Morgan:News:2010:Bronze Edition: November 2004

Friday, November 12, 2004

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #531
VANOC PEOPLE BOUND FOR ATHENS PARALYMPICS THIS WEEK; ALL PROPOSALS IN FOR WHISTLER SLIDING CENTRE VENUE

Two moguls we bumped into today...

The CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee, John Furlong is expected to be at the Athens Paralympic Games from September 19th to the 22nd, at last word although its possible those dates may change slightly yet. Also going to Athens for the Paralympic Observer program from VANOC will be Tim Gayda of the Sport section, Dena Coward from Operations and Planning, project manager Marti Kulich and Maureen Douglas, who runs VANOC's Whistler office. They'll be leaving and arriving and returning on various dates, according their specific interests in learning about the backside of these Games. Maureen Douglas and Dena Coward, we understand, will be leave on Wednesday.
The companies that submitted proposals by last Wednesday for VANOC's second venue, the Whistler Sliding Centre, included all those invited to do so from VANOC's short list, developed earlier this year. For RFP 504 -- the general site engineering for the Whistler Sliding Centre buildings, these companies submitted proposals: ND Lea, AMEC, Earth Tech and Stantec. For RFP 505 -- the detailed design and site master plan for the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton venue -- IBI Group, AMEC, Earth Tech and Stantec all submitted bids. The evaluation of the eight proposals will take place over the next several weeks with an award expected to be made in October.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 13, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #530
ENVIRONMENTAL-APPROVAL PROCESS FOR WHISTLER NORDIC CENTRE AIMS FOR JAN 1 APPROVAL

The regional executive director of Heritage Canada, Pablos Sobrino, says the environmental-approval process for the Whistler Nordic Centre, a key element in ensuring construction of the C$61 million project can start next summer, has begun, and there do not appear to be any "show stoppers."

And, he says, the government aim is to try to grant approval for the project around January 1, which would be ahead of schedule. He conceded, however, that doing so depended on the process flowing smoothly.

Sobrino says a meeting of the full working group of federal and provincial government department representatives involved in handling the joint Canada/B.C. environmental-assessment process, took place all day Friday in Vancouver with representatives of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee. B.C., following a federal/provincial/VANOC agreement last February, is taking the documentation lead in the analysis, with the federal government getting copies of the material for review.

Heritage Canada is involved because it is the department that will provide funding for the construction if its approved, and also because it is concerned with the socio-economic aspects, particularly those that affect the Lil'wat aboriginal band in the area. The 2010 group at the meeting was led by VANOC's lead environmental consultant George McKay. They were there, of course," says Sobrino. "They're the ones on the hot-seat." The meeting broke at the end of the day, with all sides -- the federal departments of Oceans & Fisheries and the Environment are also taking part, along with their provincial counterparts. Sobrino expects they next meet again in two or three weeks as the process continues.

Sobrino, noting that the environmental-assessment application documentation of the Centre had been filed, says there were a number of relatively small technical questions that need to be answered, but an initial review of the documents didn't send up any red flags.

Sobrino says that because VANOC has done quite a bit of environmental study of the area, the technical questions involved what he termed "all kinds of tiny things," and dealt with such things as drainage flows in the Callaghan Valley, some aspects dealing with plants and fish, and the like.

He also pointed out that VANOC has involved the Lil'wat and Squamish aboriginal bands in the area from the beginning in their planning and land use.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 13, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #529
EASTERN B.C. BORDER AREA EXPECTS 2010 TOURIST BUMP AND NEEDS TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENTS

Rick Hardie, the Chair of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary in eastern British Columbia, says the 2010 Olympics are, "a wonderful catalyst to motivate us, and focus our actions on critical [highway] improvements that will enhance tourism and also, trade."

Hardie, who has been on the regional district's board of directors for 11 years, says, however, "some modest highway infrastructure improvements are required in our region to facilitate both tourism and commercial traffic." He was speaking to a meeting of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region in Victoria, a conference that brought together leaders from states and provinces from throughout the Pacific Northwest to discuss ways of coordinating transportation links across United States / Canada border. The meeting was also an opportunity to have a face-to-face planning session to determine what capital projects need to be in place for the 2010 Olympics.

In eastern Washington State and the southern interior of British Columbia, there are two border-crossing ports that flow along the Highway 395 / 25 corridor between Spokane and the West Kootenays. Both B.C.'s interior comminutes and those of Washington State are expected to see spin-off benefits from Americans traveling to the Vancouver games. But Hardie says the need for better border facilities reaches far beyond getting spectators and athletes to Vancouver and Whistler in 2010.

Hardie notes that tourism development and tourism visits continue to grow in the West Kootenays, and the area has had a long connection with the Olympics. "U.S. investment in my region's resort properties continues at a rate of C$50 million per year at the Big White ski resort and now, at the Red Mountain ski resort. As an aside, did you know that Red Mountain is the oldest operating ski area in British Columbia and has produced more national and Olympic ski racers than any other ski area in North America? It was their home mountain when Nancy Greene and Kerrin Lee-Gartner won their Olympic gold medals."

Hardie says the Highway 395/25 corridor is the path for this tourism activity, adding, "The corridor will also be a conduit for increased tourism generated by the Olympics in 2010. While we don't expect huge increases in vehicular traffic going to the Olympic events, the Olympic Games will raise awareness about tourism opportunities. We experienced this phenomenon with Expo '74 in Spokane and again with Expo '86 in Vancouver. High profile events do generate increases in tourism, which must be supported by highway improvements."

Washington State and British Columbia transportation departments, he notes, are doing a joint border-crossing study to determine the alignment and cost of what he calls "critical highway improvements on both sides of the border." And he says, "These capital projects must be implemented prior to the 2010 Olympics, to facilitate increased tourism activity."

RESOURCES

Larry Robinson, Chief Administrative Officer,
Director of Corporate Administration
Kootenay Boundary Regional District

Phone (direct): 250.368.9148
Phone: (toll free, general) 1.800.355.7352
Phone: (general) 250.368.9148
FAX: 205.368.3990

Suite 202 - 843 Rossland Avenue
Trail, B.C. Canada, V1R 4S8

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 10, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #528
FURLONG OK WITH OTTAWA'S SPENDING PLANS FOR C$10.1 MILLION FOR HIGH-CALIBRE ATHLETES

The CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee, John Furlong, says the federal government's announcement today about how its C$10.1 million boost to Olympic-bound athletes and their organizations, announced earlier this year, is part of wide range of necessary additional support.

"This support for our high performance athletes is an important first step towards building a successful future," said John Furlong, chief executive officer of VANOC. "Investing in Canada's athletes now will help them pursue the podium when Canada hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler in 2010."

Minister of State for Sport, Stephen Owen, says C$4.6 million will go to the existing Athlete Assistance Program and up to C$5.5 million will be for equipment purchases. About 1,400 Canadian athletes will receive an increase of C$4,800 per year in their tax-free stipends. Stipends for athletes with developmental cards will increase 80% to C$900 per month, bringing their annual total to $10,800. Stipends for athletes with senior cards will increase 36% to C$1,500 per month, bringing their annual total to C$18,000.

Furlong added that it's up to everyone involved in the sport system to work together to ensure our athletes are well prepared for future Games. "VANOC will work with all interested parties to move this forward to help ensure the best possible support for Canadian athletes."

Owen says the C$5.5 million will allow national teams to buy equipment for athletes and for Canadian Sport Centres to support sport science and sport medicine. Improved equipment - including sport-specific equipment such as rowing shells, canoes, hockey sledges, wheelchairs, and tandem bikes - was specifically mentioned. Athletes, Owen says, will also benefit from equipment investments in Canadian Sport Centres for testing, monitoring, and refining their training programs.

As Owen puts it, "This investment builds towards success in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2006, 2008, 2010 and beyond."

Although the extra C$10.1 million was a one-time allotment for the current government financial year, which ends March 31, the additional financing is expected to be rolled into a larger, more integrated sports support program involving both Owen and Canadian Heritage minister Liza Frulla, who says, "The Prime Minister has asked for a plan to be brought forward, and I'm pleased to be working with my colleague, Minister of State Owen, to look at ways to strengthen our sport system."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 10, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Sports| #527
GRETZKY SUGGESTS CORE OF TEAM CANADA COULD BE IN 2010 GAMES

2010NewsWatch

The sports columnist for the Free Press newspaper in London, Ontario, quotes Wayne Gretzky, the executive director of hockey's Team Canada as saying, "We went with the best players and a lot of them are young, But yes, it's likely a lot of them will be on the 2010 team."

Columnist Jim Kernaghan says, in his opinion, "This young team contains the core of the next two Olympic Games teams. Look at their ages. Here's Jay Bouwmeester, 21, Dany Heatley, 23, Simon Gagne, Vincent Lecavalier, Robyn Regehr and Brad Richards, all 24, Joe Thornton, Brenden Morrow, Patrick Marleau, Scott Hannan, Roberto Luongo and Eric Brewer, all 25. These are guys who will all be around 30 for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Some, such as Jarome Iginla and Shane Doan, both 27, could still be a force then."

