Morgan:News:2010:Bronze Edition: January 2006

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

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Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #1440
VISA MARKETING EXECUTIVES SAY COMPANY'S OLYMPIC SPONSORSHIPS GOOD FOR BUSINESS IN MANY WAYS

Visa USA, in an article about Olympic sponsorships in today's edition of BrandWeek, says the credit-card company's long-term, exclusive program with the Games, which will continue during the 2010 Olympics, is good for its business and those of its corporate customers in many ways.

In fact, much of its athlete-centred marketing program, developed over years of Olympics support, has many of the components of the program outlined yesterday by Rona, the renovations retailer that is a major sponsors of the 2010 Winter Games.

Susanne Lyons, chief marketing officer, and Michael Lynch, senior vice-president of event and sponsorship marketing, were involved in the interview.

"The Olympics is the most deeply activated, multipronged initiative we do, and it has its preeminent position because of its linkage to our brand,” said Lyons. “When consumers are aware of our relationship with the Olympics, they think more highly [of Visa] on a number of different levels."

From Visa's point of view, they told the publication, the company connects with these Olympic attributes perceived by the buying public: aspirational, celebratory, inclusive, trustworthy and empowering. Those traits, they say, speak to Visa's branding that implies a promise of helping consumers achieve their goals, whether making a dream-come-true acquisition or an everyday purchase.

"We also are helping the athletes achieve their goals," Lynch said in the publication. "The key to our sponsorship success is connecting to the athletes themselves... We find that when consumers view us as helping support the athletes, their perception of us as a brand builds significantly and that, in turn, develops preference for Visa products and ultimately drives incremental usage to the system.”

Visa believes that providing athletes with financial support is a key component of its endorser program. n the larger picture, Lynch told the publication, “We're looking for a variety of disciplines to provide creative content for our member banks and merchants so they can differentiate themselves [in their marketing programs]. You'll see a cross-section of athletes: male, female, different sports imagery, different ethnic backgrounds."

Visa also tends to use its Olympic marketing time to focus on new products it wants to establish. "We took a hard look to see how these sponsorships can work harder for us,” said Lyons. "They're doing things at a brand level, but can they help us drive usage and volume? The way to do it is to make sure real product benefits and reasons to believe are tied into the spot... It's more of a creative challenge, where we're not just saying, 'We're a proud sponsor of the Olympics.'"

Visa, in its set-up for the Torino Olympics has bought billboards, airport signage and retail point-of-purchase collateral. The company typically begins planning these components five years before the Games. Thus executives, already two years into planning for Beijing in 2008, began visiting Vancouver in 2003 and again last year to set up preparations for the 2010 Winter Games.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 31, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1439

Here are three more moguls we ran into today:

2010-RELATED SPENDING ABOUT C$93 MILLION TO DATE

To date, about 300 contracts, worth about C$93 million, have reportedly been tendered so far by VANOC and other agencies in connection with the 2010 Winter Games preparation and support. VANOC is expected to eventually award more than 10,000 contracts for goods and services. VANOC and those agencies are also expected to spend about C$145.6 million on its capital projects this year as work to upgrade facilities at Cypress Mountain for the Olympics' freestyle skiing and snowboarding events, as construction of the new arena at the University of B.C. begins, as the work continues in the Callaghan Valley on the Whistler Nordic Centre and on Whistler-Blackcomb on the Whistler Sliding Centre, and as the tenders for construction of the athletes villages in Vancouver and Whistler are eventually issued. Meanwhile, the Canadian Olympic Committee reports that about C$10 million of the C$110-million "Own The Podium" program was spent on supporting Olympic athletes in various ways, from financial to technical, during the past year and they prepared for the 2006 Games and as the program itself was established and its funding channels opened. "This money went into allowing athletes to have better, longer training camps and competition opportunities against their peers outside Canada," COC president Mike Chambers said. Some of the funding spent during the past year can be used to help develop existing and new athletes for the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing and the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, but the focus will shift towards 2010 after Torino's Games end. Half of the Own the Podium program budget is funded by the federal government through annual contributions, while the other half is funded by major sponsors of VANOC.

HOME-SHOW OPERATORS FRET ABOUT LOCATIONS IN 2010

Operators of home shows, sprawling trade shows for the public that focus on home furnishings, are getting a bit nervous about 2010 in the Greater Vancouver area, apparently. VANOC will be using several of the locations from roughly November, 2009 until the summer of 2010, where these shows are normally held -- General Motors Place, BC Place Stadium and others. It's one of the arguments that proponents of Richmond's suggested new convention centre are using to support their C$75-million project. Tracy Lakeman, executive director of Tourism Richmond, says she'd like the facility to be ready by the end of 2008 to capitalize on the 2010 Games. "By 2009, the Olympics will take over many of the facilities a lot of the consumer trade shows are housed in, and they're very nervous about having a home, especially a purpose-built home," she said. "Hopefully we'll be able to be that home for them."

VERNON AREA PLUMPED FOR 2010-BOUND ATHLETES

About 60 million people worldwide watched televised coverage last weekend of the Viessmann FIS World Cup Nordic skiing championship at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, in BC's Okanagan area. The World Cup's direct economic impact through restaurants, hotels and other services is about $10 million, but, "That doesn't include a dollar figure for media exposure," said Jennifer Strachan, marketing co-ordinator for the Greater Vernon Services Commission. "An event like this puts us on the map. It puts us into areas we wouldn't be able to market in." Strachan suggests Europeans watching the TV coverage may consider their athletes could train in the area during the run-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 31, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #1438
CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION FORECASTS CONTINUED STRONG INFLATION BETWEEN NOW AND 2010

The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of BC, an organization of medium-sized and non-union construction firms, reports that the strong construction-cost inflation experienced over the last five years British Columbia is likely to be pushed by rising labour costs for the foreseeable future.

It's a gloomy forecast for the Venues departments of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC), and for the federal and provincial governments which are helping to pay for the Games, and who have been asked by VANOC for additional dollars to keep their 2002 financial commitments even with inflation until the end of 2007.

Philip Hochstein, president of the ICBA, says, “We have just completed a detailed analysis of where we think construction costs are going and why. And the short answer is that the 45% increase in costs over the past five years is likely to continue for the next five with average yearly inflation of approximately 10%.” He calls it "a perfect storm" for the industry.

The reasons he cites for the continued escalation include:

Upward pressure on wages after 20 years of declining real incomes;

Sharp increases in construction material prices driven by world commodity prices; and,

Declining labour productivity due to the high ratio of new entrants into the industry.

“We are in a market not seen since the late '70s,” says Hochstein. “The labour market is extremely tight because construction is busy across the country, BC volumes continue to grow, and all [construction] costs are going up at the same time that our productivity is dropping because of all the new trainees we are taking on.”

The BC and federal governments, and VANOC, which is to undertaking its major construction program this year and next, with additional construction or renovations up to 2010, have been aware of the skill shortages for several years, but the apprenticeship training programs necessary to increase skilled trades people take several years to improve, expand and produce graduates. That process has been underway for more than a year now.

Hochstein, however, is calling on both the provincial and federal governments to work together on a strategy to streamline the immigration process to bring young skilled trades into BC to raise productivity and help mentor all the new apprentices being hired into the industry.

“The apprentices we are hiring now will supply the skilled labour a few years down the road, but the only way to bridge the immediate gap is to look beyond our borders and cut through the red tape that prevents or delays the infusion of much need skilled workers into the province,” says Hochstein.

Hochstein adds that the 1990s, where contractors and workers each encountered reductions in their compensation, set what he called "unrealistic price expectations for construction clients" and that "cost inflation is the new reality for the short to medium term."

Trades such as electrical and plumbing can move easily between residential and civil projects, but the ICBA says it expects there work will continue to grow faster than the supply of non-residential trades, including ironworkers, boilermakers, millwrights, industrial mechanics, refrigeration mechanics, air-conditioning workers, and those who specialize in earthworks, reinforcing steel and concrete forming. "The concentration of projects in southwestern BC is also drawing off workers from rural and small communities, where almost half the construction companies surveyed by the B.C. Chamber of commerce reported vacancies in hard-to-fill positions."

BACKGROUND

More information from the IBCA research:

After lagging during the nineties, construction Gross Domestic Product growth is now well ahead of the overall economy. In 2004, the latest information available, suggests that construction GDP growth was 8.6% compared to 4% for the overall economy.

BC construction employment has risen from about 110,000 in 1990 to more than 160,000 today. Combined with record low unemployment and a busy industry across Canada, labour shortages exist.

Construction wages have been falling in inflation-adjusted dollars since the mid-'80s, but recent building-trade settlements of more than 25% over five years are signalling an upward trend in real wages. Combined with increasing demand for labour, upward pressure on wages is forecast to continue.

All major construction materials -- lumber, iron and steel, cement and concrete, fuel -- have been rising consistently for several years, and most are projected to continue to rise due to world commodity trends.

Trade escalation varied considerably from about 4% in landscaping to more than 20% in concrete formwork and roofing between 2004 and 2005. Material and labour costs drove the increases.

Labour productivity -- defined as GDP per hour worked -- in the construction industry has fallen by almost 30%, while the overall productivity grew by 42%. The IBCA says, "This can be explained largely by the relatively small impact technology has had on construction productivity, and the high ratio of new entrants into the construction labour force."

The house price index rose 17.6% from 2000 to 2005, but land prices rose only 5.4%. The ICBA says, "Generally land prices are not as volatile or interest-rate sensitive as house prices, so projected interest-rate hikes will likely not impact construction costs for land, materials or labour in the short run."

Construction profit margins plummeted from 4.7% in 1988 to –0.2% in 1993. Profitability is slowly returning to the industry with margins nearing 4% in 2003, the latest year for which information is available.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 31, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1437

TORINO, 10 DAYS OUT, OPENS OLYMPIC VILLAGES IN CEREMONY

The three Torino Olympic Villages that are to house the athletes and their supporting staff -- officially known as "delegations of the National Olympic Committees" -- during their stay, today opened their doors. The opening of the village also marks the official start of the Games as far as the intensive athlete anti-doping testing is concerned. There are 10 days to go before the Italian Games begin. The Olympic Villages of Turin, Sestriere and Bardonecchia will operate from today until 28 February and have a combined capacity of 4,050. They'll shut down for about a week as the switch over occurs to host the Italian Paralympics, which begin in March. It's a process VANOC is expected to follow. The villages provide gyms, shops, restaurants and a medical centre. There was an opening ceremony, at the main, 10-hectare village in Torino, and it involved speeches by the IOC’s Executive Director for the Olympic Games, Gilbert Felli, who has been to Vancouver several times since the city won the 2010 bid, as well as the Torino Organizing Committee's Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer and Sport Director, the so-called "mayor" of the Olympic Village (who is also an IOC member) and the two "vice-mayors" of the other two villages.

NBC OLYMPICS TO USE AVAYA AGAIN FOR TELECOM SUPPORT DURING TORINO GAMES

NBC Olympics, the division of the American TV network that focuses on covering Olympic Games, says it's contracted for a fourth Games with Avaya, a large communications consulting firm, with the services to link Torino's International Broadcast Center and NBC's Field Shop with sports venues in Torino, Italy, NBC Olympics headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and NBC Studios in New York with NBC's Olympic reporters. NBC, which will provided the largest contingent by far to broadcast the 2010 Olympics to the United States, gets control software from Avaya, as well as a messaging application that makes voice and fax accessible from any phone, fax machine or personal computer in NBC Olympics' network. It also provides a cellular-phone application, which enables calls made to a network extension to ring simultaneously on a cell phone so staffers can be reached through a single number. The software runs on a redundant server farm, the equipment also has a number of fails-safe build into it, and the company provides remote diagnostics and troubleshooting.

COURT OF ABRITRATION FOR SPORT SETS UP TORINO AD HOC DIVISION

The Ad Hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport is just now in the process of naming the arbitrators who are to hear any disputes -- such as an athlete appealing an anti-doping order -- that occur during the 2006 Olympics. The Court, based in the IOC's headquarters city of Lausanne, Switzerland, is an institution that's independent of any sports organization, and which provides ways to settle any sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation. It uses procedural rules adapted to the specific needs of the sports world. The CAS, created in 1984, is funded by the International Council of Arbitration for Sport. The CAS uses about 300 arbitrators from 87 countries, chosen for their specialist knowledge of arbitration and sports law. Around 200 cases are registered by the CAS every year. The Ad Hoc division was first set up to cover the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta. By the way, Richard Pound, a member of VANOC's 20-person Board of Directors and head of the Montreal-based World Anti-Doping Association, is one of the 11 arbitrators that the Court uses in Canada.

RESOURCES

Court of Arbitration for Sport:
www.tas-cas.org/en/medias/frmmed.htm

Avaya's website:
www.avaya.com/

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 31, 2006

Monday, January 30, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1436

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

WHISTLER-BLACKCOMB TO BECOME MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE BY 2010

Maureen Douglas, VANOC's Director of Operations & Community Relations in the Whistler area, says that Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) hopes to make Whistler-Blackcomb "one of the most accessible resorts on the planet" for people with disabilities by the time the Games are finished in 2010. "During the Torino Paralympic Games, we'll be assessing what more we need to do to make it more accessible," she says, noting that she and a number of VANOC's team responsible for planning the 2010 Paralympics will be travelling to Torino to observe the way the Italians have implemented their facilities. "The Paralympic Games deals with people who are living with a disability, not just those in wheelchairs, but with blindness and other disabilities in terms of sports. We'll ensure that the legacies that are installed, to run our Games successfully, become long-term legacies, so that more people can engage in sport. It's an amazing opportunity, for tourism, for travel, for people who live with a disability, to come to Whistler."

2010 LEGACIESNOW TO CONTINUE 'CHILL' FOR SECOND YEAR

2010 LegaciesNow has indicated that it intends to continue its troubled-youth snowboarding program for a second year. Bell Canada, which is VANOC's largest sponsor, the BC government and 2010 LegaciesNow set up a partnership arrangement a year ago to import "Chill" -- a snowboarding program for young, disadvantaged inner-city people that's been available in 10 American cities, including Seatte, in some cases for more than a decade -- so that it's available in the Lower Mainland. The program is focused on Vancouver's downtown east side, and socal programs focusing on that area was one of the promises VANOC made in its bid for the 2010 Games.

TWO MAJOR WEBSITES DO BUSINESS DEAL TO BLOG 2006 OLYMPICS

About.com, a website that uses a number of experts to maintain pages about various topics, and NBCOlympics.com, NBC's online home for its coverage of the Torino Winter Games, have agreed to provide a web audience with a unique view of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games from Torino, Italy, February 10 to 26. Under the cross-promotional agreement, NBCOlympics.com will feature links to About.com content, whicle, About.com will promote NBCOlympics.com to its millions of visitors. Both sites will feature the "About Olympics" blog, written by About.com's Guide to Europe, James Martin. The coverage is expected to focus on American athletes.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 30, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #1435
VANOC SPONSOR RONA OUTLINES HOW IT WILL SPEND C$4 MILLION TO SUPPORT 100 CANADIAN OLYMPIC ATHLETES

One of the major sponsors of the 2010 Olympics, the Quebec-based renovations retailer Rona (TSX:RON), has released the details of how it will support athletes heading for the Olympics, a component of its C$68-million sponsorship called "Growing with Our Athletes."

The program is one of the most ambitious corporate-support initiatives to be undertaken in conjunction with the Canadian Olympic movement, and ties in with the rights the company negotiated with VANOC that allows Rona to be connected to the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, the 2010 Games in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Games in London.

Rona's senior vice-president of Marketing and Development, Michael Brossard, says he and other company executives met with the company's Toronto-area employees today to outline the plan, and will do the same in the next couple of days in Edmonton and Vancouver. He'll be flying out tomorrow for those sessions. "It's important for us from a strategic level, and also a marketing level, to make sure our program was complimentary and added value to programs that already exist" -- such as the Canadian Olympic Committee's C$110-million "Own the Podium" campaign -- "and be able to stand out in the clutter of all the media weight that is out there."

At the same time, he says, the company, using its exclusive marketing rights negotiated under the sponsorship agreement with VANOC, will begin an advertising campaign on all the major TV networks on February 10, when the Torino Winter Olympics begin, and end with the Games two weeks later. The series of three 30-second commercials will feature three Canadian winter athletes -- skater Elvis Stojko, skiier Melanie Turgeon and speedskater Susan Auch -- with a message that ties their values and those of the Olympics, to Rona's values, and uses a slogan, "Winning Values, Let's Pass Them On." "There's an emotional bond that goes on, and they talk about the soul of our company," says Brossard.

