Hastings Park racecourse in East Vancouver will have to close and lay off staff during the Winter Olympics next year, CBC News has learned.

A memo from senior management said the park is keen to remain open during the festivities, but is being forced to close by the 2010 Olympic organizing committee, known as VANOC, because it's located in a restricted area.

The closure means there will be no work for seasonal staff and temporary layoffs for others, according to Hastings Park general manager Raj Mutti.

A representative at Great Canadian Gaming Corp., which owns Hastings Park, confirmed the closure, but said the company is working with VANOC to help secure temporary jobs for its staff.

"Obviously if this was the Summer Games it would be far more disappointing because there would be literally thousands of staff and tens of thousands of visitors to our property for live racing,” Howard Blank said. "This is during our slow period — February. It's before the Run for the Roses and before the big simulcast races, so if it had to happen, this is probably the best time for it to occur."

Because many Hastings Park staff are already security-cleared, they could get jobs during the Olympics as souvenir or food and beverage sales people, Blank said.

Blank added that some employees have already requested time off during the Olympics to volunteer for the Games.

The horse-racing venue, which recently added several hundred slot machines to its operation, will be required by Olympic organizers to close from Feb. 1 until March 2, VANOC confirmed at a recent meeting.

The facility is next to the Pacific Coliseum, which will host some of the figure skating and short-track speedskating events during the Games.