Kernaghan interviewed Gretzky, who also led the that team won the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Gold medal in hockey, as Team Canada was practicing for the semi-final World Cup game against the Czech Republic on Saturday. The winner of that game plays Tuesday for the World Cup against the winner of tonight's U.S. - Finland game.

"Canada desperately wants to win tomorrow night and secure the World Cup next week," says Kernaghan. "After that, the next big major is the 2006 [Winter] Olympics in Turin, Italy."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 10, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #526
WASHINGTON STATE GOVERNOR SETS UP 2010 TASK FORCE

The governor of Washington State, Gary Locke, has established the Governor's 2010 Olympics Task Force to start the process of getting the state ready for "the opportunities and challenges" associated with the 2010 Games

The task force is co-chaired by U.S. Democratic Representative Rick Larsen, who represents the Lake Stevens area, and the governor's former transportation secretary and congressman Sid Morrison.

A Locke spokesman confirmed there is currently no state funding for the work of the task force, but he added that "the tremendous opportunities and impacts posed by this global event" prompted the governor to begin the coordination process now. The task force will include four subcommittees on trade, tourism, security and transportation. Locke says he has asked the co-chairs to share "early task force findings" with the 2005 Legislature.

The Washington State government earlier this year tweaked its transportation budget to begin working on projects that would help ease expected traffic congestion for the 2010 Games, but the concept is to help get tourists from Vancouver to Seattle. For instance, the budget adjustments were designed to speed up the construction of Inter-State 5's high-occupancy-vehicle lanes near Everett. And last May it published a pamphlet outlining its planning efforts for items connected with the 2010 Games (see RESOURCES). And Amtrak runs several trains a day at the moment between Seattle and Vancouver with trips that take about two hours and 40 minutes, and that, too, is expected to carry tourists between Washington State and Vancouver during the 2010 Games.

"The 2010 Olympics represent great opportunities in trade, tourism and economic development for Washington state," Locke said. "The large influx of visitors from across the globe - many of whom will travel through Washington - are also likely to create major impacts in security, transportation, and other infrastructure."

Locke says he's asked the two co-chairs to "help identify the critical projects, issues, and challenges that our state must address to ensure that the potential economic development opportunities are realized, while public safety and mobility are preserved."

Larsen, who says the Task Force will be "an exciting challenge," says he believes that "As many as two to three million people are expected to attend the [2010 Games]. The security concerns and economic opportunities will not stop on the Canadian side of our northern border."

Morrison adds that, "This is a great opportunity for the state of Washington to be a good neighbor and to benefit from the throngs of people coming to the Northwest for the 2010 Olympics."

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell was in Washington State to discuss the 2010 Games and co-operation about a year, outlining some of the goals his government had for the games. He said at the time that there was an opportunity for cooperation between the two regions to take advantage of the tourism and other benefits that are forecast to come from the Olympic Games, but he emphasized Campbell said the border crossings between the state and the province are important, and that he'd like to ensure that B.C. continues to "work closely" with Washington state to help make the border as "porous" as possible while keeping it secure. Campbell also said at time that the Olympics offered opportunities to businesses on both sides of the border.

RESOURCES

Overview pamphlet of Washington State's 2010 planning efforts, in PDF format (about 500k):
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/publications/folio/Olympics.pdf

Governor Gary Locke's biography:
http://www.governor.wa.gov/bios/bio.htm

Representative Rick Larsen's biography:
http://www.house.gov/larsen/about/bio.shtml

A brief bio of Sid Morrison:
http://www.cwu.edu/~board/morrison.html

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 9, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #525
VANOC CONTEMPLATES "SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLES" TO GUIDE GAMES DEVELOPMENT

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee, according to documents just filed with the B.C. Government's Environmental Assessment Review Office, is "in the process of investigating" whether it will be able to establish a series of what it calls Sustainability Principles.

The six principles, the documents indicate, are being considered to help guide its staff during the development of the 2010 Winter Games. The principles include:

Ecological Limits - Society must live within the earth’s capacity to sustain life;
Interdependence - Economic and social prosperity are dependent upon the natural environment;
Long-Term View - Today’s decisions and actions must not compromise the choices available to future generations;
Inclusiveness - Participation by all people must be promoted and decisions must be based on input from key stakeholders;
Equity - People must be empowered to live sustainably and resources must be used fairly and efficiently in order to meet basic human needs worldwide; and
Healthy Communities - Community health and quality of life is integral to global sustainability.

It's the first time these principles have emerged from VANOC in this expanded form, however there was a passing reference to some of these concepts in the Environment chapter of VANOC's Bid Book.

It said, "Vancouver 2010 is committed to moving beyond environmental stewardship to embrace the economic and social components of sustainability in order to support balanced decision making, a long-term view, inclusiveness, equity and healthy communities. This will be accomplished... through a Sustainability Management System comprised of policy and commitment, education and awareness, monitoring and reporting, and environmental, social and economic actions."

The documents recently filed with Victoria go on to say that VANOC hopes to meet these principles -- assuming they're confirmed -- through the following statements, which were explicitly mentioned in the Bid Book:

Environmental Stewardship

Conserving resources
Preventing pollution
Protecting and enhancing natural systems

Economic Opportunity

Maximizing economic opportunity
Supporting international trade and investment
Advancing social equity through economic opportunities
Strengthening community and stakeholder partnerships

Social Responsibility

Communicating openly and consulting with our stakeholders
Promoting diversity and celebrating cultural heritage
Increasing understanding of sustainability
Hosting inclusive and accessible Games
Contributing to sport development and health promotion

The only mention in the Bid Book of a sustainability principle was this one: "Create sustainable legacies for athletes and sport development, our host communities, our province, our country and the global Olympic Family by hosting an outstanding Olympic Winter and Paralympic Winter Games."

However, the Committee has promised the IOC that it would, "integrate its environmental approach into contracts with suppliers and sponsors through a procurement system that will weigh how they will assist [VANOC] in meeting sustainability objectives. Specific policies developed by [VANOC], as part of its Sustainability Management System, will spell out standards to meet these requirements. For example, suppliers and sponsors will be requested to meet packaging standards to reduce waste, minimize hazardous materials and ensure that residuals are reusable, recyclable or biodegradable. A legacy program that advances the understanding and practice of sustainability by sponsors and suppliers will be delivered in partnership with leading corporations."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 9, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #524
FURLONG SAYS VANCOUVER'S DOWNTOWN BUSINESS DISTRICT TO BENEFIT FROM 2010 GAMES

2010NewsWatch

John Furlong, the CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee, says downtown Vancouver's large residential community will play a significant role in the success of the 2010 Winter Games.

Furlong is quoted in B.C. Business Magazine on page 71 of its August issue as part of a promotional article about downtown Vancouver. "Since the downtown core is heavily populated, it is already quite vibrant," Furlong is quoted as saying. "People will have the opportunity to walk to Games events and celebrations. Once the city is dressed up with banners and displays, the spirit of the Games will truly come alive throughout downtown Vancouver."

The article paraphrases Furlong as saying that because downtown Vancouver has two major venues for events, retailers and the hospitality sector could see many benefits as local residents travel on foot from their homes to and from the events. It quotes him as saying, "Businesses located throughout the city centre will experience many opportunities because of the volume of walk-by traffic generated by the Games in 2010."

The magazine notes that General Motors Place will be hosting hockey while nearby B.C. Place, both on the edge of the downtown business core, will host the opening, closing and medal ceremonies. Other sites planned for centres of Olympic activity, it adds, include the Plaza of Nations and the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre (and expanded convention facilities). Further south along the shores of False Creek, will be the Olympic Village, although it notes that the Village will be off-bounds to the public during the Olympic Games.

The magazine says that Furlong also points to the downtown waterfront as another special feature of the 2010 Games that could allow for unique opportunities such as fireworks and other displays on barges.

BACKGROUND

Vancouver's Central Business District is bordered by Stanley Park, the West End and Cambie Street, Burrard Inlet and False Creek. The main corporate and retailing centre lies within a 10-block radius from the Georgia and Granville intersection. There are also several large rebuilt neighborhoods that include Yaletown, Gastown and Coal Harbour that are now part of the residential hub that surrounds this core.

RESOURCES

The City of Vancouver publishes as document providing growth statistics for the Downtown Business District. It's in PDF format here:
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/cityplans/CentralArea9.03.pdf

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 9, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #523
SLIDING CENTRE TO HAVE PLAZA, RESTAURANT; WNC, WSC PROPERTY TAXES STILL A MAYBE...

Four moguls we bumped into today...