Under the C$5-million portion of its sponsorship program, 40 Canadian athletes intending to compete in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Summer Games and 60 heading for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be part of a five-year funding project worth at least C$4 million to help 100 prospective Olympians get to the Games of their choice. The program, which also covers Paralympians, also has an in-store, fund-raising component, a C$10 "reno kit", which Rona predicts could provide an additional C$2 million in incremental funds for the athletes over the same five years.

Rona is to sponsor athletes chosen by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), which will take recommendations from its member national sport federations, as strong prospects for the 2008 or 2010 Olympic Games. These athletes, from across Canada, will receive financial support from Rona to help them offset living, training and competition expenses.

As well, the roughly 500 Rona-related stores across Canada will connect themselves with the 100 athletes -- an average of five stores per athlete -- to support them. Rona says it will do this by having each of its stores in a geographical area matched with one of the 100 Olympic athletes. Customers can also buy a C$l0 "Rona Renovation Kit" –- an Olympic logo carrying case that includes a Rona Vancouver 2010 tape measure, an HBC Olympic logo notepad, a Rona pen and three Rona renovation planning guides –- customers will be able to lend financial support to the designated athlete in its geographical area. The stores will then be able to engage in additional fund-raising and community activities to provide further support for their athletes. The kit will be supported by ads about it that will also run as part of Rona's Torino Olympic marketing campaign. "The proceeds of that kit will go entirely to the 'Growing with our Athletes' program. It's an activation program that's in-store that has a direct benefit to our athletes," notes Brossard, adding, "Any dollars over and above the C$4 million that we accumulate will also be distributed evenly to the 100 athletes."

Brossard estimates it will cost the company about C$1 million for administering Rona's C$5-million component of its sponsorship program devoted to athletes, which is comparable to the administrative percentage allowed Canadian charities by Canada's Customs and Revenue Agency. Brossard declined to reveal how much the company is devoting to the Torino Olympics marketing campaign, but he said that some of the company's regular marketing budget was also be redirected to Olympic marketing.

"Rona is deeply committed to the Olympic movement and the advancement of our Canadian athletes on a world level," said Rona president and CEO Robert Dutton. "Our objective is to be in the top 16 [medal winning countries] in Beijing and be first in 2010 for our home Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. It’s an ambitious goal, but considering the vast potential of our young athletes we believe it is realistic and attainable."

Brossard told Morgan:News:2010 that, "Part of our overall bid proposal -- and what VANOC really liked -- was that we are a company about values, and one of the values for us is definitely a sense of responsibility, teamwork and respect. Being part of an organization such as the Olympics not only permits us to espouse those values internally in our organization, but also to show Canadians a bit about what Rona's about.

John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), welcomed the "Growing with Our Athletes" Program, noting that it will be one of the catalysts in producing future Canadian Olympians. "VANOC’s partnership with Rona is rooted in our shared commitment to ensure that all Canadians feel part of the 2010 Games. As a growing Canadian company, Rona is helping us to share the spirit of the Games with communities across our country," said John Furlong, CEO, VANOC. "Today’s announcement brings us another step closer to ensuring that more Canadian athletes experience the greatness of standing on the podium representing Canada in 2010."

Brossard says that one of the goals of the entire campaign to demonstrate the company's values to its customer base, as well as to those that are not yet part of its marketshare. He also notes that Rona has acquired a number of companies in the past few years to fuel its growth -- Revy, Lansing, Totem, Building Box and others -- and the campaign helps to unify the banners, as he calls them. "One thing that is a common language for all of our employees across Canada is our participation as an Olympic sponsor. It's a nation-building exercise, of course, but for us, I would say, it's also a company-building exercise."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 30, 2006

Friday, January 27, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1434

Here are three more moguls we ran into today:

TALKS BETWEEN VANOC, HOST ABORIGINAL BANDS CONTINUE

Tewanee Joseph, the executive director of the Four Host First Nations Secretariat, which signed a 12-page protocol agreement with VANOC, expects to complete an expansion of the document through negotiations by this spring. The secretariat represents the four aboriginal bands working with VANOC. He told reporter Matt Ross of Indian Country Today that "By all the partners coming together, and also extending and reaching out to other aboriginal groups and organizations, I think this has the basis for success and we'll be able to enrich the 2010 games." Ross reports Squamish chief Bill Williams, representing one of the four host bands, as saying that the hope is to go beyond sport and economic development so that "civilization and ethnicity of the Coast Salish, Interior Salish and other First Nations will be promoted as well" in the C$20 million cultural center, part of VANOC's agreement, that will be built in Whistler in time for the 2010 Games.

PRINCE GEORGE TO CELEBRATE 2010 COUNTDOWN

Add Prince George to the list of BC communities (Moguls #1,433) that will focus events on Olympic-related themes next month. Mary Graydon, the event co-ordinator in Prince George, in north-central BC, reports "Prince George is also marking the four-year countdown to the Games, on Feb 12. We are celebrating the countdown at a ceremony at the 19th Annual Prince George Iceman dinner, along with the 1,000 athletes who take part in this unique winter sport event. Individuals and teams swim, skate and run -- it's a fun community event that also appeals to competitive athletes. The Chair of the local Spirit Committee, Prince George mayor Colin Kinsley, will mark the countdown with a speech, afterwhich we we will show an inspirational video from 2010 LegaciesNow."

OLYMPIC TOURISM IS AS OLYMPIC TOURISM DOES

From our Coincidence? We Think Not Department: The council for the Greater Vancouver municipality of Surrey this week didn't even bother discussing the idea of adding a fourth person, one with expertise to promote tourism, to the team of civic representatives going to Torino next month. Its primary mission of those on the team is to see if they can persuade national teams to stay in the municipality while practicing for the 2010 Olympics. The political climate for the expenditure of taxpayer funds for such a trip was just barely conducive to supporting the three-person delegation. Salt Lake City, on the other hand, which hosted the 2002 Winter Games, is sending a delegation headed up by mayor Rocky Anderson, and will man a booth in Torino specifically to encourage tourism. Salt Lake's tourism sector is paying for Anderson's stay. Anderson, besides talking in detail about the beneficial effects on its tourism business that flowed from hosting the 2002 Games, also justifies the concept of going to the Italian City by noting that Salt Lake City is an Olympic city and its presence in Torino "is expected of us."

RESOURCES

The link to The Iceman:
www.mag-net.com/iceman

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 27, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1433

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

A FEW QUIET CELEBRATIONS TO MARK 4-YEAR COUNTDOWN

So far we've only heard of Vancouver, Whistler and, now, Abbotsford as communities in BC that are expecting to mark February in some way with civic events connected with marking the four-years-out benchmark of the 2010 Winter Games. The Spirit of BC Committee in Abbotsford, a city east of Vancouver, says that it will host several events on February 4, including a community walk and a flag-raising ceremony with local politicians. The date is within the provincially coordinated 'Spirit of BC Week', from February 3 to 10. Like Vancouver, Abbotsford will also have free skating all day at the local arenas, and there will be live entertainment, art displays and and art workshops at two locations as a contribution to the Cultural Olympiad. The Spirit of BC Community Committee in Chilliwack, another city east of Vancouver, will be sponsoring some events as well, but in April and focused on the provincial government's physical-fitness goals.

TORINO PARALYMPIC WEBSITE LAUNCHED

With all the current Olympic event focus on the 2006 Torino Games, you may be wondering about promotion for the Torino Paralympics which is set to follow the Olympics in March, in a pattern that's identical to VANOC's. With 41 days remaining before they open, the Torino Organizing Committee's Paralympic website has finally been launched. The sections are similar to those of the Olympic Winter Games: Come to Torino 2006, Competitions and Schedules, Sports and Athletes, Paralympic Spirit and Behind the Scenes. So far, there has been scant attention paid to it, or the Paralympics, outside of TOROC.

TORINO OFFICIAL VIDEO GAME FAILS TO WIN MEDAL IN REVIEW

From our Tell Us What You Really Think Department: MTV, the youth music video channel, has a popular website that deals with reviews of video games, and it took a look at a new game that was just released by 2K Sports of California and is now shipping for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PCs. Here's the summary of the review by Alex Nevarro, who writes, "'Torino 2006 - the Official Video Game of the XX Olympic Winter Games' is one of the longest and most unnecessary titles in video game history. And it also happens to be a pretty lousy game, to boot. It's not as if the Olympics, be it summer or winter, has had anything special to call its own when it comes to video game adaptations over the years, but Torino 2006 is especially egregious in that it pares down the number of included events to a fairly measly number, manages to make every single one of them completely uninteresting, and skimps entirely on the presentation. Yes, it's only a $20 game, but that $20 would be better spent practically any other conceivable way... Torino 2006... is easily one of the most half-hearted and uninspired examples of developers quickly trying to cash in on the event in a timely fashion... The only way this game could be better is if the disk didn't load."

RESOURCES

The Torino Paralympic website:
www.paralympicgames.torino2006.org

Here's the full review of that video game:
videogames1.mtv.com/pages/gamespace/review.php?id=930816

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 27, 2006

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1432

Here are three more moguls we ran into today:

WHISTLER TO USE COUNTER-PETITION METHOD TO HELP FINANCE PARALYMPIC SLEDGE-HOCKEY RINK

Whistler officials, with an eye to their calendar, say they intend to use a counter-petition method to acquire sufficient money to build the controversial 2010 Paralympic sledge-hockey rink if it can't be done, as expected, with the C$20-million offered by VANOC. This method essentially allows council to make a decision on debts under certain conditions using a formal, public notification process. If 10% of the community's citizens sign a counter-petition protesting the decision, council has to hold a referendum on the matter if it decides to proceed with the project. The project can proceed if the subsequent referendum succeeds. The method allows Whistler council to speed up the construction of the sledge-hockey rink if not enough people sign the counter-petition, since a referendum, which takes several months to hold, is not needed, but it could add to the timeframe if any counter-petition succeeds. Whistler council voted late last year to move forward on the arena to the disappointment of Squamish, just as an extension to a deadline imposed by VANOC was about to expire, as a result of that vote VANOC's next deadline is late this year to use its funding or return it so VANOC can use the funds for a contingency plan. Whistler mayor Ken Melamed is aiming for a decision for VANOC by August. Meanwhile, Whistler's proposed deal with the BC government over the transfer of 121 hectares of crown land, about half of which is for the 2010 Olympic Athletes Village is not yet complete, and until that transfer is done, Whistler can't proceed with the village's construction. Whistler has also asked BC for an increase in the percentage it gets from the provincial government's hotel tax to help fund delivery of the 2010 Games, and there's no word yet about a decision on that. Whistler also needs BC to approve an application to expand Whistler's municipal boundaries to take in VANOC operations, and that, too, has not yet completed. Elsewhere, Whistler expects to provide its citizens with the first draft of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Strategic Plan next month, but it's expected to be revised shortly after Whistler officials return from watching the Torino Olympics unfold. The plan, once it's approved, will allow the formation of a operational plan for the delivery of the Games in Whistler.

HARPER GOVERNMENT TO BE SWORN IN ON SAME DAY VANOC CEO HEADS FOR TORINO

VANOC CEO John Furlong said yesterday he wouldn't release VANOC's first major budget until after the organization has had a chance to talk to the new federal government about the logistics and amount of Ottawa's funding of the Games and other matters related to the budget. Prime minister-designate Stephen Harper said today his new government will be sworn in on February 6, and the cabinet minister who will have the responsibility for Ottawa's portion of the Games, and how the department holding will be structured, is unlikely to be publicly known before then. However, that's the same day Furlong says he leaves to take part in the official observations of the Torino Olympics. About his staff, including all of its senior leadership, will also be attending the Olympic and subsequent Paralympic Games for various lengths of time in February and March. The new VANOC budget is expected to outline its latest estimate for venue construction costs.

MARKETER RECOMMENDS KEEPING AND EYE ON TORINO CANADIAN OUTCOME

Roy Roedger, the president of SDI Marketing, a Sports & Event Marketing agency in Toronto says that the 2006 Torino Olympic coverage will trigger increased attention on winter sports, and that's good news on a range of fronts for businesses. Writing in today's edition of Marketing, Roedger says, "It will be interesting to watch how these Games set up sports and Canadian athletes for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. A successful young winter Olympian in Torino will be a hot commodity as the Vancouver Games approach. Figure skating in particular could see renewed interest if Canada produces some podium results. At the grassroots level, the sport is an excellent avenue to reach moms and younger females. These sports will also see increased interest from non-Olympic sponsors looking to develop an association through non-official guerrilla activity. This has already started, and it will put strains on the bureaucrats from VANOC."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 26, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1431

Here are three more moguls we ran into today:

JUMP 2010 FREESTYLE SKIING PILOT PROJECT LAUNCHED

The Canadian Olympic Committee's Own the Podium program, which aims to increase Canada's medal standings by the 2010 Winter Games, has started a program called Jump 2010, a Vancouver-based pilot project for the national and provincial freestyle ski associations. VANOC and the Canadian government have pledged to raise C$110 million for the Own the Podium program over the years leading up to 2010. Jump 2010 is based on similar programs that have operated successfully in Australia and China: it recruits athletes who have already achieved an elite level of performance in related disciplines, such as gymnastics, diving, and figure skating, and trains them in freestyle skiing. VANOC's venue for freestyle skiing in the 2010 Games is at its Cypress Mountain venue in the mountains just north of Vancouver.

RONA TO ANNOUNCE NEW PROGRAM FOR OLYMPIC ATHLETES ON MONDAY

The president and CEO of major VANOC sponsor Rona, Robert Dutton, and Chris Rudge, CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee are expected to make an announcement on Monday about a new support program for Canada's Olympic athletes. Mark Hindman, vice-president of Marketing for RONA and Olympic figure-skating medal winner, Elvis Stojko (pronounced STOY-koh) are also expected to be there.

WEST VANCOUVER TO SEND TWO PEOPLE TO TORINO

West Vancouver city council has voted to send a two-person delegation from the city to the 2006 Games in Torino. The city's mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones and its chief administrator officer will be going to see what the impact of the 2010 Games might be on their community. VANOC's Cypress Mountain venue is adjacent to West Van. City planners estimate it will cost C$19,200 for the trip, and the funds is to come from last year’s 2010 Olympic Committee budget. of the other three community hosts of VANOC's venues, Vancouver is sending 16 people to Torino, Richmond is sending 11 and Whistler is sending seven. Goldsmith-Jones and CAO David Stuart are scheduled to tour Italy's snowboard half-pipe facility. The tour is to be organized by Cypress Mountain’s general manager Linda Swain, who will also be in Torino. Cypress, which intends to re-designing its ski resort to accommodate the 2010 winter Olympics, is sending Swain to view the operations of the free style and snowboarding venue. Goldsmith-Jones said she will also take a look at how Torino's neighbouring towns promote arts and culture, since February will mark the start of 2010's Cultural Olympiad. The two, who leave February 19 and return February 28, will report on athletes accommodation and how recreational facilities are rented.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 26, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1430

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

BELL, CBC WORK OUT WIRELESS PHONE BROADCAST DEAL FOR 2006 GAMES

Bell Canada has worked out a deal with CBC and its Quebec equivalent, Radio-Canada, to provide exclusive mobile-video coverage of the Torino Olympic Winter Games to Bell Mobility customers when the Games start next month. CBC/Radio-Canada, which is Canada's national broadcaster for the Italian and Chinese Games, will use a production team to create the content. Olympic highlight packages will be available for viewing 18 times a day in English and 13 times a day in French to Bell Mobility subscribers on the 1x and Evolution Data Optimized networks in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. Bell Mobility will stream the content at high-speed download rates. Bell Mobility subscribers with MobiTV will be able to view the coverage live on their phones. Bell, and its national broadcast network subsidiary CTV are sponsoring the 2010 Winter Games and is Canada's host broadcaster for those Games. The sponsorship arrangement was valued at about C$200 million by VANOC, and the CTV deal was worth about C$192 million to the International Olympic Committee.

VANOC HQ SETUP COMPLEX BUT SIMPLE

The VANOC CEO John Furlong says the amount of planning involved in fitting out its new headquarters is complex, but the plan itself is simple. "It's an open-plan situation for us," he says, "We are doing it in two stages because we will eventually have 1,200 people in there, but we don't need it all open at once. We are also putting offices for all of our partners in there, and organizing so that we won't have to make moves inside the building as we go forward. It's complex, but it's a relatively simple setup." VANOC is expected to move into the building in early April.

