Facts and Statistics

Vancouver's parks and recreation system offers a myriad of programs in facilities and on parks 365 days of the year. Participation numbers listed here by category reflect individual visits to programs or parks for the calendar year indicated.

In 2009, more than 6.2 million visits were made to the Park Board's 23 community centres; swimming pool admissions topped 2.6 million; over 3.6 million visits to the beaches were recorded; and over 290,000 rounds of golf and pitch & putt were played. More than 1.1 million visits were made to our 8 ice rinks this year with 3,000 pairs of skates available for rent. Add to this the 6,000 volunteers who work each year in Vancouver 's parks and recreation system and you get a clear picture of how active and involved residents are.

Did You Know?

The Vancouver Park Board is the steward or operates and maintains:

• more than 220 parks
• over 350 playing fields and sports courts
  • 5 artificial turf fields
  • 148 grass and all-weather fields
  • 7 cricket pitches
  • 138 ball diamonds
  • 58 sports courts (basketball, hockey, lacrosse)
• 154 playgrounds
• 179 tennis courts
• 11 beaches
• 9 indoor and 4 outdoor pools
• 8 ice rinks
• 6 skateboard parks
• 33 dog off-leash areas
• 135,000 street trees valued at more than $500 million
• the 22 hectare (55 acre) VanDusen Botanical Garden
• the beautiful Bloedel Floral Conservatory with over 100 free-flying birds
• 8 million people visit Stanley Park annually

and on top of that..

• More than 14 new parks have been added to the city in the last 10 years
• Park Board buildings cover more than 16 hectares (40 acres) of enclosed space in our city
• In 2006, more than 300 film and TV programs were shot in our parks attracting over $150,000 in revenues
• Almost two-thirds (61%) of Vancouver's waterfront is public. The longest continuous stretch is 26 km from the tip of Canada Place in Downtown to the foot of Trafalgar Street in Kitsilano.
• More than 300,000 trees are in our parks, including more than 150,000 in Stanley Park alone
• The Park Board maintains 20 heritage buildings

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