquatic Centre, which reopens on the same day and also welcomes community users of all abilities.
“The curviness of the face is actually a very efficient way to wrap the volume of the building, kind of shrink wrapping, the envelope of the building around the cycle track,” explains Dub. (The design has already won a World Architecture Festival award.) “We’re trying to invite the public as deep into cycling as we can,” says Dub. “To make it warm, lively, fun and approachable.”
The facility offers a four-session course to help riders learn the ropes of the cycling world. Before taking a lap on the velodrome, it is required that you complete a certification and accreditation, as per the Alberta Velodrome Association guidelines. And don’t worry about not having a bike, rentals are available.
The Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre is opening Jan. 27.