Here are a few more details about will be included in the Whistler Sliding Centre that have been requested of the designers. Whether the buildings are stand-alone or incorporated into with other buildings depends on how the design team, which has yet to be selected, interprets the requirements. There will be a large spectator plaza, a bobsled-and-luge start house, which is a two-storey building that incorporates a restaurant and deck for viewing on the second storey, with various sport services for the teams and sleds on the main floor. There will also be two broadcast compounds, one will be the main and the other a secondary. There will also be an event-management compound, a logistics compound, a security command centre with a vehicle-screening area, storage for team sport equipment, a transportation loading area, and a helicopter pad.
It hasn't yet been decided whether the Whistler Nordic and Sliding Centres property will be taxed. The land involved is outside the boundaries of the Resort Municipality of Whistler and the area's regional district. Nor has it been yet decided what agency is going to respond to fires at the facility. Whistler's got the equipment and the manpower, but it could take quite a while for the department to get to the site, assuming an agreement could be reached about taking the department outside of Whistler's boundary, and the Garibaldi Fire Department, which is voluntary, would need to be expanded if it was given the nod.
Expect there to be pressure to market the Whistler Nordic and Sliding Centres as part of Whistler's tourist attractions, as opposed to a stand-alone destination in competition with other areas of Whistler. VANOC sources indicate that tourism-marketing executives in Whistler would be happiest with a combo route. Whether that ultimately makes commercial sense is a decision that will depend on how the market itself views the Centres, and reacts to their promotion.
From the Roll Your Eyes department of Morgan:News:2010: According to the minutes of a meeting with VANOC officials last February 27, the federal government's Fisheries and Oceans Department requested VANOC to provide it with the width and depth of each crossing, as well as "the historical information on the recreational use" of Fitzsimmons Creek, which runs through the Callaghan Valley adjacent to where the Whistler Nordic Centre and the Whistler Sliding Centre are to be built. The reason? The Canadian Coast Guard would need the information to decide if the waterway was "navigable," and thus under its control.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 8, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #522
(FEATURE) DRAFT BUSINESS PLAN PREPARED FOR WHISTLER NORDIC CENTRE VENUE

VANOC has prepared a draft business plan for its big Whistler Nordic Centre venue, and adds that it will pay for and work on a recreation-access management plan during the next year to "assist in resolving recreation impacts in the near future."

As we've noted earlier, the Centre, the companion Whistler Sliding Centre, and VANOC's Whistler Athlete Village are all to be run by a non-profit society, tentatively called the Whistler Legacy Society, which has yet to be formed, but whose directors are expected to be representatives of various governments and other stakeholders in the Whistler area.

According to the estimates in the plan, construction of the venue will take an estimated 522 person-years of direct employment, and 198 person-years of indirect employment during the construction time frame of May 2005 to October, 2007. It expects that will generate about C$27 million in construction payroll and C$5 million in payroll taxes during that time. The construction firm won't be chosen until next May, but VANOC estimates that most of the construction crew will be from the Whistler and Vancouver areas, and some from along the corridor between them, indicating that most of that payroll will be spent in the same place.

Once it's running, VANOC expects the Nordic Centre will need a full-time staff of 57, with enough part-time work for another seven full-time equivalent positions, generating an annual payroll of about C$2 million and C$375,000 in payroll taxes.

An estimated C$44 million will be spent on the purchase of construction materials and supplies over the development period. The materials and equipment bought for the construction of the WNC, according to the document, are expected to be largely exempt from B.C. and federal expenditure taxes under deals reached during the bid phase with the B.C. and federal governments due to the project's special status as an International Olympic venue.

VANOC doesn't expect much money generated by commercial operations of the Nordic Centre from the winter of 2007 until its use in February, 2010 for the Winter Games, as it hopes to hold several test events during that time. But the organization has projected post-Games annual visitor spending of C$31 million. Of this, about C$10 million will be spent on commercial accommodation. VANOC planners suggest this is about 5% of the room revenue generated within Whistler during 2003. Most of the vehicle traffic to the area over the next few years will be related to the construction, but post-Games, VANOC expects about the public will bring about 650 cars per day to the facility during the winter, and about 375 per day during the summer.

The WNC's cross-country operation, which has the potential for up to about 100 kilometres of trails, is projected -- conservatively, according to VANOC -- to be about 60,000 skier visits after three years, and up to 75,000 skier visits after five years of operation. VANOC planners expect the operation of the WNC's cross-country trails at these volumes would likely be self-sustaining without the need for a subsidy. One of its roles is to set up an endowment fund to aid the post-Games operation of its venues, and so it takes a keen interest in trying to ensure they're viable after they're no longer needed by the Organizing Committee. VANOC says the post-game facilities at the Whistler Nordic Centre will "rival the most successful areas in North America."

Depending on the operating structure of the facility, provincial social-services sales tax (PST) and the federal government's Goods and Services (GST) revenue would be generated from the sale of on-site goods and services. About 275,000 annual visitor-days are projected for the Centre. Assuming each visitor spent C$10 per day at the site, VANOC says, then the federal government would receive about C$192,000 in GST revenue, while the B.C. government would receive PST revenues of about C$206,000 annually, along with about C$600,000 a year from room-rental taxes that are likely to be generated.

VANOC planners say the Centre will likely be used for day-use recreation and sport training all year "in co-operation with current activities in the valley." Besides Nordic-style use during the winter, summer activities that are expected to continue include hiking, camping, fishing. They add that "Mountain biking is very popular at other Nordic venues, and the proposed Callaghan trail system "will likely meet regional demand for more intermediate riding terrain." There is also expected to continue some limited kayaking and canoeing on the Madeley and Callaghan Creek and lakes systems in the Valley.

VANOC expects there to be about 100 accommodation rooms remaining at the Centre after the use by the Games, but that doesn't preclude, it says, the possibility of additional development by other groups. The 100 rooms would likely be used "by athletes, regional tourists, long haul destination tours, bus tours and kid camps."

BACKGROUND

The permanent facilities of the Whistler Nordic Centre include, according to current VANOC plans:

Stadiums and competition management buildings at the cross country,
biathlon and ski jump venues;
Ski jumps (K65, K90 and K120);
A ski lift;
Competition trails;
Some of the team cabins and waxing huts at each of the three venues;
A day lodge with washrooms, cafeteria, offices, change-rooms, lockers and a large open sitting area, probably a plaza);
A maintenance yard;
A drinking-water treatment and well operations;
A wastewater-treatment facility; and
Most of the access roads and bridges.

The design and extent of other legacy facilities has not been finalized. A preliminary list, and these items may be optional, depending on costs, includes:

Recreational cross-country trails;
A natural luge run;
A snow play area or perhaps a Nordic terrain park;
A tubing park;
A tobogganing hill;
Development of ski jumping hills (10, 20, 40 and 60K);
Telemark trails;
An outdoor skating rink;
Surface ski lift for Nordic and backcountry skier access;
Paved summer trails for roller skiing and biathlon;
Walking, running and hiking trails; and
A staging area for "motorized and non-motorized" public recreation.

==

What's the status of VANOC's relationship with existing businesses in the Callaghan Valley? VANOC says it has met with the Callaghan Valley Recreation Users and Tenure Holders fairly early on about the use of the valley for the Olympic facilities after the Games are finished.

The group covered several commercial recreation tenures in the Callaghan Valley including:

Callaghan Country (year-round)
Canadian Snowmobile Adventures (winter)
Whistler Heli-Skiing (winter)
Compass Adventures (summer)
Whistler Backroads Mountain Bike (summer)
Blackcomb Helicopters (summer)

VANOC documentation indicates that it has reach memorandums of understanding with Callaghan Country Wilderness Adventures and Whistler Heli-Skiing, and that its plans were presented on three occasions to the Sea to Sky Back Country Recreation Planning forum

It says a joint agreement for Cooperative Forestry/Olympic Planning and Development was also signed between Western Forest Products and Vancouver 2010. Western Forests Products is the forest licensee in the area and has an active logging operation in the Callaghan watershed.

Northair Mine has had a mineral tenure in the Callaghan Valley from 1975 to 1991. During the master plan process, VANOC kept Northair briefed on its plans, since the company doesn't have any operations underway. The claim holder told VANOC it would offer VANOC the option of using the mine's water reservoir for venue fire protection if it turns out the Organizing Committee needs it.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 8, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #521
(FEATURE) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REVIEW APPLICATION FILED WITH B.C. GOVERNMENT

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee has finally filed its formal application for an environmental-assessment approval certificate with the BC Environmental Assessment Office for site of its Whistler Nordic Centre in the Callaghan Valley.

Sandwell Engineering of Vancouver, the design firm for the C$61-million, 40-hectare project, has been working on the plans for about two weeks after it was awarded this aspect of the project August 27, although a final contract with the firm, valued at C$4 million, is still to be negotiated with VANOC.

The design and master-plan portions of the project are to be completed by Sandwell by next March, and it is expected to issue construction tenders in April, but an Environmental Certificate, along with a number of other permits, is required before the construction work can begin. The report indicates that VANOC, even as short a time ago as February, expected to have the Centre's designers chosen by May and get the environmental application in by June, but it was actually filed nearly three months later, the designers chosen four months late and, according to plans listed in the Bid Book, the project will be completed six months later than the IOC was told when it awarded VANOC the Olympics.

The provincial and federal government departments overseeing the 2010 Olympics decided earlier this year that the WNC and its access road don't meet the thresholds triggering a B.C. assessment, just a federal certificate. But VANOC 2010 requested that the WNC be part of a harmonized BC/federal assessment. The Environmental Assessment Office agreed to that proposal last February and formally issued a Section 10 order stating that a certificate would be required. But, according to the minutes of a meeting last February, the process is only to look for "show stoppers", as the minutes record it, not do a detailed review of the design and planning. VANOC, which has been working for two years towards the day when it could pass this benchmark, doesn't expect any showstoppers will be found.