ARIZONA FIRM SCARVES DOWN LAST-MINUTE TORINO APPAREL DEAL

From our Better Late than Never Department: A business in Scottsdale, Arizona, has been granted an apparel license, essentially at the last minute, to sell official scarves of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. The company, called Innov8, is owned by 49-year-old entrepreneur Douglas Poole, who designed the scarves with his wife, a fashion designer with Italian heritage, Sonia Di Maria. The scarves use the Torino 2006 logo, and offered in six styles in fleece, acrylic knit and faux cashmere. They also come in three colors -- blue, black and white. They will be sold at the Games by Olympic vendors, and prices range from US$12 to US$24. Innov8 also plans on selling the scarves in bulk to major Olympics sponsors so they can distribute them as part of their Olympic courtesy packages. The Games start February 10, but Poole says he plans to sell the scarves for the rest of the year. Innov8's agreement is the eighth apparel contract TOROC has signed.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 26, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #1429
BOARD OF MAJOR VANOC SPONSOR HBC ENDORSES NEW OFFER BY AN AMERICAN TO BUY THE COMPANY

An American billionaire has improved his offer for the outstanding shares of 2010's major retail sponsor, HBC, and the directors of Canada's oldest company, HBC, have unanimously endorsed the bid.

There's no immediate word on what effect, if any, this would have on the operations and plans of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC), although it's unlikely, because of the intertia of the organizations involved, it will have any immediate effect. VANOC has not yet officially commented on the pending purchase. HBC last spring provided a C$100 million sponsorship, as valued by VANOC.

Maple Leaf Heritage Investments Acquisition Corporation (MLHI), headed by Jerry Zucker, from South Carolina and number 346 on Forbes's list of the richest Americans, has provided an amended, all-cash offer for all of the outstanding common shares of HBC (TSX: HBC), the holding company for the 335-year-old Hudson’s Bay Company. For the past two years, Zucker has been HBC’s largest shareholder, with just under 20% of the stock. He increase the price to C$15.25 per share and significantly reduced the conditions of the offer.

Yves Fortier, governor of Hudson's Bay Company, says, "The Board... is recommending that shareholders tender to the amended offer from Maple Leaf Heritage Investments Acquisition Corporation. We are satisfied that the amended offer constitutes full and fair value for the Company." MLHI is to mail the amended offer to shareholders by February 10.

The amended offer will expire at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 24, although there's an option to extend that if necessary. MLHI has also made an all-cash offer for all of the outstanding 7.5% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures of HBC that are due December 1, 2008. To finance the purchase, MLHI has arranged C$1.7 billion in bank financing through Wells Fargo Retail Finance, ABN AMRO Bank and ABN's subsidiary, LaSalle Business Credit.

There has been considerable speculation that Zucker was primarily interested in the real-estate assets of HBC. Zucker, who does not grant interviews, said in a prepare news release, "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with HBC today, and to be associated with a Company with such a long and proud history. As the Company's largest shareholder for more than two years, we are aware of the tremendous opportunities available to HBC. We look forward to working with management and associates to build upon the company's strong position and dynamic growth opportunities. We are committed to enhancing our customers' shopping experience through a substantially greater focus on service, and revitalizing the spirit of the organization. Through the implementation of more efficient methods we will positively differentiate HBC from its competitors."
George Heller, the president and CEO of HBC, and a personal aquaintance of VANOC CEO John Furlong, says in the same news release, “We are anxious to get to work with Mr. Zucker on realizing the value that we know is inherent in this great company. I would like to thank the 70,000 associates of Hbc for staying focused and continuing our great tradition of serving our customers throughout this period.”

MLHI announced its intent to make an all-cash offer for the Company on October 28, 2005. MLHI is an indirect subsidiary of True North Retail Investments I, Inc, which is wholly owned by Zucker.

BACKGROUND

Zucker's statement that "We are committed to enhancing our customers' shopping experience..." may simply be a hedge to prevent customer and employee insecurity about the take-over, thus affecting the company's cash flow.

In a November interview with Canadian Business magazine, report Zena Olijnyk wrote:

As Robert Johnston, tells it, Zucker... is committed to keeping HBC intact. Despite its problems, "it's still a wonderful company," Johnston, VP of strategy at Zucker's private holding company, the InterTech Group Inc. Corp., says of HBC. He points to the company's great locations and "wonderful brand names." Heck, Johnston says Zucker even likes the current management's five-year plan for fixing the company, which includes cutting costs, standardizing Zellers outlets, improving selection, and adding more big-ticket items and exclusive brands. While professing support, though, Johnston adds he and Zucker have concerns about how the plan is being executed, and about the dismal results that have followed. Since 2002, revenues have dropped to C$7 billion from C$7.4 billion, while earnings have dropped to C$0.86 a share from C$1.40. "Quarter after quarter, the results haven't been there," Johnston says. "With its footprint, brands and name recognition, you'd think this company should be much more profitable." If Zucker were to take over, odds are he would push aggressively to make things better, sooner. Says Johnston: "If you look at some very successful retailers, like Tesco [in the U.K.] and Target [in the U.S.], they are very good at taking on Wal-Mart. I think it would be great if HBC had a winning spirit." Peter Holden of Veritas Investment Research Corp. believes Zucker is "quite serious" about trying to revive HBC. "They are doing this expecting to win." Zucker may have no experience in retail, but Holden says "HBC's current management team knows a great deal about retail, and they consistently lose money. So maybe it is time for new ideas."

--

What VANOC's sponsorship arrangement with HBC mainly entails:

HBC is the official clothing and luggage supplier to the Canadian Olympic Teams for the 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games. It has already provided the apparel and luggage for the 2006 Team.

HBC is the exclusive department store and general merchandise retailer for VANOC in Canada until 2012;

HBC is to be the official clothing supplier to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Volunteers;

HBC is to also develop exclusive Olympic merchandise that will be available in official Olympic shops. These were built into virtually all 550 of HBC's stores across Canada by last November. These include HBC's big divisions: the Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters, Designer Depot and Fields.

HBC has also committed to support Canada's winter and summer athletes through fundraising efforts beyond the guaranteed commitment.

There will be a host of merchandise, marketing and service concepts that HBC is to provide in its role as a national partner to VANOC in the hosting of the 2010 Games.

RESOURCES

Robert Johnston
Maple Leaf Heritage Investments Acquisition Corporation
(843) 744-5174
<johnstonr@intertechsc.com>

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 26, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1428
VENUE-DESIGN CONSULTANTS SOUGHT FOR WORK OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) has begun looking for venue-design consultants to help it with a variety of projects between now and end of 2008 as construction and renovation of its venue portfolio takes place.

VANOC says firms interested in the work need to provide it with the information it requires by February 9.

In each case, it wants to pre-qualify the consultants, then put them on a roster, to be called as the work is needed, rather than go through the process over and over again. Also, in each case, it's building sustainability requirements into the master agreements with the firms, as well as its usual elaborate clause about the background security screening requirements for those people who are to be working with VANOC. That includes a criminal-records search and a review of and police history the staffer may have acquired. This time it's also warning proponents it will have the right to bar anybody from its work sites if the RCMP "or any other applicable local, national or international police force or security agency," determine that "the outcome of any of the searches is not satisfactory."

Here's what VANOC's looking for:

Consultants to provide it with periodic venue-seating design expertise. That's nowhere near as easy as it sounds. That work is for both inside and outside areas, as well as permanent and temporary areas, depending on each venue's requirements. Generally, VANOC says, it will likely be asking about how best to design the seating to specific audience counts. But it may also be asking how best to incorporate temporary seating with permanent seating, or how best to "incorporate commentator cabins into the seating structures." There's also a batch of complexity to it as well. The consultant will have to also take into account various sport, technical, operational and broadcast requirements at each venue when dealing with the seating, not to mention emergency and fire-safety provisions. The designs will also have to provide the details usually related to temporary seating, such as entrances, stair sections, railings, seating rise/run, seating rake and sight lines. The firm will also have to provide engineering information about such things as weights, point loads and site preparation.

Consultants to provide it with periodic venue-rigging design expertise. This involves providing VANOC with the amount of space needed and the the structural requirements for all of the venue's equipment that will be needed for the sports that will take place in that venue. That includes such things as video equipment and score boards, the management of cables, power and audio equipment, and broadcast-lighting requirements.

Consultants to provide it with periodic broadcast-lighting design expertise at the venues. This involves the consultant coming up with, as VANOC planners put it, "the most reliable, functional yet cost-effective, lighting solution based on individual venue and sport requirements." In some cases, they'll be asked to figure out what equipment might be added to existing lighting to bring the amount and colour of the light to broadcast standards, or they might be asked to recommend new equipment that would be installed separately. Besides dealing with the sport's technical and operational issues, they'll also have to take into account the venue's specific "look and pageantry" requirements. They'll also be required to come with a detailed three-dimensional plot of the lighting coverage, the sight-lines and camera coverage for each specific venue, along with lists of the equipment and their power requirements.

A breakdown on the steps involved in installing or constructing the equipment or seating, as well as timelines for installing and removing it, along with budgetary estimates for all the work involved, are part of each brief.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 26, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #1427
19 TRADE CONSTRUCTION PACKAGES OFFERED TO CONTRACTORS FOR 2010 OLYMPICS SPEED SKATING OVAL WORK

Dominion Fairmile, the construction management firm for the Richmond sports complex that is to house the 2010 Olympics Speed Skating Oval, has issued a call for pre-qualification statements by companies interested in 19 separate packages of work on the project. The deadline for the call is February 10.

Dominion Fairmile will develop a short list from the submissions for each package. The trade tender packages are expected to be issued between March and August.

The massive C$178-million project, at 6080 River Road in Richmond, will have a total floor area of 46,000 square metres when it's finished in late 2008 (by comparison, a Canadian football field of play is 5,940 square metres). Dominion says it is planning to build two mass strip footings supported by 500 piles. The first floor is to be a reinforced concrete raft slab at the grade of the surrounding land, and will include 14,000-square metres of parking.

The second floor is to be a precast, cast-in-place suspended slab, which will be tensioned after it's in place. It will include the 12,000-square-metre "superflat" ice slab. The roof will be a metal deck supported by arches and purlins, the horizontal structural spans between the trusses to support the deck. The arches will be made of glu-lam and a structural-steel composite. The arches span 96 metres (a Canadian football field of play is 100 metres), and are supported by reinforced concrete piers at either end.

BACKGROUND

2806PQ – Design/Build Wood Roof Structure

2804PQ – Rink Slab Placing/Finishing

2801PQ – Elevators

2800PQ – Underground Mechanical

2799PQ – Underground Electrical

2798PQ – Detail Excavation & Backfill

2797PQ – Concrete Supply

2796PQ – Formwork & Concrete Placing

2795PQ – Precast Concrete

2794PQ – Reinforcing & Post-Tensioning

2793PQ – Concrete Testing

2792PQ – Refridgeration

2791PQ – Glu-lam Supply

2790PQ – Structural Steel

2789PQ – Metal Deck

2788PQ – Steel/Gluelam Testing & Inspection

2787PQ – Mechanical

2786PQ – Sprinkler Systems

2785PQ – Electrical

--

Superflat floors, in this case required by the demands of speedskating, are expensive. That’s because they have to be done in small, reinforced sections and they're labour-intensive. They have to be hand-finished by experienced people, according to construction experts. The pours of concrete are smaller because of the requirement for a keeping the floor so flat. In general terms the largest pour is about six metres wide, although it can be much longer. To ensure uniformity while the concrete is curing, the floor can’t have any control joints, and it has to be eiterh heavily reinforced or post-tensioned. Each pour also sets faster than normal, requiring the contractor to be highly organized. Ice rinks are not the only structures that require superflat floors, however; others include television stations so their cameras can be easily kept level, and high-bay, narrow-aisle warehouses with a stack height of 7.5 metres or more, so the storage-and-retrieval system is not moved out of position by a slant when it's near the top shelves.

RESOURCES

Dominion wants interested companies to submit two completed Contractor’s Qualification Statements, form #CCDC 11-1996, to the Purchasing and Insurance Department, Information Counter, on the Main Floor, of Richmond City Hall by 2 pm February 10. If a firm is interested in more than one package, separate envelopes for each construction package have to be prepared.

Questions: Ask Domininon's Alan Nicholson by e-mail at <anicholson@dominionco.com> or by fax to (+1) 604-631-1100.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 26, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Torino| #1426
2006 WINTER GAMES EXPECTED TO BREAK OLYMPIC BROADCAST RECORDS

The Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games are expected to be the most watched Winter Games in history, according to a pre-Games report on broadcasting commissioned by the International Olympic Committee. About 3.2 billion people will have access to coverage of the Games, an increase of 5% on the 2002 Salt Lake Games.

The report, prepared by Sports Marketing Surveys, says 84% of broadcasters who responded to the pre-Games survey plan to increase their coverage of the Games; two-thirds will increase their live coverage; one third will increase their prime-time coverage; and almost one third will be using innovative broadcast techniques. The coverage itself will increase by almost one third, up to 13,520 hours, an average of 845 hours of coverage per day of competition.

(By comparison, The coverage plans of Canada's CTV, which bought the broadcast rights for the 2010 Winter Games for C$192 million during an auction last year, is expected to be in both French and English 24 hours a day during the Vancouver/Whistler Games, for a total of 1,767 hours for 2010. About half of that coverage is expected to be shown live; about 25% of the total will be in prime time. The over-the-air services (CTV, TQS, OMNI.1, OMNI.2) will provide a total of 653 hours for 2010.)

IOC President Jacques Rogge says, ”The indications from broadcasters... reinforce our commitment to making the Olympic Games available on free-to-air to as many people as possible. The figures also demonstrate that worldwide interest in the Olympic Winter Games is high. The expected increase in hours of coverage, and the use of new technologies such as High Definition Television, broadband and mobile telephony, are all welcome trends."

BBC viewers in Great Britain will benefit from technology innovation in the form of SimulCam and StroMotion to enhance television pictures. StroMotion, which creates stunning trajectory video footage, has never been seen before on British television, and will be used during coverage of skating and snowboarding.

The report also says that media initiatives, including the first-time use of wireless telephone broadcasting, will offer Games audiences a much greater choice of viewing options; for instance, mobile-phone subscribers in some territories will be able to watch live or delayed video coverage of the Games. Either live or delayed coverage by wireless phone is expected to occur across five continents in almost 20 countries, including Canada, France, the UK, Germany, South Africa, New Zealand and South Korea. In Europe alone, cell-phone or other wireless access to the Games will be available in 14 countries, through seven mobile operators. In South Korea, Digital Multimedia Broadcast (DMB) technology will allow mobile phone users to gain direct access to coverage of the Games from Korean Olympic broadcasters.

Broadband Internet coverage is expected to be the widest and most technically advanced of any Olympic Games.

The host broadcast, produced by The Torino Olympic Broadcasting Organization will be the first to be filmed entirely in high-definition television (HDTV). TOBO will use 400 HDTV cameras to cover the Games, delivering more than 900 hours of coverage to all of the broadcasters that have paid to broadcast the Games. Host country Italy’s coverage will increase by 88% over the Salt Lake Games, with its national TV organization, RAI, to broadcast a total of 244 hours, approximately 15 hours of coverage per day.

The report also says that increased free-to-air coverage in Africa and Asia is responsible for increasing the number of countries and territories broadcasting the Games from 160 for the Salt Lake Games to 200 for Torino 2006. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, the number of territories taking free-to-air coverage is rising from just two to 40. Mongolia (TV5 and MNTV) and Azerbaijan (Lider TVs) will be showing the Olympic Winter Games for the first time in their history.

Other highlights coming out of the pre-Games television report include:

HOURS OF COVERAGE:

In most markets, the hours of coverage are expected to increase over that of Salt Lake City, and in some case, the rise is dramatic. These include China, which is to host the 2008 Summer Olympics up 111%, Great Britain, which is to host the 2012 Summer Games, up 563%, Brazil will increase its coverage by six times that of Salt Lake. Malaysia up a whopping 1,025% and even the USA's coverage is up, by 12%.

NBC’s 416 hours of broadcasting in the United States will include the most live coverage across the most platforms of any Olympic Winter Games, including the Salt Lake Games, and include the most high-definition availability of any Olympic Games.

