UBC announced the renaming of the Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre to the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre on Friday, August 21.

The renaming is in honour of Doug Mitchell, a high-profile UBC law alumnus who played for the BC Lions before retiring to practice law in Calgary. He and his wife, Lois Mitchell, have pledged to donate and fundraise $10 million towards the construction costs of the Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre. The centre will be the host venue for Olympic and Paralympic events next February.

“You can imagine it’s always a pleasure to announce a major gift to the university,” said UBC President Stephen Toope, “but it is an even more enjoyable and meaningful experience to announce a gift from members of our alumni community.”

“It’s very nice of the university to do this,” said Doug Mitchell, “It’s a great honour.”

The donation will make up UBC’s portion of the venue agreement between VANOC and the university regarding the much-discussed Olympic arena. It is also one of the largest gifts UBC has received.

According to Michelle Aucoin, director of the UBC 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Secretariat, “[Their] fundraising was to cover the university’s commitment. [Mitchell] has been a fabulous supporter of UBC and UBC Athletics in the past, and this was seen to be a unique gift to the university.”

—Cynthia Khoo