A clock starts running once the application has been accepted. The Environmental Assessment Office has 180 days to form a recommendation to the provincial cabinet on whether to approve or deny the project. That means the EAO has until the end of February to make the recommendation.

Environmental considerations are to be incorporated into the buildings of the Centre, and these will also affect the surrounding land and the track during the design phase, as this is a major promise to the International Olympic Committee and, from VANOC's point of view, a responsible position in British Columbia's political climate.

The environmental aspects require the venue to be as compact as possible, to use environmentally sensitive construction methods, incorporate sustainable "green building" technology to conserve energy, that it plan to use "clean" transportation technology, climate-neutral processes that minimize greenhouse gas emissions -- "in accordance with Canada's Kyoto commitments," according to one VANOC planner -- and a solid-waste disposal strategy with the goal of diverting at least 90% of such materials from landfills.

This latter aspect is of particular interest to the Whistler area, as the community is now discussing its own long-term solid-waste disposal methods, which may include trucking such materials to landfills elsewhere in the province, because there is little area suitable for landfills in the narrow Whistler-area valleys, and the heavy rainfall means landfills that exist have to deal with leaching and drainage issues.

However, it appears that solid toilet waste generated by the facility would likely be trucked to Vancouver's Iona Island sewage-treatment plant, while wastewater would likely end up in a Centre septic field -- they're still working on the studies necessary to decide whether such a field is feasible for the project -- but for reasons that VANOC is expected to exceed expectations when it comes to environmental aspects, this water would likely have on-site secondary treatment before it ended up in the field.

Drinking-quality water, according to studies by consultant firms Dayton & Knight and Piteau & Associates, will likely come from local ground areas, but may be augmented by water from a couple of small nearby tributaries and Medley Creek. VANOC is still working on that aspect, and they won't be making a decision until the design process involving Sandwell is underway in earnest. Kerr Wood Leidal, another consultant firm, has been doing hydrological studies for VANOC, but has not found any significant impacts.

The design team will also be asked to incorporate "environmental awareness" for the project down the food chain of construction to subcontractors and their suppliers, but that may also involve signage and other items to educate those using the buildings, from spectators to athletes and officials.

EBA Engineering Consultants was hired to do preliminary environmental studies on the area, in preparation for the federal and provincial environmental certificate requirements that need to be satisfied before the project can be approved. The only significant waterway that designers need to deal with is Fitzsimmons Creek, and WSC's designers will be instructed to give at least 20 metres clearance to its path. There are, however, two small tributaries of Fitzsimmons, both are too steep for fish, that cross both the track path and the track access road to the north and northwest of the site of the WSC. They need to be mitigated, since they provide fresh water and food for any fish in Fitzsimmons Creek. The concept is to have no net loss of fish habitat as a result of the construction or the project itself. This concept also extends to dealing with surface run-off and storm water, and how it drains.

VANOC still has to undertake surveys for predatory birds and they've told designers they may have to schedule some construction around breeding times which have yet to be identified. Grizzly bears and wolverines use the valley year-round, and designers and construction workers will have to ensure good waste-disposal practices from March through to November, when the bears are active; they'll be hibernating during the winter. In addition, a strategic bear management plan will also be devised by VANOC to deal with the issue, with the concept of reducing or eliminating the Centre as a place where bears might find it attractive to be. VANOC also proposes to power down the Centre overnight as much as possible so as to reduce disturbances from it to wildlife during the entire time it has possession of the Centre. And it is thinking about snow-clearing on the access roads in such a way that openings would be left along the snow buildup to allow animals to cross the road during the winter, or to escape if they become trapped on the road.

The major plant life are simply secondary forest trees growing on the track line and in the area of the Sliding Centre buildings, and they're to be removed in a selective way this fall and next spring. All told, about 44 hectares of what is generally scrub will be cleared for the construction.

VANOC is also working under stiffer regulations that came into effect last June 1 from the federal government's "Species at Risk Act". which are designed to protect the habitat of species listed by the Act, as opposed to the animals themselves.

Partly as a result, and partly due to other concerns, designers are expected to create a trail-management plan involving various barriers and fences to reduce the impact of summer recreational use of the area that will be opened by trails built in connection with the track and Centre.

Planners also figure on reclaiming about half of the parking lots that will be built during the lead-up to the 2010 Games, and during them, to accommodate the estimated 12,000 to 15,000 spectators. That will recover about eight hectares of land.

One other thing VANOC planners have noted: Helicopter flight paths to and from the Centre will be designed to ensure the machines fly at least two kilometres from any mountain goat habitats, so the choppers' sound won't bother the animals.

RESOURCES

The index page to the complete VANOC Environmental Assessment Application, the files of which are all in PDF format:
http://www.eao.gov.bc.ca/epic/output/html/deploy/epic_document_234_19151.html

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 8, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #520
PR EVENT STAGED TO CONNECT VANOC WITH ATHENS SUMMER PARALYMPIANS

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee will stage a PR event tomorrow during the noon hour at the Vancouver International Airport to mark 2,010 days until the start of the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver.

Some of Canada's summer Paralympian team are leaving tomorrow for the Athens Paralympic Games, and Sam Corea, VANOC's director of Communications, says VANOC, "will present our summer Paralympic athletes with banners filled with 2,010 signatures of support gathered in Whistler - the community that will host the Paralympic Winter Games in 2,010 days from now."

Some BC members of Canada's wheelchair tennis team will be leaving, and Cathy Priestner Allinger, VANOC senior vice president of Sport, will be taking part in the event, along with the federal minister of State for Sport, Stephen Owen and John Les, BC's minister responsible for Sport. There are 35 of the Canadian Paralympic team coming from B.C., representing about a quarter of it. The Paralympic Games take place in Athens from September 17 to the 28th, and Canada will have representatives in 13 of the 19 sports.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 8, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #519
SLIDING CENTRE TRACK'S DETAILED DESIGN AND ENGINEERING ALMOST DONE

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee's consultants on the luge, bobsleigh and skeleton track design have nearly finished their detailed work and are expected to hand in their book of calculations and drawings within the next week or so.

During the bid phase, the conceptual work was done on the luge, bobsleigh and skeleton track design and the general run dynamics -- generally how the track will curve and drop, where it will be placed, start and stop, and how it will twist.

These preliminary plans were approved by the two main international sports federations -- the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobaganning and the International Luge Federation -- and were part of the bid package. But in recent months, we've learned, the VANOC planning team contracted for detailed topography of the mountain side, and for the specific track design to refine that initial work, and it is these jobs which are now nearly finished.

When the master design contract for the C$31 million Whistler Sliding Centre is awarded in the few weeks, the design team will be incorporating the topographical work of R. Brown Surveying with preliminary geotechnical and hydrological surveys performed by Golder & Associates. This work, coupled with design-run dynamics and a detailed track layout, will be joined with the design and engineering work connected with the necessary support services as well as that of the Whistler Sliding Centre's buildings and compounds during the mater design phase, which will stretch over the next six months or so. Construction is due to start by next June.

The detailed geotechnical surveys suggested some setbacks to the original route in various places, so the runs don't get too close to unstable areas of the hillside, as well as identifying some areas that need to be stabilized, to protect the track from falling rocks, and the hydrological study details what should happen to several small creeks that cross areas of where the track is to go, all as part of the process for fine-tuning. These have been incorporated as far as the track work is concerned, while detailed d Detailed geotechnical and hydrological studies will be done as the design team works on the project between this fall and next spring.

VANOC and its track experts have also met with the federations, and another specialist, Udo Gurgel of IGB, for detailed run-dynamic planning.

The track centreline and various alignments have now been approved. IGB has custom software that predicts the speed and G-forces of various track designs on the luge, bobsleigh and skeleton at any given point on the track. IGB is expected to complete its detailed analysis and drawings by September 15. These will show engineers how the track ought work for refrigeration. Its estimated the track alone will take 700 pages of calculations, and about 170 drawings for designers and contractors to use. Gurgel will also be overseeing the construction itself during the next two years.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 8, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #518
LOGO ENTRIES: 127; 2010 TOUT PAGE BEGGING FOR LETTER; FREEDICTIONARY OFFERS 2010 DEFINITION; PHRASE FUNNIES

Four moguls we bumped into today...