Coverage in France will be comprehensive, with FR2 & FR3 offering almost 200 hours of airtime, while coverage in Germany on ARD-ZDF will increase by 67%, with two digital channels to complement their free-to-air coverage.

There will be more broadcasters supplying broadband internet coverage than before, increasing from eight countries for Athens during the 2004 Summer Games to more than 20 across four continents. In most cases, this will include live coverage across a number of channels in countries such as France, Germany, Canada, Australia and Japan. France Telecom will provide seven broadband channels of live coverage of the Games, airing over 50 hours a day.

MAJOR MARKET HIGHLIGHTS:

Japan’s NHK will broadcast almost 700 hours of coverage, and has highlighted that, despite the time difference, 60% will be live sports. Digital/Interactive TV and HDTV will also make a significant contribution to the coverage.

In Korea, KBS will be airing 68 hours of coverage, focussing on High Definition TV broadcast. The Games will also be shown on KBS Sky.

CCTV in China will offer around 17 hours of coverage per day of competition, broadcast on CCTV5.

The BBC’s coverage will offer unprecedented access through BBC2, interactive TV and its sport website. Digital viewers will be able to access 500 hours of live coverage, while broadband users will be able to access five channels, running simultaneously and broadcasting different events.

Pan-European broadcaster Eurosport will continue to offer coverage of the Games 24 hours a day.

RESOURCES

Our story from February 11, 2005 that details CTV's planned coverage of the 2010 Winter Games:
www.morgan-news.com/2010/archives/2005_02_01_Bronze.htm
When the page loads, use your browser's Find command to search for #825.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 26, 2006

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1425
LEGAL ACTION MAY BE TAKEN IF SMALL BUSINESS DOESN'T CHANGE ITS NAME BY MARCH 31

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) says it may take legal action against a Lower Mainland company called Olympic First Aid over its name.

The company was founded by Mitch Gurr and Christine Mackay of Port Coquitlam, BC, in September, 2003. It is a consultancy for businesses that want to set up first-aid departments or provide first-aid for events. It provides courses for company employees in dealing with medical emergencies. Gurr was a paramedic with BC Ambulance for 22 years and Mackay worked at Burnaby Hospital for seven years. They say the name Olympic First Aid came from a goal to expand their firm to include an event division.

VANOC, however, is concerned about the use of the name, which it considers a trademark violation. VANOC's vice-president of Communications, Renee Smith-Valade, says the company has been given until March 31 to "cease and desist."

"We'd certainly like to find a solution," says Smith-Valade, "and we're hoping we can find one, but at a certain point we do need to draw a line in the sand and indicate to them that we are serious about protecting the Olympic marks and the Olympic brand. We're hopeful we will find a solution before March 31, but... we will take steps if we need to."

Smith-Valade says VANOC has sent the firm letters and communications that threaten legal action. She says she understands they're a small business. "We've always taken action [against other companies] if we need to, and 90% of the time we come up with amicable solutions that we can resolve together, and we hope that we will do something [in this case] as well."

Smith-Valade says the deadline is not an ultimatum. "No, not at all. It's only an ultimatum if they choose to make it one."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 25, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1424
FURLONG TO HOLD OFF ON RELEASING FIRST BUDGET FOR SOME TIME YET

The CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC), John Furlong, says his organization's first major budget for the Games will not be made public for a while yet.

"We decided not to make any comments about the budget until the federal election was over. We have a new government. We have no idea who the new minister for the Olympics is going to be, and we have no idea how Ottawa is going to be set up around the Olympics. We need to have a discussion with the new federal government before we do anything about the budget; that's our next objective -- to talk to them." The budget, among other things, is expected to provide new estimates of construction costs for the major venues.

A date hasn't yet been set for the transition of the Liberal government following its defeat Monday by a minority Conservative government led by Stephen Harper, but it's not expected to occur for about two weeks. The first priority of the transition team is to decide on a new Cabinet and how Harper wants to shape the department and ministerial responsibilities in it.

Furlong says that neither VANOC nor the International Olympic Committee have any concerns about the change in government. "The commitments that we have from the federal government -- I've never heard a hint that [the Conservatives] wouldn't stand behind those commitments."

However, Furlong says that in November, when Parliament was dissolved for the election, VANOC was "in the middle of a discussion with the government" of Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin about its level of funding and the logistics of it, as it had been considerably delayed. "The discussions stopped because of the election. We had hoped to be in a position to communicate our position on [our funding] in the middle of this month, but out of respect for the new government, and the new minister, we need to have that discussion" before the numbers are released publicly.

Furlong says the officials of the Heritage Department, which oversees the federal aspects of the Olympics, "haven't had a chance to do due-diligence about the information we have provided them."

VANOC has asked both the BC and federal governments for additional funding for covering inflation in the construction costs that was caused by capital-project boom that was unforeseen when the original budget was developed for the bid in 2002 and 2003.

Furlong says, however, that in all of the discussions he's had over the years with the various political parties in BC and federally, the relationship has been good. "We've met with them, we've met with their caucuses, it's not like we're starting from scratch, and they're all hugely supportive of the Olympics. We expect that to continue."

Furlong says he hopes that VANOC can have that discussion as soon as possible, although he points out that VANOC will have a large contingent going to Torino shortly to begin monitoring the operation of the 2006 Winter Games, and the Furlong will be leaving on February 6. After he's had the chance to have a discussion with the new government, he simply says, "Then we'll pick a time to discuss what the [budget] numbers will be."

The federal government has three appointees on VANOC's Board of Directors, and the terms of all 20 Board members, including that of chair Jack Poole, expire in November. "We are not anticipating a change in the appointments at this point. There could be one, but we don't yet know if there will be."

The VANOC budget, expected to be the first of three, was originally planned to be released last March or April, but was then deferred until last September or October when it was apparent to Furlong there were still too many unknowns in the types of costs, and how the funding would flow. Various factors, for instance, have kept the federal government from providing most of its financial support during 2005 and that, in part, was one of the reasons for VANOC's meetings last November.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 25, 2006

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1423
UNIQUE FLAG-HOLDER DEVICE MADE FOR VANCOUVER MAYOR FOR FLAG CEREMONY AT 2006 WINTER OLYMPICS

Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan, a quadriplegic, says he worked with an engineer from the City and volunteer engineers from two disability-support organizations to design and make a unique U-shaped tubular-steel device.

The device will enable him to consider, as custom dictates, waving a large Olympic flag that's to be handed to him during the Closing Ceremony of the Torino Winter Games.

The device, which attaches to his wheelchair, has a holder for the 4.8 metre-long flagpole. during the ceremony, Torino mayor Sergio Chiamparino will return the flag to Dr. Jacques Rogge, president of the IOC, who is then to give it to the Vancouver mayor. Sullivan, who broke his neck during a skiing accident when he was 19, does not have the ability to handle or hold the flagpole. However, he says he is determined to wave its flag the traditional eight times.

He won't be able to rehearse that, though, until he arrives in Torino on February 22 because the six-square-metre flag and its pole, first used in a ceremony during the 1952 Olympics in Oslo, are also unique. The Torino ceremony is on February 26.

The engineers -- from the Neil Squire Foundation and an organization Sullivan helped found, the Tetra Society -- had to take into account the diameter of the flagpole, as well as a range of wind and temperature conditions that could be expected during the ceremony.

The Oslo Flag, as it's known, will be on display in city hall, while a replica flag will fly over Vancouver City Hall, starting February 28. Sullivan watched excerpts from the Salt Lake City and Athens Closing Ceremonies for the first time today as other mayors worked their way through the protocol.

Sullivan said he was thrilled to be able to represent Vancouver, Whistler, BC and Canada during the hand-over. He says that IOC also wants him to be involved in the separate Torino Paralympics.

He has a sense of humour about the whole event. He says that while the engineers assured him of his chair's stability as it held the flag, he offered that he was mildly concerned he not "end up face-down on the stage" with a viewing audience described as "ten times the size of the one that will be watching the SuperBowl." He also wryly conceded that he had considered the irony of starting the countdown of the 2010 cultural Olympiad for a Winter Olympics when the flag would be handed to a person he describes as "the world's worst skier."

RESOURCES

The Neil Squires Foundation:
www.neilsquire.ca/

The Tetra Society:
www.tetrasociety.org/

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 25, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1422
VANCOUVER, TORINO MAKE CHANGES TO ACCOMMODATE PARAPLEGIC MAYOR FOR 2006 CLOSING CEREMONIES

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) and the City of Vancouver will outline tomorrow some of the details of mayor Sam Sullivan's role in the official Closing Ceremony of the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

Sullivan, the only elected Canadian official to appear on stage during the Ceremony, will be the first quadriplegic mayor to receive the so-called "Oslo" flag, and will do so, according to VANOC officials, on behalf of Canada. VANOC's eight minutes near the end of the closing ceremony on February 26 in Torino will involve Sullivan receiving the flag from Dr. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee as part of a segment designed to market the 2010 Games to the massive broadcast audience watching the Ceremonies.

The discussion tomorrow will deal with the fact that the election of Sullivan as the host city of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games last November meant that some changes were made both here in Vancouver and in Italy to accommodate him. His wheelchair has been customized in a retrofit, and the Organizing Committee in Torino will have a customized elevator at the closing ceremony stage to bring him to the required stage level.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 24, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1421

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

BC-CANADA PLACE OPENS WITH BUSINESS MEETINGS IN TORINO

BC-Canada Place, the home away from home for delegations visiting the 2006 Winter Olympics, opened on schedule Sunday in downtown Torino. It's expected to close on March 20, and host a variety of business, athletic and diplomatic functions during that time. For instance, today, BC Economic Development minister Colin Hansen and the dean of the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business, along with Vancouver Board of Trade chair, Daniel Muzyka, held a forum for business people from BC, Canada and Piemonte, the Italian province hosting the 2006 Games, who were planning to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland later this week. Muzyka talked about the emerging Chinese economy, dependence on petroleum energy, security, integration of trading blocs, information technology and volatility in world financial markets as trends that prevent provide challenges to business these days. Hansen, who was at the opening, said BC-Canada Place would also feature British Columbia business opportunities, as well as show off Canadian alternative energy and sustainable technologies, plus, of course, fuel-cell technology. Other VIPs on hand for the opening: representatives from the Vancouver Board of Trade, some Italian television and print reporters, representatives from some of the main Olympic sponsors, Sheldon Tetreault of the Lil’wat aboriginal band that is one of the host bands for the 2010 Olympics; Margaret Huber, Consul-General of the Government of Canada in Milan; as well as Patricia Bugnano representing the Province of Torino and Assessore Anna Martina representing the City of Torino, which donated the space and part of the building's shell. The director is Osvaldo Brasca, of Campbell River, a town on the east side of Vancouver Island. Brasca, born just outside of Torino, speaks Italian, French and English and has been working in the tourism and hospitality industries of Canada for about 40 years.

AT&T PULLS TORINO MARKETING TRIGGER

Ideas for 2010: AT&T in the United States, which has the rights to Olympic logo use through its sponsorship of the US Olympic Team in Torino and in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, has begun implementing its marketing program for Torino. It's launching a web-based service that allows people to send messages to individual US athletes, or to do so via text message on a particular brand of phone, Cingular. As well, it's also launching an advertising campaign with the theme of AT&T "delivering" the Torino Games. The ads will run during the Opening Ceremony broadcast by NBC, and use a lot of bonding and connection concepts. They're also running ads in magazines and billboards leading up to the Torino contests.

HEADS OF IOC, UN MEET IN SWITZERLAND

The president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, met today with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, on Annan's first visit to the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The IOC and several specialised agencies of the UN have signed co-operation agreements to set up programs to promote education, health care, environmental issues and the role of women in sport and society. They also talked about the Olympic Truce. Last November,, 191 member states of the General Assembly approved the Olympic Truce resolution for the Torino 2006 Games, entitled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal.” When the Games open next month, all the countries taking part in the Games will be invited to sign the declaration on an “Olympic Truce Wall” located in the main Torino Olympic Village.

RESOURCES

The BC Government has set up a website about BC/Canada Place at Torino:
www.bccanadaplace.ca

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 24, 2006

Monday, January 23, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1420
RICHMOND BUYS RAIL SPUR FOR C$14.2 MILLION IN CASH AS PART OF OLYMPIC OVAL PROJECT

The City of Richmond, as part of its project to construct the 2010 Olympic speed-skating oval, has bought the west leg of Canadian Pacific Railway’s Van Horne Spur line, including about five hectares of land, for C$14.2 million in cash payable over two years, and a tax-donation receipt for C$6.7 million.

In addition, CPR will receive a further donation receipt later to "reflect the value of tracks and other materials covered under the agreement."

The purchase involves the railway corridor extending from No. 2 Road to Sea Island Way in northwest Richmond.

Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie says the purchase, "will also enhance the viability of the Richmond Oval, a significant part of our long term strategic vision for the City.” He added that, “The acquisition of this corridor will allow us to build the next link in critically-needed new road works to service our City Centre. We will be able to improve traffic flow throughout central Richmond and achieve our goals of linking the City Centre to the waterfront."

CPR President Fred Green says the company has begun removing the section of track between No. 2 Road and Gilbert Road. This process, expected to be completed in about six weeks, will allow the City to realign a section of River Road, running from No. 2 Road to Hollybridge Way, and open it this summer.

The City has hired CPR to continue to maintain and operate portions of the Van Horne Spur as a private siding until 2010, to provide continued service for existing rail customer, Ebco Industries.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 23, 2006

Friday, January 20, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1419
SATELLITE DISH TO CROWN NEW VANOC HEADQUARTERS; FIBRE-OPTICS TO CHANNEL COMPUTER FEEDS

The new high-rise headquarters building that the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) is expected to occupy at the beginning of April is to be wired for satellite communications.

A Bell ExpressVue satellite dish will be perched atop the building, with its receiving and transmitting equipment to be housed on the building's fourth-floor communications room.

In addition, it's been learned, a state-of-the-art fibre-optics backbone circuit will tie the satellite feeds into VANOC's communications rooms, and transmit the signals generated by computers throughout the building between floors and between the adjacent low-rise -- part of the headquarters complex -- while a server farm, maintained by Bell, will be located on the building's main floor. Regular copper cable will be used to move the signals from the computers to the communication rooms on several floors that are connected by the backbone.

Although VANOC will be disbanded in the summer of 2010, the specifications call for a "25-year assurance" the cabling will be fit for the uses intended this year.

VANOC's fit-up engineers MCW Consultants have been working in conjunction with VANOC's telecommunications sponsor, Bell Canada, to design the plans and conduits for the cabling project.

Bell wants contractors hoping to win the cabling contract are to provide their quotes to Bell at its Calgary office by January 27. Bell expects to award the contract by February 2, and the winning firm will have less than two months to install the cabling and dish, and test it, all the while working in and around general, mechanical and electrical contractors dealing with other aspects of preparing the building.

VANOC staff will be moving from the downtown Vancouver core to the east Vancouver buildings at 3585 Gravely St., near First Avenue and Boundary Road.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 20, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1418
VANCOUVER COUNCIL APPROVES C$1 MILLION INTERIM BUDGET FOR FIRST PORTION OF OLYMPIC VILLAGE COSTS

Vancouver City Council has approved a C$1 million interim budget for site-servicing costs for the Olympic Village, and voted to award a contract worth an additional C$1 million for a temporary coffer dam connected with the Village's site preparation.

The decisions were taken immediately following a meeting of the City's Standing Committee of Council on Planning and Environment.

City Council approved the a financial plan and strategy in March, 2005, which set the development and financial framework for the overall Southeast False Creek neighbourhood, including the Olympic Village at its core. That plan included C$58 million for City lands' site servicing, foreshore stabilization and soil remediation.

However, staff are still developing an overall project budget. Until the decision, Council had approved a total of C$712,000 for the operation of the SEFC Project Office in 2005 and $615,000 annually starting this year, C$1.6 million for a site servicing plan, and C$265,000 for the decking and a piling-removal contract, the work of which began earlier this month.

The interim site servicing budget lets the public infrastructure and site-servicing work for the Olympic Village to continue while city staff prepares the detailed budget

The contract went to Ruskin Construction for building, maintaining it for about 20 weeks, and then taking apart a cofferdam across a small inlet on the Olympic Village site, at an estimated cost of $1,034,000, plus taxes, with the funding to be provided by the Southeast False Creek Development section of the City's Property Endowment Fund. The materials for the dam are to be used for redevelopment of the waterfront near the Village. Two other companies bid on the project as part of an RFP process: JJM Construction and Fraser River Pile and Dredge, but their quotes were both higher.

