The bill seems straightforward: Langley Township committed to pouring $100,000 into the BC Summer Games.

Not too expensive, for an event that will host more athletes than the recent Winter Olympics.

But behind that are a host of upgrades and new sporting venues that will be here long after the athletes have packed up their medals and left town.

The $100,000 bill is divided into two parts: $45,000 in cash for the Games organizers, and $55,000 of in-kind support, said Township parks and rec director David Leavers. The second part includes everything from Township staff time to new garbage cans for venues.

Aside from that, there is the construction bill.

Only one venue was purpose-built for the Games. The beach volleyball courts at the Langley Events Centre were fast tracked last year. If not for the Games, they likely would have been built at a later date.

Other changes have been made over the past few years, with one eye on the Games and one eye on the needs of Langley.

For example, $175,000 was spent last fall to put aluminum seating in at the McLeod Athletic Park grandstands, Leavers said.

Like the volleyball court, it was a project that would have been funded whether Langley got the Games or not, but was moved up.

Another project, the most expensive one linked to the Games, was the resurfacing of the track at the McLeod Athletic Park (MAP). That cost $650,000.

However, that project was actually put off a year - the original track surface was 13 years old, and tracks like that have a life span of about 10 years. The resurfacing was delayed so the Games athletes would have a fresh, new surface to compete on.

"It definitely changed the priority of these items," Leavers said.

Other new items that will come in handy for the games include fencing around MAP's field, and new score clocks there and at the Walnut Grove Community Centre's pool. Those projects were both co-funded by local sports organizations.

- See more about the economics of the BC Summer Games on pages A10 and A11

mclaxton@langleyadvance.com