The actual number of entries to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee's contest to find a logo for the 2010 Games is 127 as of last Friday, according to Communications director Sam Corea. "The previous week we had 115, so it looks like there could be quite a few more at the last minute." The status of the contest appeared this morning in the International Olympic Committee's final public-relations Internet newsletter for journalists around the world that's been broadcasting weekly from Athens, but no mention was made of the controversy that accompanies the competition. The contest closes September 15.
We question the rationale of VANOC's legal department going after a Vancouver-area pet food company simply because they have 2010 as part of the name of their pet food, which plainly has nothing to do with the Olympic Games, but then there appears OnLine-Shopping-Malls.us's Olympics tout-sheet type web page that just begs for a cease-and-desist letter from the lawyers.
The Free Dictionary website now has an entry on the 2010 Winter Olympics. It's not exactly comprehensive but, since it also has an entry entitled "2010: The year we make contact", it may be that you get what you don't pay for.
"Basic Chinese 100 for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games" is, according to Reuters news service, a phrase book compiled by China's Communist Party government and the Beijing Games Organizing Committee's PR department. It's aimed at helping those who would speak Mandarin, and who might as well assist in transmitting the official messages while they're at it. For instance, there's the phrase that translates to "the sports facilities are very good, everything is exceptionally well-organized and the service is great", there's one that helps English speakers to say, "These Olympic mascots look very nice", another that says, "The government has done a lot of work these past few years. The sky is bluer, the water is clearer, and Beijing is becoming more and more beautiful", and "Both the stadiums and the gymnasium facilities are very good, and everything was extremely well-organized." Fortunately, for the bemused visitor, there's also one that says, "Let's drink to the success of the Olympic Games!" Even now, we are pondering the possibility of VANOC's PR department publishing a 2010 phrase book for non-English speakers, which could even be sponsored, and which would have the above, plus: "Ha. Ha. You can't fool me, eh? The Sea-to-Sky Highway is NOT one of the venues.", "This rain is nothing, eh? It's actually snow up on the mountains.", "That marshmallow building's not on fire; it's our Olympic torch, eh?" and, to get the conversation started, "Howzitgoin'eh?"...

RESOURCES

OnLineMall.us and its 2010 Olympics web page:
http://olympics.designerz.com/olympics-winter-games-2010---vancouver.php
The Free Dictionary's 2010 Olympics entry:
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/2010%20Winter%20Olympics

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 7, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |IOC| #517
IOC'S INTERNET PAGE VIEWS, PARTICIPATION IDEAS PONDERED BY SPONSORS

Of note to potential 2010 sponsors: During the month of August, more than 5 million visitors logged on to the International Olympic Committee's web site for news from the Olympic Games in Athens. "This represents more than 50-million page views, which is six times more than during the [Summer] Games in Sydney in 2000. The peak day during the Athens Games saw 376,000 visitors to the site," said an IOC spokesman.

This was the IOC's website, not the Athens Organizing Committee's website, and typically a winter Olympics is roughly a third the size of a Summer Games in most respects.

Only a relative handful of visitors to the IOC's site -- about 120,000 -- tested their sporting knowledge by taking part in a competition, which runs until September 12, to win one of 300 Athens 2004 video games. And an even smaller number -- about 10,000 -- took part in the “Who is your favourite athlete?” poll.

The average visitor spent about 10 minutes on the site, however there were thousands of pages of information, available in English and French, the two official languages of the IOC. The site also offered photos of the action and behind the scenes in Athens, including a “photo of the day”, though page-view counts of it were not released. That page was backed by IOC international sponsor Kodak.

Figures haven't yet been released for NBCOlympics.com, which was expecting 20 million unique visitors, or CBC.ca's Olympics main page, which was expecting 10 million page views during the Games period.

Various things could, or couldn't, be done on the web because of technological advances or IOC regulations. For instance, handheld and wireless e-mail type services were essentially mainstream for news and sports operations during the Athens Games, and they were significantly less so during the 2002 Winter Olympics and essentially non-existent during the Sydney Summer Games four years ago.

However, only NBC and BBC were allowed by the IOC to provide streaming video and audio clips over the Internet, which meant the CBC had to stop doing so once the Games began, and streaming video has been available on the web since the late 90s. Athletes were allowed to do blogs, sponsored and unsponsored, before and after, but not while they were actually at the Games, since doing so conflicted with broadcast contracts. Blogs are also a relatively new phenomenon, but have grown measurably in sophistication and ease of use in the last couple of years.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 7, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #516
SPORT MINISTER OWEN PROPOSES "MAJOR DISCUSSION" ABOUT CORPORATE SUPPORT OF ATHLETES

The Canadian government's Minister of State for Sport, Stephen Owen, says in Vancouver that he has spoken to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee about setting up a major conference to encourage corporate support of sports.

"I've been talking to John Furlong this week about organizing a major discussion with corporate leaders from across the country over the next couple of months to look specifically at how corporate Canada can become more directly involved in athlete development."

Owen didn't give additional details about the thrust of the meeting, but it's known that he favours the so-called participatory model of sports development, which involves an improved club-regional centre-national centre progression that starts with a wide pool of potential athletes.

Owen says Canada has a "very well-developed winter-sports program, which has led to us doing very well in winter Olympics, and we expect to be doing that certainly in 2010 in Vancouver/Whistler. But we will be putting -- focusing -- a lot of resources over the next few years into the playground-to-podium approach of identifying young athletes with particular skills, and helping them develop."

Owen says IOC president Jacques Rogge, who will be stopping in Ottawa to talk to Owen about government investment in sports in November during a previously planned trip to review VANOC's progress, "will be a welcome addition to our discussion of how to ensure that we reach the podium in 2010... I would like to know Dr. Rogge's ideas on how to get the corporate world more directly involved in development of high-performance athletes and not just sponsoring their celebration after they have reached the podium."

Owen says the Calgary Olympic Legacies program, which was established as part of that city's Winter Games in 1988, has been "a great success using those facilities and the endowment that came out of that to be a high-performance winter-sport centre. We will certainly be looking to do that out of 2010, but we will also be looking at summer sports as well."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 4, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #515
EXTERNAL CONSULTANT REVIEWING TELECOM SPONSORSHIP BIDS, 2006 HOCKEY SET, VANOC BACK IN SPEAKER BIZ

Three moguls we bumped into today...

The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has hired an outside consultant, whom it declines to identify, to "review the merits" and "extract the numbers" of the unsolicited telecommunications sponsorship bids submitted late last month by Telus and Bell Canada. The consultant is to provide a report "later this fall" to the office of Dave Cobb, senior vice-president of Revenue, Marketing and Communications. VANOC sources say the reason for the external consultant is to keep VANOC staffers pure in connection with the bid, in case additional companies decide to join the contest. The sources say the process is misty, at least for the time being, because of secrecy requirements connected with the handling of competitive corporate information by VANOC. VANOC can't legally start sponsorship agreements until January 1 because of marketing agreements with the IOC, but it can conclude them before that time, and the sources say they expect the telecommunications bid may be awarded before the year end. However, the timing, in part, depends on VANOC negotiations with the International Olympic Committee on finalizing marketing terms. Existing bid sponsorship arrangements end December 31.
Hockey seedings and two six-team groups have been drawn for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, based on the results of the 2004 world rankings and world championship. The Canada will meet the Czech Republic and Finland in one group, while United States will play Sweden and Russia in the other group. In all, nine of the 12 slots in the Turin tournament have been decided. Three more will be chosen in a tournament to be held in February. The deadline for deciding whether the NHL will be providing players to those teams in the 2006 Winter Games, which is dependent on how the negotiations between the NHL and its players go between now and September, when the current agreement expires, is January.
VANOC, which had been providing a number of its senior staff as speakers for various organizations in Greater Vancouver and in other parts of British Columbia and Canada during the spring, say it's been relatively quiet on that front during the summer simply because of the paucity of requests, not because of any internal policy decision. But, notes VANOC director of Communication, Sam Corea, now that it's fall, "our phones are starting to ring again."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 3, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #514
(FEATURE) SHORT-LIST FIRMS WORKING ON BIDS TO DESIGN AND ENGINEER WHISTLER SLIDING CENTRE

The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has issued formal Requests for Proposals to a shortlist of companies for the design and engineering of VANOC's second major venue, the C$31 million Whistler Sliding Centre.

Four firms have been invited to bid on the detailed design and site master plan for the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton venue: AMEC, Earth Tech, IBI Group and Stantec. AMEC, Earth Tech and Stantec, along with ND Lea & Associates, have been invited to bid on the general site engineering for the Whistler Sliding Centre buildings.

The site engineering component is budgeted at C$6.84 million, the detailed design and masterplan work is expected to cost $24.16 million. GST of $C2.17 million is added, for a total outlay of $C33.17 million. VANOC is allowing $C15,000 for presentations to various public forums, VANOC executives and other officials during the design stage.

The documentation for the bids was distributed August 17, and bids must be in to VANOC by September 9 at 2pm. A briefing meeting of the proponents was held on site August 26 and took all day as VANOC staff outlined the project and the representatives hiked the steep slopes to be used for the runs.

All firms are using their Canadian operations if they are not headquartered in Canada. AMEC is an international firm headquartered in London, England; its Canadian office is in Toronto. Stantec and Earth Tech are both based in Vancouver.

The WSC will be constructed in the Callaghan Valley, west of Whistler. The area is above the Excalibur II tube station on a bench adjacent to the Lower Gearjammer ski run. This is an area within the existing ski area boundary, and currently used for recreation, maintenance and road access to Blackcomb ski operations. The combined bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track will have 1,660 metres of refrigerated track that plummets down a steep slope, starting at 930 metres and descending to the 735-metre mark, allowing for a series of banked curves and straight-aways.