Design of the public infrastructure for the Olympic Village phase is nearly completed, according to the two main planners for the project, Robin Petri and Jody Andrews. Construction of the waterfront, roads and the like are expected to begin within weeks.

Detailed cost estimates for the public infrastructure are still being prepared. Once these cost estimates are finalized, the SouthEast False Creek Project Manager will report back to council with a detailed project budget, just before the rezoning meetings necessary for the Village development.

BACKGROUND

Examples of activities to be funded by the interim budget are:

Implementing and monitoring environmental commitments;
Stabilizing the foreshore in front of the Olympic Village;
Removing debris from the bottom of the Creek, which was surrounded by industry for nearly 75 years;
Creating a detailed construction phasing plan for site servicing; and
Conducting geotechnical and groundwater surveys.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 20, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1417
VANCOUVER CITY HIKES MARKET HOUSING COMPONENT OF OLYMPIC ATHLETE VILLAGE LEGACY PLANS

The newly elected Vancouver City Council has reworked its plans for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Athletes Village to increase the amount of market housing available to pay for the development of the site.

The decision came only nine days before four developers are required to turn in their proposals for how much they would pay the city to develop the buildings on the site. The decision's effect is to increase the financial viability for the businesses assembling the proposals, and reduces the projected drawdown on the city's Property Endowment Fund by as much as C$8.3 million. The PEF, a fund valued about C$1 billion that buys investment property to pay for public works and which owns the site, is being used to help pay for the project. The decision also reduced uncertainty on the value of the land in the Village area, and, it effectively does so without delaying the project further.

The path for the changes was initiated shortly after the November civic elections, in which the centre-right political Non-Partisan Association party defeated the left-leaning Committee of Progressive Electors for control of council. The previous council wanted to have the legacy housing, made available in the buildings constructed over the next three years for the 2010 athletes once the Olympics are over, be developed to incorporate one-third for market housing, one-third for what was termed 'modest income housing' and one-third low-income housing.

Council late this afternoon approved 6-5 along party lines a complex motion from mayor Sam Sullivan that effectively expanded the market housing on the Olympic site up to 72%, while retaining a minimum of 250 units to eventually be used for low-income housing on that site, known at the moment as Block 2a in the development plans. The minimum number of units were promised by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC). The Olympic organization has already forwarded C$30 million, which came from the BC government's support of the Olympics, to the City of Vancouver to aid with the cost of the Village.

Council's decision came after hours of hearing over two days from an initial list of 48 speakers; those who actually spoke, a wide range of organizations and people in favour of low-income housing, virtually all wanted council to retain the previous council's housing percentages. And the debate on the motion and various amendments alone took almost 2.5 hours.

Other parts of the motion dealt with the surrounding areas which will eventually be part of a much larger neighbourhood that is to replace the run-down industrial section in the southeast False Creek area.

The motion also instructs staff to issue a formal amendment to the RFP that was issued by the City late last year for the four developers. The RFP requires them to submit their proposals by January 30, and staff indicated during the debate, it would take them about a week to make recommendations to council as to which developer should be chosen to carry out the project.

The timeline for going through the re-zoning process, designing the buildings, calling tenders and constructing the project is extremely tight, as the completed buildings, which will initially be developed internally in a dormitory style, must be handed over to VANOC by November, 2009.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 20, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1416
CONTRACTORS SOUGHT FOR SEVEN BUILDINGS AT WHISTLER SLIDING CENTRE

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) reports late today that it has begun looking for companies to construct seven buildings, as one project, at its Whistler Sliding Centre.

VANOC Contracts Administrator Erica Bowers notes that the buildings range in size from approximately 50 to 1,000 square metres. The project will include site grading, paving, drainage, area lighting and some other related works.

She reports there will be pre-tender site meeting expected to be held on Friday, February 3rd, but it won't be mandatory. And, in a move that is unusual for VANOC, the formal Request for Proposal documents will not be available electronically until tomorrow. And, even so, they will only be available for viewing only, after issued, at the Vancouver Regional Construction Association offices in Vancouver and Langley, BC.

The buildings are to be constructed starting this spring; RFP closes March 1.

BACKGROUND

It's not clear from the limited amount of information so far available from VANOC what buildings are to be included in the RFP.

However, in general terms, we know that these are these are the types of buildings expected to be built at some point on the site: There is to 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 is also expected to 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.

RESOURCES

Vancouver Regional Construction Association
Head Office & Vancouver Plan Room
3636 East 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5M 1M3
Phone: 604.294.3766
Fax: 604-298-9472
e-mail: vrca@vrca.bc.ca

Langley Plan Room:
9734 201 Street
Langley, BC V1M 3E8
Phone: 604.882.9200
Fax: 604-882-9292
e-mail: sherrym@vrca.bc.ca

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 20, 2006

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #1415
BELL'S NEW NHL VIDEO-PHONE CLIP SERVICE SUGGESTS WHAT MAY BE ROUTINELY AVAILABLE DURING 2010 GAMES

Bell Canada is using video-clip service of National Hockey League games for its customers that use wireless communication devices, suggesting the kind of thing it may one day offer for the 2010 Winter Games.

And, in doing so, it's shown how its business model for such broadcasts works, at least initially, but advertising by third parties connected with the service is not yet part of that model.

It's the first service of its kind available in Canada; Bell is the largest commercial sponsor of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Chris Shannon, general manager for Bell's Wireless Business and Hardware Marketing, says, "Bell Mobility customers who want NHL hockey updates and highlights anytime, anywhere, will... have the best in-game action and highlights in a simple to use and easy to view package."

Bell's video clip service can be customized for each customer's viewing habits. Customers will be able to see game action and highlights packaged in one- or two-minute game clips, similar to those seen on TV sportscasts. Customers are able to select clips from any of the previous night's NHL game schedule, in any order or combination

Customers who subscribe to a minimum C$15 bundle branded "Fuel Me" can receive as mobile video clips as they wish. The streaming video clip service is currently available on the Samsung a920 and the Sanyo 8300 cell phones, and the downloadable video clip service is available on the Motorola E815 phone.

Subscriptions for the service can be purchased at Bell Mobility retail stores, or by calling *611 on their cell. Once the service is added to the customer account, the clips are accessed using their phone's embedded media player.

Bell Canada is working with Airborne Entertainment to deliver clips, and to offer additional NHL-branded products, such as alerts, ringtones, wallpaper, and games.

Similar services are also offered on on Bell's Sympatico, ExpressVu and Mobility channels. For instance, on Sympatico.MSN.ca, the company expects to offer products such as "NHL Rookie Tracker", in which Bell highlights the play of the league's top rookies, or "NHL SnapShot", in which specific hockey games are squeezed into about 20 minutes so they can be shown on broadband video, and "Game Highlights", which show each game's goal, hit and save by the goalies.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 19, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1414
WHISTLER COUNCIL TO CONSIDER IF ITS 2010 OLYMPIC VILLAGE WILL BE TEMPORARY

The possibility that the Whistler Olympic Village may be temporary has been raised as one of two options developed for the municipal council when it meets this month to decide on how to proceed with the project.

Whistler mayor Ken Melamed, speaking about plans for the 2010 Athletes' Village in the Lower Cheakamus, suggested the community may not be able to afford to build the estimated permanent village without providing a component of the legacy part of the project for market-valued housing to help pay for it. He says that option isn't preferred by council, but he says council is determined there will not be any more of that type of development in the Whistler Valley. Much, he says, will depend on the business case for the Athlete's Village, which will be made available to council before it makes its decision on the matter.

About C$26 million is available from VANOC for the construction of the Athlete's Village, plus a corporate sponsor is expected to help fund a C$13-million athlete's centre, which would not be available if the temporary option was chosen.

Whistler has been hoping that the Olympic Village would provide much-needed cost-controlled housing, so that it would be affordable for employees of employees of Whistler's businesses, because the restricted amount of land in the area, and the purchase of it by wealthy people attracted by the ski resorts forces land values upward. The municipality has long had a method in place to provide controlled-price housing for such workers.

Ekistics Inc., the consulting firm contracted by the municipality in 2004 to design the Olympic athletes' village, provided the two options for the proposed village. One option would use tents and trailers that would be removed once the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics are finished. The other is the long-standing permanent village. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) would pay for the infrastructure in case but the legacy version would allow for additional housing to be built in stages over a span of 10 to 15 years, much as the Vancouver Olympic Village is being planned. The project comes with a and grant from the government of British Columbia, about 300 acres. Melamed suggests some of it could be sold as development sites to offset the cost of the Village, but only if negotiations with the Province made that possible. The consultant firm suggests that it's unlikely the project could be affordable without a market-housing component.

The permanent option recommends construction of what would ultimately be 330 units of housing. If the permanent option is chosen, site clearing would have to begin this summer, with construction starting in 2007 and finishing in late 2008 or early 2009.

Meanwhile, VANOC is scheduled to hold an open house in Whistler on Thursday, January 26, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Westin Resort and Spa ballroom. It will be reporting on the progress made by VANOC in preparing the 2010 Games in general and, in particular, on Whistler area venues and activities.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 19, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1412

Here are some moguls we ran into today:

PRINCE GEORGE TO HOST WORLD WINTER CITIES MAYORS CONVENTION FOR 2010

The City of Prince George, in north-central BC, has won its bid to host the 2010 World Winter Cities Association for Mayors Conference. In doing so, Mayor Colin Kinsley says the city "overcame stiff competition" from Qiqihar, China, a city of about a million people in northwestern China. Kinsley says he expects "that the success in obtaining this conference will pay substantial dividends as people from around the circumpolar and northern world travel to Prince George in the days leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics."

SPEAKERS LIST GROWS AT WINTER OPPORTUNTIES SUMMIT
Speaking of Prince George, its second annual Winter Opportunties Summit, scheduled for next month at the same time as the Torino Winter Olympics are just starting -- on Feb 9, 10 and 11 -- has several speakers who will be talking about aspects of how to work with the Olympics, particularly leading up to 2010. They include Margy Osmond, CEO, New South Wales Chamber of Commerce and founder of the 2000 Commerce Centre in Sydney. She's in BC as part of a 2010LegaciesNow speakers tour. The WOS also will feature a session on the 2010 Commerce Centre, with Osmond as the afternoon keynote speaker. She will also be on the panel of the technical sector workshop called "Building Strategic Alliances." As well Spence Kinard, the former director of the Salt Lake City Unaccredited Media Centre will be talking on the topic of "Are There Tourism Dollars in the Olympic Rings for Outlying Communities?" The Summit, according to organizers has C$70,000 in private sponsorships and is 95% self-supporting. The Summit website is: www.wintersummit.ca/

FURLONG TO SPEAK TO IOC IN TORINO FEB 6 AND 9
VANOC CEO John Furlong will be on the agenda of the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board on the afternoon of February 6 in the late afternoon when it meets in the week before the start of the Winter Games in Torino, Italy, and about the same time of day on February 9 for the full IOC Session. In both cases, he'll be briefing the IOC on the status of the 2010 Games. The Executive Board meeting is not in public, and the IOC may, or may not, make some comment about what was discussed at it.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 19, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1411
CHINESE OLYMPIC TEAM OFFICIALS TO TOUR PRINCE GEORGE FOR POSSIBLE PRE-2010 OLYMPIC TRAINING

Prince George has been aggressively pursuing international teams in an effort to entice them to consider the city, in north-central BC, for pre-Olympic international training opportunities -- and all the business that flows from that.

Mayor Colin Kinsley reports the first breakthrough to that end. Meetings were set up with Dr. Chen Gong, the Governor of Chaoyang District of Beijing. Governor Chen, in turn, had his foreign-affairs office arrange meetings with the Chinese Skating Association and the Chinese Ski Association.

Those meetings with Wang Yitao, a member of the Chinese Olympic Committee, who is also a member of the All-China Sports Federation and president of the Chinese Ski Association, as well as the director general of the Winter Sports Administration Center of China, Kinsley reports, "went extremely well", as did the discussions with Yang Dong, the secretary of External Affairs for the Chinese Skating Association.

Kinsley says that as a result of the meetings, Wang is planning a trip to Prince George to look at its facilities. "Although his primary interest is in training facilities for biathlon and cross country skiing," says Kinsley, "Mr. Wang indicated that he would like to look at other facilities for his colleagues responsible for curling, short-track speed skating, hockey and figure skating."

City officials, Kinsley says, will be holding further meetings with Wang and his colleagues when the Prince George representives are in Torino for the 2006 Winter Games next month. Kinsley says he and a number of other Chinese officials will be attending a Prince George reception in B.C./Canada House on February 23rd in downtown Torino.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 19, 2006

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1410
CANADIAN GOVERNMENT DEVELOPS NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY TO PROMOTE ITS CONNECTION TO 2010 GAMES

The federal Canadian government's Heritage Department has established a C$50,000 budget for design of a visual image for its role in promoting itself as a major sponsor of the 2010 Winter Games, and is now looking for professional designers to do the branding work between February 13 and March 31.

According to documents connected with the project, it has also developed "a national communications strategy" for all of the national government's 32 departments and agencies to communicate its role and image before, during and after the Games. A key component of that strategy is to win federal government recognition of that role in a way that will "help it thrive in a crowded environment where Games partners and new sponsors multiply their efforts to secure visibility" in the national marketplace.

The timing of the project is designed to get the work done before the end of the current budget year, but not launch the project until the new budget comes into effect, and that implies Ottawa won't begin making its presence known through the communications plan until this summer at the earliest. The federal government's new fiscal year starts April 1.

The government, according to the supporting documentation, believes itself to be "in a unique position to provide a balanced communications approach that reflects regional and national realities." The government, it says intends to engage "Canadians of all regions, cultural backgrounds including aboriginal peoples, linguistic minority communities, youth, as well as Canadian businesses and volunteers" through this communications project. And, it says the project "will be vital in creating a pan-Canadian sense of ownership and collective legacy."

Heritage Canada planners say they want the look-and-feel of the federal government's Olympic materials to "be identifiable as the corporate look for all Government of Canada communication products and initiatives related to 2010." They intend to use it with a new Government of Canada 2010 logo and that this "corporate look will be applied on a range of communication products, promotional activities and materials, and used to identify federal services and on-site operations. This overarching visual concept will essentially be the envelope and packaging around all Government of Canada initiatives" connected with the Games.

Besides the public, the communications strategy is also planned to target the sport and business sectors, as well as a few specific international areas, such as the International Olympic Committee and its related organizations, as well as international news media.

Designers interested in working on the project -- and only those who have done similar work for the federal government in the past need apply -- have to provide their approach to Ottawa by February 7.

RESOURCES

The project details:

Merx Reference Number 117133

Louise Desforges
15 Eddy Street
9th Floor, Station 83 (15-9-G)
Gatineau, QC
Canada
K1A 0M5

Phone: 819-994-2111
Fax: 819-953-4133
E-mail: louise_desforges@pch.gc.ca

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 18, 2006

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |General| #1409
WHISTLER PARKS PLANNER, SECONDED TO TORINO, INSPECTS ITS ATHLETES VILLAGE

Whistler parks planner Kevin McFarland, one of 16 people from the municipality seconded to the Torino Olympics, arrived last weekend and has already begun assessing the city's Athlete's Village.

What he sees sounds familiar to Vancouverites already.

"The village has been built within an old industrial zone, next to a railway and neighbourhood," he writes, 31 days before the Italian Games begin. "As with the Vancouver site, the Athletes' Village is transforming a section of the city. The transformation [in Torino] is not always pretty, as the neighbourhood adjusts to losing roads to Games use, and as the edges to industrial or rail space are not yet resolved. Nonetheless, banners are being installed, bus loads of volunteers are touring the site, and new things pop up each day."

The Vancouver Athlete's Village will also be closing several streets, and work now underway on its waterfront has meant closure and detours of the waterfront public walkway that won't re-open until after the Games close and the Village is reworked for apartments.

McFarland has met up with five other secondees from Vancouver and Whistler Ñ and there are more besides, many of them from the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) - are being paid to bring back detailed knowledge to help with preparations for the 2010 Winter Games. McFarland is working in logistics, site management, retail/leisure preparation and administration.