The project is to begin construction early next summer and is to be completed by October 31, 2007, to allow at least two winters of training and events to be held for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton before the areas are converted to use for the 2010 Winter Games. The conversion, known as the Olympic Overlay, will begin in the summer of 2009 and be complete January 31, 2010, about two weeks before the Winter Games begin. The overlay will be removed and there'll be some site reconstruction connected with that during April and June of 2010.

But, before that -- and afterward, once the facility has been turned over to the yet-to-be-formed Whistler Legacy Society for operation as a commercial project, it is to be designed for use by World Cup, CanAm, Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Toboganning (FIBG) and Federation Internationale de Luge (FIL) events. VANOC wants to make the WSC "a world class destination for sliding sports and maximize the year-round use of the venue for sport development in British Columbia and Canadian athletes, as well as international training."

The Legacy Society is to be run by board made up of federal, provincial and local governments, along with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees, plus the Lil'wat and Squamish First Nations. Whistler may be a member of the Society, but hasn't yet decided to do so. The Society will also run the Whistler Nordic Centre and the Whistler Athletes Village, which is to be built just south of Whistler.

VANOC also wants it to benefit from international tourism traffic. Tourist use of the tracks during summer and winter is crucial for making a go of the project afterward and minimizing the amount of endowment funds necessary for operating the structure afterward, according to VANOC's research of similar areas at Lillehammer, Calgary, Salt Lake City and Lake Placid, New York. VANOC, which has to set up an endowment fund as part of its revenues, has a vested interest in keeping that fund as small as possible.

It says, however, that Whistler is "an ideal location for revenue generation" given the resort status the area has built up over the past few decades. The area is already being used for mountain-biking and hiking. There are already two independent companies on site, one offering snowmobiling and all terrain vehicles for hire, and another offering ziptrack on Fitzsimmons Creek, which ambles through the area. Blackcomb has its operations, maintenance and equipment storage on the site, but VANOC is paying for that all to be removed.

The general timeline: ground preparation begins this fall, design is to be completed by May 1, construction will begin in the early summer, likely around the beginning of June, and the Centre will be completed by October 31, 2007. That will give two winter seasons -- 2007/8, 2008/9 and possibly late 2009 -- for the facilities to be used for trial runs and training by various teams.

The project will be built essentially during the same time as the C$61 million Whistler Nordic Centre, the design and engineering of which was awarded to Sandwell Engineering of Vancouver for C$4 million on August 26. AMEC, IBI Group and Stantec were also shortlisted for that project.

Earth Tech is already working on the structural work of the C$495-million Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre on Vancouver's downtown waterfront, which will be used, in part, to host the International Media Centre requirements for VANOC, which VANOC is simply renting during the 2010 Games and their immediate run-up. Michael Kennedy, the project manager for Stantec, was one of two key panel members at a procurement seminar during the "Spirit of 2010", a major business conference hosted by the provincial government and VANOC. His topic was an overview of procurement timelines and categories for the 2010 Games, including strategies firms could use for "building up" to compete for opportunities, as well as information on planning and preparing RFP responses.

VANOC expects that there will be between 10,000 and 12,000 spectators that actually show up at the Centre during the Games, and so the planning will be dealing with those capacities at each of the venue's public areas, and that will mostly be done using the Olympic overlay.

Essentially, that means that VANOC plans to install temporary seating and other services to deal with those sizes of crowds at the finish lines and along the necessary trails -- starting in June 2009, to be completed by January 2010 -- and that the Centre won't need to permanently plan to deal with that many people. There is an entire binder dealing with the Olympic overlay requirements. It includes seating for about 6,000 people and a standing-room area for the rest. There will also be tents for media facilities and for volunteers, but it will also include broadcast and media compounds and their support facilities, parking spaces for Games officials and related consultants and subcontractors.

The completed project, which will spread over 30 to 40 hectares, will consist of land preparation and well as construction or installation of a bobsleigh storage building, a warm-up area for the athletes, new paved roads, including those needed for bobsleigh transport and track maintenance, parking-lot improvements, the track and its weather protection, lighting, a generator back-up power supply, a refrigeration plant and a piping system for the track, athlete and recreational support facilities, medical and doping control, security facilities for RCMP and military personnel, an emergency helipad, information-technology facilities for scorekeeping and judging, as well as judging appeal areas, food and beverage areas, bus and truck areas, a security fence and standard site servicing, such as sewage and water, power and communications. Various facilities, including start houses, sport and track operation buildings, a weigh house to measure the sleds, a control tower, a maintenance facility, the provision for the Olympic overlay structures, spectator access provisions and amenities. Plumbing and refrigeration systems will be installed along the length of the track, there'll be landscape design and snow-removal provisions, and locations for TV camera placement and support requirements, such as power and communications, are also involved.

VANOC says it wants a three-dimensional computer display of the site, so that all the people involved can get a virtual walk-through of the key bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track and buildings

VANOC says it "hasn't yet completely determined" how the field services will be managed. It's expected the project will have at least a construction manager, a field engineer, a safety co-ordinator, a construction co-ordinator, accounting services, quality assurance and site secretarial staff all housed in an on-site trailer complex.

VANOC is expecting the bids to include a manpower matrix to identify all the people, including subcontractors, who will be used on the project by the successful bidder. The information is to include their base salary and the mark-up percentages for each, along with payroll burdens and the overhead profit, along with charge-out rates and the number of hours involved for each of them, along with a breakout by task or activity. VANOC says that information simplifies the determination of how much it's likely to cost work done on hourly rates that extend over several years.

VANOC says it realizes that the new provincial government's privacy legislation, PIPA, which came into force earlier this year, creates "practical challenges" when it comes to disclosing personnel salaries, so it simply asks the proponents to do the best they can, but "at minimum, the charge-out rates."

VANOC also says it will allow field-service rates and fees to be increased 3% on January 1, 2006 and 2007.

Clearing of the second-growth forest in the area will begin this fall as Western Forest Products, which owns the tree licenses in the area also begins similar work for the Whistler Nordic Centre. Some of this work, it is now expected, will have to be done in the spring.

The land for the proposed site belongs to the B.C. government, and is under long-term tenure to Intrawest, which operates Whistler/Blackcomb's skiing areas and resort. VANOC's already got preliminary approval from the provincial government, Intrawest and Whistler municipality for use of the site.

Run design and dynamics are underway, stage two of the environmental assessment process, which is a mandatory requirement for the project, is also underway and involves detailed study of the project plans and impacts.

VANOC has already conducted a preliminary assessment of potential environmental effects -- there isn't much of significance, given that the area is already in use. It includes preliminary geo-technical and hydrological and archeological studies, along with topographical. There are several tributaries to Fitzsimmons Creek and that will have to be dealt with, but, fortunately for VANOC, fish are in those tributaries although they provide water for fish downstream.

Since sustainability and environmental friendliness are watchwords for the Olympic movement, VANOC wants the proponents for the design of the Sliding Centre to incorporate "sustainable environmental technology" into the structures, and to ensure the construction crews know how to deal with effects of the construction on Fitzsimmons Creek.

ESOURCES
=========

AMEC

2020 Winston Park Drive, Suite 700
Oakville, Ontario
L6H 6X7, Canada

phone: +1 905 829 5400
fax: +1 905 829 5625
email: AMECToronto@amec.com
http://www.amec.com

--
Stantec
Anthony P. Franceschini, President & CEO

Head Office
200, 10160 – 112 Street
Edmonton AB T5K 2L6
Canada
Ph: (780) 917-7000
Fx: (780) 917-7330
http://www.stantec.com
Earth Tech
http://www.earthtech.com/contacts/locations.htm
IBI Group Vancouver

1285 West Pender Street
Suite 700
Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 4B1
Tel: 604-683-8797
Fax: 604-683-0492
email: ibivan@ibigroup.com
http://www.ibigroup.com
ND LEA Consultants
Peter Washchyshyn , BSc PEng , CEO
#600, 1455 West Georgia Street,
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6G 2T3
Tel: 604.685.9381
Fax: 604.683.8655
E-mail: vancouver@NDLEA.com
http://www.ndlea.com/domestic.htm
A better profile: http://www.fidicdirect.com/published/36003.html

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 3, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Sports| #513
PRINCE GEORGE NORDIC SKI CLUB BEGINS WORK ON C$370,000 UPGRADING PROJECT WITH EYE ON 2010

Caledonia Nordic Ski Club President Tim Roots says work has begun on a C$370,000 project in Prince George, in central British Columbia, to upgrade the club's trails, spectator area and clubhouse.

"We are building a national-caliber, cross-country ski- and biathlon centre that will provide a lasting benefit to this community," Roots says. The ski club will host the 2005 Canadian Cross Country National Championships from February 27 to March 6.

The project involves upgrading trails and constructing a lodge with timing facilities, a rental shop, a kitchen and concession, washrooms and change room, a meeting hall and an improved biathlon shooting area with targets.

Roots says with the improvements, the ski club's facilities and trail system will be at a quality where the club can be a full participant in the provincial GamePlan Performance Centre for Cross Country Ski and Biathlon, building its competitive hosting capacity significantly.

The benefits of upgrading the Otway site extend far beyond the 2005 Nationals, says Roots. "Prince George will be well-positioned as a training centre in BC and Canada and can attract national competitions and training events leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics."

The ski club is working with a number of community and funding partners who are financing it. About $185,000 has been provided through Western Economic Diversification's Softwood Industry Community Economic Adjustment Initiative.

Don Zurowski, General Manager of Community Futures Development Corporation of Fraser Fort George, which is in charge of the softwood adjustment program in the area, says, "This initiative is going to provide opportunities for increased tourism through hosting tournaments and training camps. It also means local athletes can stay in the north, pursue post-secondary education and with further developments planned with the Northern Sport Centre and GamePlan, they can receive high caliber coaching."

A total of $70,000 was donated by the four Prince George-area Rotary Clubs, and the City of Prince contributed $20,000. Prince George Mayor Colin Kinsley, who also chairs the softwood program's Ministerial Advisory Group, says, "With expanded Nordic facilities in Prince George, we can continue to grow our reputation as an excellent host community for high-profile Nordic championships. Prince George can also position itself to take advantage of other sport hosting and training opportunities that the 2010 Olympics may bring. This is a big step towards positioning Prince George to become the centre for cross country and biathlon training in BC, and as a major player on the national level.

The facilities are one part of a proposed C$32 million Northern Sport Centre in the early planning stages in Prince George. They include a Northern Sport Centre, which will contain two basketball courts with seating for 2,000, a multi-use fieldhouse, a weight room and a 200-metre track, a roller-ski track and a regulation-size soccer pitch. It will also have the potential to add indoor ice-rinks and an outdoor oval. The larger project is still in its early stages. The steering committee includes City of Prince George councillor Don Zurowski and Leisure Services director Tom Madden.

RESOURCES

Prince George Nordic Ski Club executives and contacts:
http://www.caledonianordic.com/club/directors/

A look at the Club's system of trails as they were originally designed:
http://www.caledonianordic.com/trails/competition/

Background on the Northern Sports Centre concept:
http://www.unbc.ca/nsc/

Background on the Softwood Industry Community Economic Adjustment Initiative:
http://www.wd.gc.ca/siceai/default_e.asp

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 3, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #512
OFFICE-PAPER REQUIREMENTS COULD COME AT CONSIDERABLE COST

The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee says it expects to go through about 360,000 sheets of standard copy paper in the next 12 months, plus another 60,000 sheets of glossy colour laser paper in the same time.

The numbers are implied in an Invitation To Quote document by VANOC Procurement Manager Jim Bornholdt, who is looking for paper suppliers to provide dozens of cartons of office paper for a year's supply in various sizes and colours.

He's also looking for 90,000 sheets of 3-hole punched office paper, 50,000 sheets of legal paper, 25,000 sheets of copy paper in various colours, and 5,000 sheets of tabloid-sized office paper.

From the point of view of suppliers, however, the order is relatively small, but because of the stringent environmental conditions attached to it, it will be difficult to meet all the criteria and, even if that occurs, the conditions come at a significant cost.

One of the standard requirements of the International Olympic Committee is that VANOC aim for environmental standards in its purchases, and so Bornholt says the papers must all have the EcoLogo certification (Canada’s Environmental Choice Program) or an equivalent environmental standards, and they must all be:

100% chlorine-free; this means the paper must be made without using chlorine;
Minimum 50% post-consumer recycled content; this means the paper must have been made with half of the pulp derived from paper recycled from consumer-recycling programs, and
100% free of "old-growth virgin-fibre content"; this means that the paper must have been made from trees growing on land that was previously logged, or, to put it another way, that none of the pulp during the process can have come from previously unlogged forests.

Doug Sjoberg, the General Manager of Coast Papers in Vancouver, a major supplier of office papers, says he says he'd love to have the contract because of the halo effect of being part of the Games suppliers, and that the EcoLogo and chlorine-free conditions are relatively easy to satisfy.

He says though that while it may be possible to deliver office paper without old-growth pulp in it, few pulp and paper mills track that information and a lot of pulp in bought on the open market, where its origin is also difficult to trace.

Sjoberg also says that the requirement for a minimum of 50% post-consumer recycled content would likely double the cost of the paper, at least, compared with sheets that don't have recycled content and the surcharge could be even higher depending on the type of paper. "If they had asked for something around 30% recycled, the surcharge would probably be around 10% because there's a lot more of it but 50% content is pretty high," Sjoberg says. "And they're going to have trouble finding any paper meeting some of those criteria in the high-brightness part."

Bornholdt has structured the request for cartons of these types of papers so that VANOC can buy paper at a standard price as it needs it, and if VANOC uses more paper than expected during the year, the contracting company will provide cash rebates assuming VANOC meets certain purchase benchmarks beyond the contracted volumes.

Sjoberg says that condition, in essence, sounds like it might be a standard clause, but he says that companies who, in essence, are willing to guarantee a price for a year are taking "a huge risk." Paper and pulp prices fluctuate a great deal, and typically a paper supplier will only guarantee prices for about three months. "Prices have risen quite a bit in the last year, because of high demand, primarily from the United States. Going out over a year, he adds, "That's bold and risky."

Companies have until September 8 to make their offers.

BACKGROUND
==========

Sjoberg's name is pronounced "SHOW-berg."

RESOURCES

Jim Bornholdt, Procurement Manager
Tel: 604.806.4076
Fax: 604.683.2010

Coast Paper:
http://www.coastpaper.com

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 3, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #511
100-PLUS ENTRIES SO FAR FOR 2010 LOGO COMPETION AS NEW JURY MEMBER CHOSEN

The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee says that with just two weeks to go, it has received "more than 100" designs for its logo competition, and that it's added another member to the jury that will judge which logo the Games will use.

It's possible the relative paucity in the number of designs submitted is due to the controversy that erupted among design professional organizations over the fact of the competition itself, which the organizations deemed unethical as it didn't follow the request-for-proposal process. More than 800 designers in Ontario, for instance, have been told they would face sanctions if they took part. However, graphic artists tend to be deadline driven, and there could well be a surge in submissions between now and the end of the contest.

The new jury member is Terry Chui, an art director for Electronic Arts Canada, the Vancouver-based interactive software company that is the largest studio of its kind in North America. Chui joins eight others on the international panel, who have experience in art, design and corporate branding.

EA, which posted revenues of C$2.5 billion for fiscal 2003, produces video games for PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Microsoft Xbox systems. Since joining EA in 1995, Chui has worked on FIFA Soccer, Sledstorm, NBA Street 2 and Need for Speed Underground. Chui's came up through the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design process in Vancouver and the Capilano College Graphic Design and Illustration program in North Vancouver. After college, he worked as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer at the Carbunkle Cartoons animation studio. He has also produced logos and designs for local companies, including Westbeach, a sportswear company and Morrisport Advanced Driving, a motor-sports company.

Used in thousands of display opportunities, a Games logo is seen by billions of people. The Salt Lake City Games, for instance, had an audience of about two billion. "The look of the Games starts with the emblem," says VANOC CEO John Furlong. "Once we have a logo that will depict the theme of Canada's 2010 Winter Games, we will develop our own unique design to create an electric atmosphere for athletes and spectators throughout our Games host region."

The logo design competition is open to Canadian designers, creative professionals and design students. The deadline for submissions is September 15. The winning designer will be given a prize of C$25,000 and two tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games opening ceremony. VANOC plans to unveil the new logo in early 2005, probably on February 12, five years out.

BACKGROUND
==========

Other members of the logo design jury:

Dr. Ron Burnett, president, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver
Brad Copeland, President and founder of Iconologic of Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Scott Givens, vice president of Entertainment for Disney Entertainment Productions, Los Angeles, California, USA
Dorothy Grant, designer and Haida artist, of Vancouver
Rod Harris, president and CEO, Tourism British Columbia in Victoria
Theodora Mantzaris-Kindel, manager of the Image & Identity Department at the Athens 2004 Olympic Organizing Committee
Steve Mykolyn, creative director of Design & Interactive at Taxi Advertising and Design in Toronto
Wei Yew - designer and author of The Olympic Image - The First 100 years., of Edmonton

RESOURCES

Competition details:
http://www.vancouver2010.com/design
EA corporate information:
http://investor.ea.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=88189&p=irol-irhome

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 3, 2004

Monday, November 01, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #510
TWO FORMER OLYMPIANS URGE "CORPORATE CANADA" TO PUSH FOR CO-ORDINATED SUPPORT

The president of Alpine Canada, Ken Read, and a former Canadian Olympian swimmer, Dan Thompson, say, "the business community must take the lead in a new approach to athlete development."

In an open letter to corporate Canada, Read, a former member of the so-called Crazy Canucks men's ski team for two decades into the 1980s, joins with Thompson in writing, "As former Olympic athletes, we appreciate the traditional support of government and business. But, clearly, if Canada wants more medals, corporate Canada's approach to sponsorship must change." Thompson was captain of Canada's 1980 Olympic swim team and the country's swim team from 1978 to 1981, as well as an ex-member of the Canadian Olympic Committee board, and is now president of McLaren Momentum of Toronto, a sports marketing company.