"Our group will be focused on the Torino village," according to McFarland, "and I will be assisting with the site-management team." Yesterday, he reports, "We installed a barrier down the middle of a perimeter street to create a dedicated lane for Games servicing and access. The city marked the line in advance of the concrete-barrier installation. Their municipal police, the equivalent to our bylaw department, drove by to check things." Next week, he'll be assigned to "check the servicing and quality control on the athletes' apartments before the athletes move in." The first team to arrive, he says, is expected to be from Canada.

McFarland's first impression of the athlete village was that the Italians have much work yet to do: the main gate area, for instance, he says, is an undeveloped parking lot. But, he adds, the Olympic Overlay work, which VANOC will start in November, 2009, is well underway. "This will change daily, as the temporary structures of security and storage are assembled... Painters are finishing, and furniture is being moved into the check-in area. Beyond the check-in is the international zone, the shops and restaurant that will serve the athletes and their support teams; all are being fitted out with gear from corporate sponsors. A large kitchen, filled with equipment, is by the two-level cafeteria."

McFarland adds, "We have been able to tour through many of the residential units [of the Torino Athletes Village] in the various five- to eight-storey apartment buildings. The units and buildings all have some unique elements to add to the livability. As TOROC staff will say with a smile, the Italian team residence is particularly unique. All of the residences are filled with beds and the buildings are capped with solar panels. There is landscaping and it's all quite nice--like a university campus dorm."

RESOURCES

Our story 'Vancouver planners outline how development of 2010 Athletes Village expected to occur' was published on Wednesday, June 15, 2005. It's here. Search for "Vancouver planners" with your browser's Find function when the page opens:
www.morgan-news.com/2010/archives/2005_06_01_Bronze.htm

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 17, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1408
UNITED STATES TO EASE POTENTIAL PASSPORT RESTRICTIONS ON US TRAVELLERS BY YEAR'S END

Michael Chertoff, the secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, said today that inexpensive identity documents would be developed for Americans whose routine takes them regularly across the Canadian border.

He said that the People Access Security Service (PASS) card will be "an inexpensive, efficient, inter-operable travel card system" that meets the US law's requirement" but in a way that does not necessarily require people to have passports of the traditional kind."

The announcement represents an easing of plans announced last spring, when the department said that all Americans would need passports to enter the United States from either country beginning in 2007. However, Chertoff did not describe who would be eligible for the cards. A fact sheet posted on the department's Web site said that ultimately all Americans who register in the government's "trusted traveler" program would also benefit from expedited processing at border crossings.

Meanwhile, it's been learned that the governor of Washington State and the premier of British Columbia sent a joint letter to US president George Bush urging him to scrap plans making a passport or similar documents mandatory for travelers coming into the United States from Canada.

In a story this morning in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper, reporter Jake Ellison says the letter, signed by governor Christine Gregoire and premier Gordon Campbell was sent last month, and they both had the 2010 Olympics in their minds as they wrote it.

In the letter, Gregoire and Campbell told Bush they are "concerned that stringent requirements are being developed that will significantly alter the quality of life and economic prosperity for law-abiding citizens, while terrorists will continue to falsify any ID we put in place."

Last October, the BC and Washington State governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding that focused on the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Ellison writes that "even though the Winter Olympics are years away, both Washington and Canadian officials are hard at work now figuring out how to best capitalize on the Games' potential. They have their eyes set not only on the Olympics themselves, but on marketing the entire Northwest region for tourists who might stay beyond the games or come back."

He says Gregoire told him that Canadian officials expect most of the crowds for the Olympics will come from the United States and Seattle, where they will complete domestic and international flights, and make their way into British Columbia. He quotes her as adding, "But for a border, there is not a lot of difference between Vancouver, B.C., and Bellingham, Washington," Larson said. "If they can't get it figured out by 2010, I would think that Canada would be very upset."

Ellison says Gregoire and Campbell both believe the passport requirement would be a hindrance to Canadians coming into the United States -- and to Washington residents and other U.S. citizens looking to go north for a day or a weekend.

The best way to secure Washington's border with Canada, Gregoire says, is to station more well-trained officers at border crossings. "When we think of terrorists, we think of 9/11, and every one of those people had a passport," she said. "At the end of the day, the best option is full staffing and fully trained people at the border."

Ellison reports that Gregoire chose to influence the proposed rules after industry officials told her they are seeing a drop in tourism that they blame on the perception that the new rules are already in place. "I'm hoping Homeland Security will take the counsel of the premier and the governor of a border state and begin to ask the question, 'Is this going to deliver anything?' " Gregoire said.

More than 6 million Canadians came into the United States across Washington's border in 2004, according to the state's Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. Of those, roughly 90 percent stayed at least one night or spent the day in Washington.

Canadians who spent the night in 2004 spent $224 million, the study determined. Canadians, primarily from British Columbia, made up 13 percent of all visitors to Washington that year.

US officials say they are ordered by the US Congress, using the The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to order the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State to develop and implement the passport plan, and they, in turn are intending to make passports or other similarly secure documents mandatory for those entering the United States, starting next January 1 by air and ferry, and by land the following January 1.

Elaine Dezenski, the Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary who devised the plan, said it is being reworked to provide additional options for travelers and to keep traffic moving at border crossings. "We anticipate a variety of options, including a Department of State-produced travel card and an expansion of the registered-traveler type programs that will expedite low-risk travelers, particularly those who reside in border communities and make trips across the border as a routine part of their life activities," she said in December during a Senate hearing.

On the list of possibilities are travel cards handed out through the NEXUS and SENTRI programs. The documents cost less than passports and are used by travelers who frequently cross the borders into Canada and Mexico. Only a handful of places along the borders produce the documents, however, and travelers must apply in person.

"The main point is, the jury is still out on how this is going to be implemented," said the US House of Representatives Democrat for Washington, Rick Larson, who is also co-chairman of Washington State's 2010 Olympic task force. "The burden is on the department to show how the (plan) will improve security."

Chertoff also said that beginning next year, the only passports issued to Americans would be electronic, carrying information on a computer chip that can be scanned and easily entered in computers. A pilot program with what Mr. Chertoff called "e-passports" began late last year. Paper-based ones would be phased out as they expire over the next decade.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 17, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1407

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

TOROC CLOSING CEREMONIES TO OFFER CIRCUS THEME

Several hundred reporters saw a preview of parts of the Torino Olympic's Closing Ceremony at a news conference in Milano, and they report it the main theme of it will be based on the Italian 'Carnevale' circus. The ceremonies, which get underway February 26, include an eight-minute segment produced by VANOC artistic consultants, but this was not shown. As Torino spokesmen put it Ñ in an Italian joi de vivre: "The appeal of the circus was evident... in the choice of the costumes that were presented today. On the stage, there will be some of the original costumes from the film "The Clowns" by Federico Fellini... evoking nostalgia, lightness and hope. Thanks to these, and to 2,000 other outfits inspired by the world of the circus, prepared by [Olympic] costume designer Giovanna Buzzi, the formal moments of the Closing Ceremony will... be surprising and transgressive, inspired by the creativity of street artists, of travelling shows and of the typical Italian 'feste in piazza'... a grand party of fire and colours, masks and acrobatics, games and rituals. The 35,000 spectators in the Olympic Stadium and the more-than two billion television viewers... all around the world will be caught up in a splendid choral celebration, inspired by the languages of the Circus and of Carnevale, rich with eccentric, visionary and irreverent features, where fireflies will be transformed into stars, men will become kites, and heroes will be portrayed not as warriors but as athletes and champions." VANOC's cultural people overseeing the development of the 2010 segment includes representatives of Circque du Soleil.

A BILLION HERE, A BILLION THERE...
While that's nice, there is a question being raised about the accuracy of the projected audience numbers for the Closing Ceremonies. TOROC, which should have a fairly good handle on them, says it expects there will be 32,000 people in the stands for the Ceremony, and two billion watching the broadcast. On the other hand, VANOC, is officially saying, at least for its segment that involves Avril Lavigne and Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan, there will be 35,000 in the stands and 500 million watching the broadcast Ñ that's right, more people in the stands than TOROC believes, but only a quarter of the broadcast audience. The two figures were announced by each organization on the same day, yesterday. It's the second time in as many months that potential audience figures have differed in announcements between VANOC and TOROC, and VANOC has been asked about it and has said it is checking into the discrepancy, but so far VANOC has not yet indicated the reason for its projections.

BELL TO LAUNCH HIGH-DEFINITION BROADCAST SATELLITE
Bell Canada, the largest sponsor of VANOC at C$200 million and its telecommunications contributor, says that one of its allied companies, Telesat, will have a new, high-definition broadcast satellite high above Canada and in operation about two years before the 2010 Winter Games begin. Telesat says it has hired its usual contractor, EADS Astrium, Europe's largest space company, to build Nimiq 4, a direct-broadcast satellite weighing 4.8 tonnes that will carry digital television services via 40 transponders. It'll be launched in 2008 into geosynchronous orbit above Canada on a Russian Proton/Breeze M rocket by International Launch Services. Telesat says the new bird, its 18th, will enable Telesat's customer, Bell ExpressVu, to expand high-definition television, specialty channels and foreign-language programming. Another Bell company, the CTV television network, is the 2010 host broadcaster.

RESOURCES

You can see a photo of some of the Italian component actors in the Closing Ceremonies, to get an idea of what TOROC is talking about, here:
www.torino2006.org/ENG/OlympicGames/news/news_ita150564.html

If you're wondering what the heck "transgressive" means in culture-speak, click here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgressive_art.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 17, 2006

Monday, January 16, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC. Government| #1406
'FRUSTRATING' TALKS BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS AND VANOC OVER LOGO USE NOW RESOLVED, NEWSPAPER SAYS

The Vancouver Sun newspaper reports there were tense negotiations last summer between the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) and various government sponsors over use by the government of VANOC's logo and other Olympic marks.

A two-part article by reporter Jeff Lee, based on federal government briefing memos uncovered by a Access to Information Request, Lee writes that the difficult talks -- led on VANOC's side by CEO John Furlong and senior vice-president of Revenue, Marketing and Communications, Dave Cobb and by federal Canadian Heritage Minister Lisa Frulla and Deputy Minister Judith LaRocque on the other -- were eventually resolved.

And, Lee writes, that means that, "Starting next month at the 2006 Turin Winter Games, the federal and provincial governments and the municipal governments in Vancouver and Whistler will be able to put logos on their business cards that incorporate the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee's stylized Inuit logo, Ilanaaq. A similar arrangement is in the works for Richmond, site of the speed-skating oval."

The difficulty that arose, reported Lee, when the governments, which are providing more than C$500 million to support the Games, wanted to have similar marketing rights to those awarded to the major sponsors of the Games. VANOC, however, wanted to ensure that the uses of the marks by governments were different from those of corporate sponsors, in part because of constraints on Olympic trademark use by the International Olympic Committee, and in part because of exclusivity arrangements that are tied into the sponsorship agreements signed between VANOC and its sponsors, which are so far contributing about C$500 million dollars Ñ as valued by VANOC - to the Games.

The talks, which Lee reports began about a week after VANOC unveiled its new logo during a nation-wide broadcast, were taking place during the same period of time as VANOC was still developing its sponsorship rules that dealt with corporate marketing, and was still involved in talks and training corporate sponsors what they could do, and not do, with Olympic logos in their own collateral.

Lee quotes Cobb as saying the rule doesn't mean that the governments' contributions count for less than that of its corporate sponsors. "I think it can be best described as a frustration with the process," Cobb is quoted as telling Lee. "I think they believed if they didn't get what our [corporate] sponsors were getting, they weren't going to get something as valuable. We needed to show them that there isn't an A and a B, or a one and a two -- it's just different. Part of the process was them realizing that what they were getting was just as useful." Lee also quotes Cobb as saying, "The challenge was for us was to find a way for them to use our mark in a way that was different from commercial partners, so that when you see it being used, it is a different entity. It wasn't an easy process, and some liked some things and others didn't. Where we've ended up with is that they are all very happy."

As a result of the negotiations with the governments, Lee writes that the government sponsors have to use "similar-looking rectangular blue-on-white logos that say 'Canada, Host Country' or 'British Columbia, Host Province,' 'Vancouver, Host City' and "Whistler, Host Mountain Resort.' " Corporate sponsors have the right to put their logos beside VANOC's, but not the governments. They can't, according to Lee, have their marks used in "combination with Ilanaaq in any government logo."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 16, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1405
VANCOUVER COUNCIL URGED TO LET OLYMPIC VILLAGE PROCEED WHILE WAYS TO RECOUP PUBLIC INVESTMENT ARE CONSIDERED

The City of Vancouver's senior staff have suggested the new NPA-dominated council consider a range of ways that much of the City's C$50 million investment in the lands centred on the Vancouver Olympic Village could eventually be recouped.

But the staff Ñ the Project Manager for Southeast False Creek & Olympic Village, Jody Andrews, the General Manager of Corporate Services, Ken Bayne and the Director of Current Planning, Ian Smith Ñ have urged Council in a joint report to resist changing the current plans for the Village itself. And they note that the Village is now getting so late, and that work on it by the City has advanced so much, that some of the options, if chosen, would threaten the ability of the Village to be built in time for the Games.

The 31-page report offers a range of 12 options Ñ some of them alternatives to others, and some of them complex Ñ for council to consider when it meets as the Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets on January 19. Whatever council decides to do during that Committee session will be immediately ratified by it during a special council meeting immediately after it.

The report was requested of staff last month by the newly elected mayor, Sam Sullivan and Council, at the first meeting it could consider making changes to the Southeast False Creek area of the city, which is expected to eventually house thousands of people as it is developed over the next decade. The Village, on a waterfront section known as 2A in the plans, is the catalyst for redeveloping the 80-hectare area from a scruffy old industrial area to modern apartment-style housing and expansive parks. It's also the core of the project.

When the council was elected, the balance of power shifted from the left-of-centre party, Committee of Progressive Electors (COPE), to the right-of-centre party, the Non-Partisan Association. It immediately called for changes to be made from the plans drawn up by COPE during the past three years, including the idea of changing the ratio of market housing to subsidized housing that will eventually be established in the area.

The Village, the first segment of the multi-phase project, is to be built by a private developer to Olympic specifications in dormitory-style apartment buildings. The buildings are then to be handed over to the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) by November, 2009, which will then return it to the developer after the Games, in the summer of 2010, so the interiors of the buildings can be converted to normal family-style apartments and the buildings sold.

However, part of the investment into the entire project is from the City's Property Endowment Fund, which the city uses to buy property for investment purposes so it can purchase strategic lands as they come available. The previous council, in an effort to provide a housing ratio of one-third market housing, one-third 'modest' housing and one-third heavily subsidized housing, intended to forego returning about C$50 million to the PEF, as would normally occur. The NPA were opposed that from the beginning, but didn't have enough votes on the old council to prevent that planning to proceed.

If Council changes the ratio of market housing on January 19, that, in turn, considerably affects the economics of the project. If it is changed, it will be the second major revamp by a city council of the project, and the process so far has cut deeply into the time remaining to build the Village section.

The City issued a detailed Request for Proposals to its shortlist of four developers last month. The city staff, in the latest report, say that if Council essentially leaves the Village plans alone, and makes its cost-cutting adjustment in the surrounding area, the proponents could still make the City's deadline of January 30 for submitting their proposals, which is on the critical path for the Village's development, along with staff's analysis of the proposals, Council's decision on a developer and rezoning hearings. And, even if it made modest adjustments to the housing ratio of the Olympic Village, an amendment to the RFP could still be issued just in time.

However, the staff note, "The amount of affordable housing in sub-area 2A cannot be reduced below 250 units (approximately 25% to 28%) in order to meet the Olympic Legacy commitment for the Olympic Village."

But staff also warn that if Council makes significant changes, it could add up to three months to the process before construction could start Ñ and perhaps incur additional delays. Council is being urged to not make "...changes to either the density, form of development, public infrastructure, or environmental objectives...", according to the report. Changes such as those would force the City to re-open the Official Development Plan (ODP) for the area, which would involve additional public hearings Ñ and further delays.

As it is, staff note, there is only three years and nine months to build the development, and rezoning has to be done as soon as possible so building designs can be done, tenders can be awarded and construction start this spring or summer Ñ at a time when there's a major capital construction boom underway in Greater Vancouver.

The wording of the report, its discussion and options, are all loaded toward pushing Council to adopt few changes to the Village but make the decision on the housing mix no later than January 19 so the developers know the economics they're facing.