The pair say they recognize that many Canadian businesses spend a lot of money to support amateur athletes and the Olympic Games, but they say, "What's needed is a new approach to this investment in terms of focus and timing -- heavy investment in, and direct development of, potential medal winners. Private-sector sponsorship must be provided through a formula that meets the aspirations of the athletes, the hopes of the country and the objectives of the business sponsor. Logos are no longer enough."

They suggest that Canada still needs to determine in what types of sport Canadians are best and focus its time and energy on those sports.

"Since the demise of the Sport Federation of Canada," they write, "no one is taking responsibility for developing a co-ordinated national sport strategy. The Canadian Olympic Committee is focused on excellence, not on the systemic problems with the sport system that produces candidates for excellence."

They note that there are about 20 corporate and government programs for athletes, such as scholarships, bursaries and grants, but, they add, "Unfortunately, these funds are not part of a strategic plan, nor are they distributed in any prioritized order. Athletes still go without proper coaching, sport-science support, travel assistance, and other elements linked to performance. Corporate Canada has money and expertise; it can provide the leadership needed to develop a strategy for the future of Canadian amateur sport."

They also urge corporate sponsors to put the health of sport ahead of corporate goals, adding, "Despite a few shining exceptions, most corporate sponsorship is heavily focused on the run-up to the Games themselves, and on securing rights, to teams, sports and broadcast. The focus must shift from value per "impression" to value per relationship -- to developing fewer but deeper relationships with Canadian sport and athletes.

"One reason a company invests money in the Olympics is for the halo effect. But halos shine more brightly if your money does more than ensure that the company logo is prominent in broadcasts. In some cases, this commitment will be measured in a decade or more. Developing athletes compete on world stages throughout their careers. Committed sponsors can be prominent at every win along the way."

Read says the investment by the CIBC bank in Alpine Canada, about C$1-million a year through 2010, sets the best example. "The bank provides support through services and promotions, including helping to build the profile of the Canadian Alpine ski team. In return, CIBC benefits from what this commitment says about its own values, and from consumer response."

The Olympians say that gold medal winners take time to develop and that companies should stick with them for the long term. "Training Canada to medal-winning potential will not happen by joining the team in the final stretch. If we really want to make a difference in Canada's future Olympic performance, the business community must take the lead in a new approach to athlete development. Athletes win Olympic glory by earning it. Corporate Canada can properly share in that glory if they become true committed partners in working toward a place on the podium. The returns will be enormous, earned with honour and dignity, and creating a ripple effect that benefits us all."

RESOURCES

Alpine Canada:
http://www.canski.org/e/html/e_home.asp
McLaren Momentum is a division of McLaren-McCann:
http://www.maclaren.com/

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 2, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #509
VANCOUVER ART EXPERT URGES ARTISTS TO START PLANNING FOR 2010 PARTICIPATION

A senior member of the Vancouver art community, Chris Tyrell of Opus Framing in the city's tourist and cultural Mecca of Granville Island, says that the artistic aspects of the 2010 Olympics could produce a strong counter-culture art show. That, he says, could be a good thing that artists ought to be thinking about.

In an editorial in the September issue of his "Opus Visual Arts Newsletter", Tyrell says, "When I think of the Olympic Games of 1976, it is the massive visual-art exhibition, Corridart, that I recall so vividly. Similarly, it is not the UN Conference on Settlements that I remember, it is its impressive and accessible parallel conference, Habitat, that remains so vivid in my memory. And finally, it is not the [then-on-the-move Vancouver Art Gallery's] exhibition Vancouver Art and Artists: 1931 to 1983 that I remember, it is The October Show, the show that gave birth to the series of Artropolis exhibitions in Vancouver, that I recall as stupendous."

Tyrell adds that, "In the history of Corridart, Habitat and The October Show, it was 'the people,' the artists of the community plus other 'just plain folk' who were the conceiver's of these events. In each case, disenfranchised local artists and community activists who wanted to see themselves a part of the historic events occurring in their community got involved. They created an alternative forum for themselves, and for many people who visited both the official and alternate events, it is the alternate event, the event of the people, they remember."

In particular, Tyrell says, the project spawned by the Montreal Olympics, Corridart, is worthy of note, though it occurred more than 30 years ago," Dissatisfied with the role the visual arts was playing in the cultural festival that was part of the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976, Montreal visual artists organized Corridart - a massive exhibition (eight kilometers long) for contemporary Quebec artists on Sherbrooke Street, one of the main streets in Montreal. The exhibition linked downtown Montreal to the Olympic Stadium, and involved hundreds of visual artists. The official Olympic cultural program was largely focused on the performing arts and required expensive tickets; Corridart was free, exciting, dynamic and it contained many controversial pieces. What made Corridart famous, however, was not the work in the exhibition, but the fact that Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau and the Executive Committee of the Town of Montreal had the exhibition bulldozed a week after it opened. The City of Montreal cited obscure land governance regulations and safety concerns as their reasons for dismantling the unofficial, grassroots exhibition, and the bulldozing created bad international press."

Tyrell says that official planning for major events can often overlook the "needs and strength" of the local artistic community, "Especially the visual arts, design and craft communities of BC. These experiences have me believing that BC visual artists should start thinking now of how they want to exhibit themselves while world attention is focused on Vancouver in 2010. Will there be an exceptional Artropolis exhibition that year? Will we all get behind it? Will we try a Corridart approach? What are the local galleries going to be doing? Will only the local galleries get a piece of the Olympic funding pie—or a single gallery? Are you wanting to show or sell during that intense two weeks? How will you achieve your objective? How far ahead will galleries program their spaces for the time during the Olympics? In the media frenzy over the games themselves, their opening and closing ceremonies and the official Olympic Cultural program, what chance will non-official events have of getting media attention-especially visual art events? Could the visual art community make a strong media impression through collective action? And if so, what action should that be?"

Tyrell notes that, "The performing arts are easier for event organizers to program, and they create revenue through ticket sales. Visual artists are far more difficult to involve in large events. Exhibitions often under-represent the community and they have trouble competing for public attention in the media circus that is the Olympic Games and Cultural Festival."

Tyrell urges B.C. artists to learn from the past, "We should involve ourselves in the planning so that we do not find ourselves outside and angry."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on August 31, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #508
SFU/WHITECAPS RESURRECT FIELD HOUSE; CACHE CREEK A-WALKIN'; LANGARA CONSIDERS 4-YEAR TOURISM COURSE...

Some moguls we bumped into today...

From the One Door Closes And Another Opens Department: The Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team has approached Simon Fraser University about the possibility of soccer stadium that might be a field house, now that the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has decided the speed-skating oval should be built in Richmond. SFU/Whitecaps talks are only at the chat stage at the moment.
The City Council of Cache Creek, a community 215 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, has agreed to help promote Fort St. John's "Walk to Whistler" campaign. Fort St. John, a couple of months ago, set up a web site to register people who want to walk the distance between where they are and Whistler as one of the sites of the 2010 Winter Games. The concept promotes the Games along with fitness. The distance between Cache Creek and Whistler is about 139 km.
Vancouver's Langara College is working on a proposal to develop a four-year diploma course for tourism and festival management that would dovetail with the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee's eventual need for managers of volunteers and events. Although 2010 is not the full focus of the program, it would allow people, particularly those who have taken two-year college tourism-management courses outside of the Vancouver area, to acquire an applied degree in tourism and festival management, using on-line and distance-education procedures so that they would not have to leave their paying jobs for more than two weeks at a time to take residence aspects of the course. The proposal is expected to be going to Langara's executive late this year for consideration.
The negotiations over how to spend B.C.'s contribution of C$40 million in 2010 legacy-infrastructure money is still underway with the federal government, with issues of fund-matching and the projects to support still on the table. Quite a few B.C. municipalities have proffered proposals for the funding that exceeds the amount available, including the C$30 million Trade and Convention Centre in Penticton, a south-central B.C. city. Penticton wants to use the proposed facility to attract 2010 training by national teams -- domestic and international -- but funding needs to be approved fairly soon if the building is it be built in time for training to occur.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on August 31, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #507
RICHMOND SKATING OVAL PROJECT SAID TO BE A HIT WITH OPEN-HOUSE ATTENDEES

The acting mayor of Richmond, Bill McNulty, says that 420 of the people who have attended the recent open houses to explain the concepts involving the Richmond Speed-Skating Oval for 2010 have been surveyed, and the vast majority are in favour of the project.

McNulty gave little details about the survey during CBC radio interview this morning, but said the "only 2% are against the project. People are excited and I think we're caught up in a bit of euphoria." He added that there are "a number of concerns that we're addressing" that people have raised about the project during the open houses. Another series of such events are being held this week.

McNulty indicated there was still an opportunity for public-private partnerships connected with the C$124 million project. "At the moment," he said, "we haven't excluded the idea of a public-private partnership." The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee is contributing C$60 million to the cost of the complex. Although the City will have to pay quite a bit of the project's costs up front or during construction, it will do so out of existing funds, which will be repaid from development costs associated with the 19-acre portion of the 29-acre area that is not being used for the sports complex, along with sponsorship fees, naming rights, and grants.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on August 31, 2004