As the staff suggest, "Delays in decision-making or uncertainty with respect to sub-area 2A may delay the delivery of the Olympic Village or add costs in order to recover lost time and ensure timely delivery... If Council makes certain choices with respect to sub-area 2A that are subsequently reported back on for referral to public hearing, the RFP must be awarded and negotiations must be conducted with the successful Developer on the basis of the anticipated ODP changes. If the ODP amendments are not approved after Public Hearing, then the Olympic Village project could be set back from one to three months, which is a significant delay..."

And, the staff note, the City, which is paying for the engineering of the public infrastructure in the area Ñ the roads, sewer & water, power and the like Ñ is so far down that path that Council will simply not be able to make some changes because the cost and delays would far outweigh any benefits and put the Olympic Village in jeopardy.

As the report notes, "The design of the site infrastructure is well underway at an estimated construction cost of C$31.4 million, plus a further C$8 million which has been added as a consequence of changing the form of development and moving it closer to the foreshore, for a total of C$39.4 million. Eliminating these incremental costs from the project now would require a major redesign which would prevent the Olympic Village from being completed on time."

RESOURCES

The full report by staff to council is here (240k PDF file):
www.vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20060119/documents/csb2.pdf

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 16, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1404

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

TEASERS TOUT LAVIGNE TO LEAD CANADIAN OLYMPIC SEGMENT IN TORINO

VANOC continues to send out marketing teasers about the organization's portion of the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. The latest: Canadian popstar Avril Lavigne is to be the "feature performer" in the eight-minute Olympic flag hand-over and entertainment segment "designed to celebrate Canada and to capture the spirit" of Vancouver and Whistler. Lavigne is from Napanee, Ontario, and has eight Grammy nominations for her music. VANOC continues to prefer to spoon out details of the show. VANOC Vice President of Culture and Ceremonies, Burke Taylor, says "the show will use the opportunity to begin telling the story of Canada's Games in 2010 by featuring a combination of uniquely Canadian talent and themes that reflect the country from coast to coast to coast." VANOC says financial support for the closing segment came from Canadian federal government through Foreign Affairs Canada, as well as from the Canadian Tourism Commission, Tourism BC, Tourism Vancouver and Tourism Whistler. (Lavigne is pronounced "Lah-VEEN"; Nepanee is pronounced "Nehp-ah-NEE".)

VANOC BUDGETS C$1.7 MILLION FOR OBSERVER TEAM
VANOC now says it will spend C$1.7 million to send its observer team to the Torino Games as part of the International Olympic Committee's observer program. VANOC will send 80 people from the Organizing Committee to the Olympic Games, 25 to the Paralympic portion of the Games. A total of 16 have been seconded to work directly for the Torino Organizing Committee, to help them learn the operations of specific jobs, such as communications. All 20 of the VANOC Board of Directors are expected to attend the Games, but VANOC is only paying for 14 of them. The cost of the other six members of the Board are covered by the organizations for which they work. For instance, the costs of Vancouver City Manager Judi Rogers will be borne by the City, and Richard Pound of Montreal, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, will be covered by his organization. VANOC says the people will be taking part in 40 observer tours produced by the IOC and TOROC. The idea is to see how 80 Olympic functional areas are run, including sport operations, accommodation, venue development, transportation, technology, volunteer management, ceremonies and the torch relay. VANOC says it's also taking "proactive steps to create and lead additional observer programs" to allow for as much knowledge transfer as possible, but has not yet released details of which areas these will cover. Vancouver 2010's budget includes all costs including flights, accommodation, transportation, security, logistics, observation tour participation, secondments, tickets for specific events and hospitality.

FURLONG TO PROVIDE IOC UPDATE ON 2010 IN FEBRUARY
An update from Vancouver 2010 is part of the agenda of the IOC's Executive Board and 118th Session, which takes place at the Lingotto Conference Centre during the week prior to the opening of the 2006 Games. VANOC CEO John Furlong is scheduled to update IOC members on VANOC's status on February 9.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 16, 2006

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1403

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

SURREY MUNICIPALITY TO SEND OFFICIALS TO TORINO

Surrey has joined the growing list of British Columbia communities to send government people to the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, next month. In Surrey's case, the idea is to explore hosting and economic development opportunities for the 2010 Olympics. Council unanimously approved C$30,000 to send Mayor Dianne Watts, Councillor Linda Hepner and the municipality's manager of Sport Ventures And Athletic Events, Gerry De Cicco, to garner interest by other nations' teams in using Surrey venues for athletes to train for the 2010 Games. For instance, there is the South Surrey arena, which has an Olympic sheet of ice that could be used by figure skaters. De Cicco suggests that Surrey's state-of-the-art training facilities, the proximity to VANOC venues, and its location relative to Vancouver's International airport and the U.S. border, as well as Surrey's size and cultural diversity, could all be factors in boosting Surrey's chances.

COC READY FOR AVIAN FLU AT OLYMPICS
One of the contingency plans drawn up by the Canadian Olympic Committee for the 2006 Torino Winter Games next month is to deal with the possibility of an avian-flu outbreak during the Games. Medical managers have purchased enough of the drug, Tamiflu, to supply the entire Canadian group -- the athletes and their coaches and other support officials -- for 24 hours, should it be necessary, and there is an evacuation plan devised should that be needed. So far, the nearest outbreak of the flu to Italy has been in Turkey, and only 18 people, all working closely with birds, such as chickens, have contracted the disease.

FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX
Linda Coady was appointed vice-president of Sustainability for VANOC in April, 2005, and she describes what it's like to work at VANOC so far: "Well, you're operating before all of your systems are running. It's like being in a plane, in mid-air, and knowing that someone is still working on the engine. If you work for a corporation, you can imagine how hectic that can be. If you're working for a non-profit, it's business as usual." She also adds that it took her a short time to realize that she was VANOC's go-to person on sustainability. "My very first day of working for VANOC was when the IOC Commission was in Vancouver to review our progress, which they do twice a year, and I was in the meeting, sitting at the back of the room making notes. I remember thinking, 'This is great, I don't have to do anything.' and considered it was just part of my job orientation. The premier of BC was there, and the mayor of Vancouver was there, the Prince of Orange [one of the Commission] was there, and Jack Poole and the leadership of VANOC was there. And they all started talking about sustainability in about the first three minutes. 'Boy,' I thought, 'these guys really care about it. My way is paved.' And then John Furlong, our CEO, got up and said he was pleased to report that VANOC had a Canadian expert on sustainability who would be helping them. I thought, 'Wow, do I ever need an expert to help me.' I remember picking up my pen to take down the name, when I realized he was introducing me."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 15, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1402
HOW SUSTAINABILITY IS TO WORK THROUGHOUT THE VANCOUVER OLYMPIC GAMES

The vice-president of Sustainability for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) says the organization will be implementing a "sustainable purchasing initiative" as just one of the things it will be doing to deliver on its promises for the Games.

Linda Coady says the concept is expected to be embedded into VANOC's purchasing policies this year. For suppliers, she says, there will be "some interesting collaborations surrounding the sustainability concept." Everybody else, including VANOC's corporate sponsors, should also pay attention, she says, to the development later this year of a sustainability sub-brand for VANOC, "and sign up for those values, and do something in your business or your personal life that speaks to them." She expects there will be "stakeholder consultations" around establishing the sub-brand. "I would hope those opportunities will be there for people, beginning in 2007."

Coady also says VANOC will report annually, and publicly, on how well it is meeting its sustainability goals and targets. "We want all of our buildings and venues to be LEED-certified, for us to have zero-point emissions and a focus on public transportation. "We're looking at a software tool that was developed here in Vancouver called 'See it'. You would be able to go to our web page, click on sustainability icon and get a report card on where we're at on our key commitments. We're trying to integrate it into our management and compensation systems. You'll also be able to see our specific targets, once the web site is set up."

VANOC's sustainability commitments, she notes, are not up for negotiation. "They were developed during the bid. For better or worse, the things that are there and are not there. But we are into engagement and collaboration on how to achieve those goals. It's not what is on the table for our strategic planning in 2006, it's how. It's the way we maintain our focus."

And, she confirms, there will be preference given to suppliers who provide employment to Vancouver's three inner-city communities targeted by VANOC through its participation in the Vancouver Agreement. "We're using an inner-city caterer, and Mills Basic for paper supplies, and we go through the Social Purchasing Portal. We're channelling some of our purchasing through there to create opportunities." She says, however, that VANOC is not yet down the detail of what qualifies as an inner-city supplier, such as whether a company has to have its main operations there, or whether it might simply have some operations within the boundaries of the three areas. "And we're also using the Building Opportunities with Businesses Inner City Society," connected through the portal.

Coady admits she is having trouble philosophically with an inherent conflict between Games sponsorship, which is connected with exclusivity and branding, and sustainability, which incorporates inclusivity and multi-party agreements. It creates tension internally, she says. "The Olympics business model is based on exclusivity, where sponsors get the benefits of their sponsorship, and it's absolutely key to the success of the Games. So we have to find a way of dealing with that internal tension."

She'd personally like to unite the environmental and sustainability sub-brands of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Summer Games and the 2012 London Summer Games, so that it could be seen as an global, international concept that unites the Games. "But organization committees are beasts unto themselves -- and there are lots of rules." Coady met with the London Organizing Committee last month to suggest the possibility, but she says they are still in their early stages, and she hopes to meet with the Beijing committee in 10 or 11 months on the same topic. "They're doing some innovating things on the environment, and money is no object."

VANOC's sustainability concepts are built into almost every supplier contract that VANOC issues, and they're often written either in legal language as part of the proposal request or part of how a proposal is judged, since how it's construed is specific to the type of job VANOC wants done. Those concepts are on VANOC's web pages dealing with suppliers, but Coady says they will evolve through 2006. It has also prompted the organization to set up a series of protocols -- with more to come -- on how its staff and their decision-making are to involve BC's aboriginal and low-income sectors. In short, those who deal or hope to deal with VANOC -- suppliers, service providers, contractors, consultants and government at every level in Canada -- need to pay close attention to what is in VANOC's sustainability file. Payments, contract fulfillment and court actions could hang in the balance if you don't.

A pragmatic example: Even before Coady was hired, VANOC's senior vice-president of Venues, Steve Matheson, and senior vice-president of Planning, Terry Wright, steered the organization through an detailed inspection of its own core values as VANOC sought environmental certificates from the federal and BC governments so it could start construction of its C$100 million Whistler Nordic Centre and its C$60 million Whistler Sliding Centre. That extensive -- and expensive -- inspection included reviews of the environmental, economic, social, cultural, heritage and health effects of the project. They also involved extensive participation by the public through open houses and a public feedback system, key aboriginal groups, specific municipalities and regional districts affected, as well as the federal and BC governments and their agencies,

Sustainability is the kind of concept that could mean so much that it ends up meaning either nothing, or whatever somebody wants it to mean. Many people think of it from a range of viewpoints to mean a blend of environmental conservation, recycling, global warming, quality of life, world hunger, "living within our means", intergenerational equity (preventing one generation from using the resources of a following generation), "think globally, act locally", matching the rate of consumption to the rate of renewal, triple bottom-line accounting (in which environmental, social and economic aspirations are all equally important) or non-financial reporting, with various mixtures of racial equity involving aboriginals that's specific to BC's situation.

She also points to a definition endorsed for business by the Dow Jones Index: "Corporate sustainability is a business approach that creates long-term shareholder value by embracing opportunities and managing risks deriving from economic, environmental and social developments."

Fortunately, Coady has a much more specific definition, one that she's using for VANOC and which is borrowed from the Dow Jones Index. It can best be pictured as the "powerful place in the centre" of three overlapping spheres containing social, economic and environmental issues. At VANOC, she says, sustainability means, "We'll manage the social, environmental and economic impact and opportunities associated with our Games in ways that will create lasting benefits, globally and locally." She adds, wryly, "It helps to keep these things as simple as possible."

For her model to work, she says, a decision by people in charge of using capital at VANOC has to provide value in all three spheres, even though that value -- and its benefits -- may not be apparent within the time that VANOC is in existence.

Coady, 53, is a cheerful, optimistic person, with a wry sense of self-deprecating humour. People, when asked about what sustainability means to them, she says, they seem to think "it has a lot to do with stakeholders in meetings where they serve orange juice and muffins."

But Coady says the idea of sustainability "speaks to a lot of core values." She also notes that age is a major factor in being behind the concept. "I think it's not well understood by the senior generations because it speaks to the next generation. The younger you are, the more likely you are to identify with the core values associated with sustainability." So much so, she says, that one younger critic in an audience at which she gave one of her first presentations on her job told her that it was, "a complete oxymoron to mention the Olympics and sustainability in the same breath."

Coady, who has been to a lot of those orange-juice-and-muffins meetings, is well-known in British Columbia's forest, aboriginal and environmental sectors for her work on what began as a set of troubling forestry environmental issues 20 years ago, but which melded into a range of related Canadian social and aboriginal issues in the 1990s. She was the first person appointed to the new managerial job of vice president of Environmental Affairs for the giant Vancouver-based forestry company, MacMillan Bloedel in 1994, at a time when some of those issues had sparked considerable protest that was verging on dangerous in the forestry sector.

When MacBlo was purchased by the international forest giant Weyerhaeuser, she became its vice-president of Environmental Enterprise. She chaired a coalition of BC coastal forest companies that, in turn, worked with a range of forestry opponents, mostly environmental and aboriginal groups, during those years, and eventually reconciled their demands with the companies' corporate practices, and established a range of agreed conservation goals. In 2001 she received a BC Ethics in Action Award for leadership in corporate social responsibility. A year later, she received a special award from the Forest Products Association of Canada for her work on resolving conflict between conservation and management of coastal old growth forests. By this time, she had moved into the non-profit sector by taking the job of the first vice-president of sustainability in Canada for the World Wildlife Fund.

She was working in that position when she went to a breakfast presentation that changed her life yet again. "I went to a morning presentation at the Fraser Basin Council meeting about a year ago," she says today, "and [VANOC CEO] John Furlong was there, giving his presentation on Vancouver 2010. He talked about the sustainability vision that formed part of the bid. And he announced they would be hiring a vice-president of sustainability. I sat in the audience thinking, 'Wow! I'd love to do that."

Coady was appointed vice-president of Sustainability for VANOC in April, 2005. Coady sees her job, which has involved mostly planning during the past 10 months, as a set of opportunities. "It's a remarkable opportunity for Vancouver, Whistler, British Columbia and Canada, and it aligns well with public values in this region and in our country. It's also a remarkable opportunity for us to set some bars or benchmarks, to create some learning opportunities, and there's also a remarkable opportunity for us to collaborate with London 2012 on sustainability."

But she points out, there's still that airplane-engine issue. "The challenge for VANOC, of course, is how to make sustainability do-able, understandable and accessible for people in a hallmark event. In this type of event, there are two cardinal rules of operation, a built-in, DNA-type constraint: there isn't enough time, and there isn't enough money."

Those two underlying operational rules combine with one other rule that's unique to sustainability that forces Coady, with her years of experience, to take a specific approach to how VANOC will run its own sustainability practices. These are practices, by the way, that will pervade every function of the organization as it grows over the years, how it builds or renovates its venues, how it runs the Games and, in the last three quarters of 2010, how it shuts them down.

And the third rule that constrains how she and the VANOC method of sustainability works? "In many ways," she points out, "there is a dilemma that lies at the heart of the governance of the Games and sustainability -- regardless of whether the context is corporate, non-profit or personal: the people who make the key decisions on something to do with capital are not the people who benefit, in the long run, from the specifics of those decisions. You've got multi-truncated decision-making; there are people making decisons at one end and people getting benefits at the other end that might be quite far removed. So there's always a gap in the middle in sustainability governance, regardless of the variables involved. The best tools that I've seen or read about for bridging that gap is to take a systems-based approach, and set up alliances between diverse interests. Those are the two critical tools, and they're values-based."

Why set up the systems? Simple: As 1,500 days between now and the end of the Games are counted off, VANOC staff won't have time to invent the wheel as they go. There will be too much going on, and too quickly, to do that. They have to set up the systems now for implementing all of their sustainability issues, and to think through how they'll work, so they'll be in place when the time comes to use them.

Why set up the alliances? Simple: VANOC will be essentially shut down by the summer of 2010 -- "We go poof the day after the Games end," is the way Coady puts it. "We will hand the baton off to those local groups." Those organizations in those alliances will be given the responsibility of realizing, holding or extending the benefits of the decisions the people in charge of spending VANOC's capital made in the beginning and during the evolution of the Games. Those are the organizations that will bridge the sustainability gap.

In many ways, Coady and the Olympic industry are still feeling their way through the minefield of sustainability. The IOC didn't adopt its third, environmental, pillar of its own Games business model until the 2000 Summer Olympics was held in Sydney, Australia, which used environmental aspects as a major theme. It had been focused on sports and culture for the several decades of Games before that. The 2002 Salt Lake City and 2004 Athens Summer Games extended that aspect, but it's still evolving. The 2006 Torino Winter Olympics incorporated a range of sustainability principles into its operations -- principles that are primarily environmental but with a secondary, social segment, and the 2008 Beijing Summer Games is incorporating, it its own unique way, economic and social responsibility into its Games planning. But the Vancouver/Whistler Games was the first IOC franchise to formally adopt the full concept of sustainability from the beginning, and incorporate it into its bid, and now into its planning and operations. The first summer Games to do so is the 2012 Olympics, to be held in London, England.

There is now an Olympic Games global indicator and monitoring project that is running at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland. Each set of Games is required to report on how well it did -- and is doing -- to that monitor. "If you look at the plans with Beijing, Vancouver and London," says Coady, "there is a real and concerted effort to engage directly with citizens and business."

Sustainability at VANOC, one of the organization's 59 functions, includes the VANOC's multi-party agreements with governments, inner-city and aboriginals, but it is also the only VANOC function that is a core corporate value, plus it has senior management leadership -- and accountability -- to implement it.

Coady says that she has spent quite a bit of her first 10 months setting up the architecture of the VANOC Sustainabilty function, what she describes as its "DNA." That includes hiring some staff to implement the sub-functions. "Now, in 2006, we're going to be developing our strategic framework for implementing the strategies that will help us achieve the goals outlined in the commitments and operations. It will all be about a Games-based management system and, because we're all about sustainability, we've got 2020 in our vision of what we want to do. This year will be about setting up the management, governance and reporting systems to operationalize the commitments and measure the results."

At the heart of this year, though, she says, are the partnerships and alliances that need to be solidified. "That will also be focused on mobilizing support and resources, because there won't be enough time or money later." And she says, the other major component of her job this year will be what she calls "social marketing, and engaging individual citizens and business."

Coady says that some of what she calls "the more exciting opportunities around sustainability at VANOC "may not come until 2007 and 2008, such as educational aspects as well as the personal and business engagement."

"We will be judged -- and technical marks count," she points out, using an Olympic sports analogy. "And my message internally at VANOC is that if we don't get our venues done in a way that's credible, and sustainability criteria and attributes respected, if we don't have our operating systems set up in a way that's creditable, we lose the right to play at the higher levels. It's about walking your talk. And it's tough, because of the escalation in the construction costs. Let's make sure we get those sustainability attributes built into the venue design and the planning for operations. And this is the year that all has to happen, or it won't come out the other end. And the real prize for these Olympic Games is the transformative opportunities, by providing people with tangible solutions that create value in more than one context, which they can incorporate into their individual and organizational lives."

Coady says her years of work with forest companies is driving her concepts of a systems-based, process-oriented method. "I'm saying internally that this is the way we need to go, and to be accountable for the results."

One of the outgrowths of what will happen this year, she says, is the development of a Games sub-brand focused on sustainability; the IOC allows for the development of a sub-brand for each Games. For example, she says, London's slogan is "One Planet Living". Beijing is also adopting one, based on environmental themes, and she says that combination will allow for collaboration between the Games on sustainability.

BACKGROUND

VANOC PROMISES: Coady says, from her perspective, there are five main, strategic components to VANOC's promises to the IOC:

1. Unprecedented aboriginal participation: "This is at the top of the list, and it's not a high bar to meet in the Olympics movement. I think it's fair to say that indigenous people have not participated to a significant degree in Olympic Games elsewhere in the world, although there was more participation at Salt Lake and Sydney. We hope to take that a bar further."

2. Economic opportunities, social and environmental: "That includes the whole concept of green buildings and design."

3. Inner-City Inclusion: "A special Memorandum of Understanding was set up as part of the bid process to manage the impacts of the Games to be sure to create opportunities for Vancouver's three inner-city communities, because they did not benefit from Expo 86 [a major transportation-themed exposition in 1986 that was held in downtown Vancouver]," says Coady. The three include the Downtown East Side, South Main Street and Mt. Pleasant. VANOC is a signatory to the Vancouver Agreement, which includes the City of Vancouver and has a budget of several million dollars, including C$2 million from VANOC sponsor Bell Canada. "We have some innovative strategies for dealing with employment in inner-city communities, such as supply-contract preference," says Coady.

4. Helping people make a connection between sport and healthy living.

5. Performance management and reporting systems.

There were also a set of values -- a vision, a mission and a set of values -- that were adopted by VANOC Board of Directors that also oversee how its sustainability principles are implemented. In both the Vision and Mission Statements, the concept of sustainability is built right into them.

==

NETWORKING: Coady says that she and VanCity, Canada's largest credit union and which is based in Vancouver, are working on creating economic opportunities for the inner-city as part of her brief. Bell Canada provided a C$2 million grant through the Vancouver Agreement, and she says she and her staff are working on having VanCity commit in some way to the project. She is also working with a group of corporate and quasi-corporate buyers to set up what she calls a "sustainable productivity network" to deal with purchasing practices. She is also working closely, she says, with the head of 2010 LegaciesNow, Marion Lay, because that society was set up and initially funded by the BC government to help with a province-wide legacies development. "Most Games organizing committees, such as Australia's," says Coady, "don't start thinking about legacies until about 12 months out. We have learned from the experience of other Games that we need to build the legacies into venue and operational planning."

==

CARBON STRATEGY: The Torino Olympics worked out the amount of environmental emissions its Games and their development would produce and then made arrangements with other countries to set up offsets for those emissions, Coady says she is still too early in her operational planning to says VANOC would do something similar; that would happen in 2007 or 2008. "We're looking at our carbon strategy and we're definitely committed to carbon neutrality. We would want to have a global and a local component to our offset strategy," she says. "British Columbia is different from Italy, because we've got block forests here, and we've got a lot more options around how we might put it together. Sydney and Salt Lake City started offsetting carbon production, and investing in energy-efficient projects in developing countries is a common way to do that. But we're talking the view right now that we're going to, before developing our offset strategy, to try to minimize emissions and conserve. We'd like to go lower than other games in reducing emissions. And we also have more options around alternate energy sources here in Vancouver that they do in other places. We hope to maximize the use of fuels that don't emit, to begin with, and then we'll look at the carbon strategy and how to offset. We know there's going to be such a program for sure because there are some types of fuel use, such as using airplanes, that you can't reduce. And we're looking at the big windmill proposal in the Squamish-Whistler corridor. We also want to showcase BC and Canadian technology on emissions reduction."

===

There are two legacy protocol agreements yet to be signed with VANOC; such agreements have already been signed with two of the four host aboriginal groups, the Squamish and the Lil'wat, as well as a unified agreement between the four, acting as a group, and VANOC. The remainder include agreements with the Tsleil-Waututh and the Musqueam. "We have an agreement in principle, but it's not finalized. We hope to have them done by the end of this year." Coady says VANOC also has "an aspiration" to focus on aboriginal tourism and sport, with a focus on youth, for BC and Canada through the torch relay and through legacies. "We want that torch to land in aboriginal communties, and that aboriginal youth in those communities have a chance to participate in the torch run."

RESOURCES

Our story last year about VANOC's vision, mission and values:

'CEO Furlong says his senior management team has established Committee's culture and 'brand essence''
[Morgan:News:2010:Number:1372; Published on Friday, December 16, 2005]

==

The Social Purchasing Portal mentioned by Coady to help VANOC find companies in the Vancouver inner city that would qualify for preferential supplier status under VANOC's sustainability agreements:
www.ftebusiness.org/home.cfm

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 15, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1401

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

VANOC'S SUSTAINABILITY VP TO SPEAK AT BIG ENVIROMENTAL CONFERENCE IN MARCH

The 2006 version of the Globe Environmental Conference and Trade show will include VANOC's vice-president of Sustainability, Linda Coady, in its roster of keynote speakers when it is held from March 29th to the 31st at the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre. The event, the ninth, is held every two years in the city. Organizers this year are expecting more than 10,000 participants, about 2,000 conference delegates and about 400 exhibitors, all representing about 75 countries. There are four main themes: Finance and Sustainability (with a focus on the investment industry, corporate reporting, regulation and policy, as well as business practices). Other themes include: Corporate Sustainability; Energy and the Environment; and, Building Better Cities.

ESTIMATES OF VANOC VOLUNTEER COUNT GROW
VANOC, as continues to refine its operating requirements, has increased the number of volunteers it feels it will need to run the Games when they open in February, 2010. The initial thought was that it might take as many as 35,000 to 40,000, but that was whittled down about 18 months ago to 25,000. Now, as the Torino Winter Games is about to begin in Italy, observations of what is required there and additional planning at VANOC headquarters about how venues will be constructed and operated has prompted the latest adjustments. The latest word is that 28,000 will be needed in Vancouver and Whistler. The process for vetting, training and accrediting the volunteers is expected to begin in 2007, under VANOC's Human Resources department. Part of the C$110 million sponsorship of VANOC by the retailer, HBC, is to design and outfit the volunteers with the necessary uniforms and other clothing.

ESTIMATE OF BROADCAST VIEWING HOURS FOR 2010 GAMES OFFERED
The International Olympic Committee looks after the negotiations for the broadcast rights to all of its Games franchises. As far as VANOC is is concerned, the IOC has already settled with NBC as the American rights holder, the European Broadcast Union for all of that continent's countries (except Italy) and CTV as the host country's broadcaster. Negotiations went on hold a few months ago due to some political issues in Australia, and at last word talks continue or have yet to be held with Japan, South Korea, China, southeast Asia, the Indian sub-continent and South America. However, the current estimate for the expected coverage of the 2010 Games: 13 billion world-wide viewing hours.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 15, 2006

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1400
MAJOR SNOWMAKING SUPPORT EQUIPMENT EXPECTED TO BE INSTALLED AT WHISTLER MOUNTAIN THIS YEAR

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) is expected to begin awarding a series of contracts in the next couple of months to begin expanding Whistler Mountain's snow-making systems.

VANOC is working on the expansion project with Intrawest as the general partner of Whistler Mountain Resort Limited Partnership, which owns the facilities on the mountain. They'll be used by VANOC as its venue for alpine downhill, super-G, combined downhill and various slalom skiing events in 2010.

Originally, the skiing and slalom events were going to be on separate mountains, but the international skiing federation, FIS, asked for that to be reconsidered as it was doubtful if the slalom routes could be made challenging enough. VANOC agreed after deciding that it could save more money in capital-cost reductions from the originally budgeted total of about C$23 million (in 2002 dollars), plus another C$22 million in Olympic overlay costs, than they would lose in reduced ticket sales and other revenue.

Part of its required backup plans, should there be a repeat during the Olympics of the warm, rainy weather that swept through the area a year ago, and again last month, was to install sufficient snow-making equipment to ensure the events can still take place. The snow-making plans were in place well before the weather events that have brought them into importance.

VANOC is now in the engineering design phase of the project and is to begin looking for firms that will supervise the installation and inspection of the necessary equipment Ñ including 32 kilometres of piping to carry the water, and the necessary pump compressor and valve stations, their supporting process equipment, mechanical, electrical, power and control systems, as well as water and air hydrants.

There's also quite a bit of electrical work to be done, such as installing a 480-volt, three-phase electrical system to control the additional fan guns and install the fan-gun pedestals, and installing 15 new high-voltage sites and upgrading another six that already exist. About eight kilometres of deep trenches will need to be blasted or cut into the mountain, and then backfilled, as part of the piping and electrical conduit projects. As well, it'll be necessary to construct some related buildings connected with the equipment, which Intrawest will purchase, as well as weatherproof it.

Companies interested in being a part of the snow-making project, which will get under way this spring, need to provide their resumes to VANOC by January 25, so they can get on the list for the necessary formal Requests for Proposal, which are expected to be issued in February in three categories of work: one will be for management of the project, one will be for the waterworks, and the other for the electrical.

VANOC also intends to install snow-making systems at Cypress Mountain, in West Vancouver. It's constructed a snow-making reservoir with the necessary piping over the last few months.

The average annual snowfall of Whistler and neighbouring Blackcomb Mountains is 30 feet or 9.14 metres. It usually has the longest snow season in North America.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 10, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1399
MAJOR CONSTRUCTION-SITE WORK POLICIES RELEASED AS CONTRACTORS FOR FIRST WNC VENUE BUILDING SOUGHT

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) has begun looking for design-engineering companies to construct its first permanent building Ñ a maintenance garage -- at the Whistler Nordic Centre.

It's also released our first major look at how it intends to run venue construction on the site. The overall Whistler Nordic venue was budgeted to cost about C$100 million (in 2002 dollars) by the time it's completed.

VANOC, in the first of many construction contracts to come this year, is specifically looking for firms to design, manufacture and install a pre-engineered, steel, maintenance building. The building, 26 metres wide by 17.4 m in length and 6.3 metres in depth, is similar to dozens of works-yard buildings erected through BC. It has a peaked roof made of steel and a cement floor. The corrugated walls are to have side doors for people, and two large, insulated, drive-in doors and enough room inside for three bays, so work can be done on various construction vehicles. Inside is the main floor and a mezzanine, as well as a rail for a five-ton crane, which is to be bought later by VANOC. It'll be build on a pad constructed during the last year's building season, which saw VANOC contractors clear and grub the entire site, and build some compounds to prepare for this season's heavy construction.
In this particular project, for the pre-engineered maintenance building, VANOC wants proponents to turn in their proposals by January 19, and that it expects to award the contract by January 29. Construction work is to begin when the site opens up after the snow melts this spring, and the building is to be completed by the end of June.

On a much wider scale, however, VANOC has decided that the site will be open to union and non-union contractors alike, and contractors working on the site will be required to provide VANOC with a no-strike, no-lockout agreement with its work force and the employees of any of its sub-trades or subcontractors, if it wants to work on the site. Unionized workers will also have to agree to work alongside non-unionized employees of other contractors. If the company can't accomplish that, or doesn't, it won't get the work. And, despite the agreements, if there is any labour disturbance on the site, the contractor will be liable financially for any delays caused by the participation of any of its employees, or sub-trades' employees. One more thing: VANOC is contractually imposing the right to remove from the work site any worker that's causing any delay or disturbance.

The open-site decision is expected to produce controversy in British Columbia's labour circles, which covers about 25% of the province's workforce, and which has significant inroads in major construction. Labour trade councils have been pushing VANOC for more than a year to go unionized all the way, in order to "protect" the project from labour problems and to "ensure" the labour used is skilled.

VANOC has also told companies thinking about submitting a proposal for the project that they will have to turn over to VANOC any ideas or plans, sketches or concepts that they submit as part of their bid to get the work. All of that intellectual property will become the property of VANOC, and the company submitting them will be forced to give up all rights to them permanently -- whether they are successful in getting the contract or not.

VANOC, in a 138-page document that specifies every aspect of the working arrangements it intends to use with major contractors, focuses on such things as ensuring worker health and safety, preventing commercial use of VANOC's logos and trademarks, sustainability, how to handle delays and accelerated work, how to deal with sexual harassment, what kind of meetings to hold, how much and what kind of insurance contractors are to have, and how to co-operate with other contractors on site.

It's also told the contractors thinking of getting involved that there won't be any water, power or phones supplied to site for the early stages of the projects this year, at least, so they'll have to bring in their own supplies and generators for that. And because BC Highways will be building a two-lane paved road to the project from Highway 99, just south of Whistler, during the spring, replacing the gravel road that's now there, the contractors can expect delays. (Other reports indicate that BC Hydro power won't be available until the highway is built, and even when power is available, it will only be provided in stages.) On the other hand, one of VANOC's sponsors, telecommunications giant Bell Canada, has installed a cell-phone base in the valley.

VANOC also says that it will be introducing a construction-administration website so contractors can deal with a wide range of administrative duties in connection with their projects. That includes a web cam of the construction site, and locations where photos of the work can be posted. That site is not yet up, but is expected to be ready by the time construction starts in the spring. Contractors are expected to provide the computers and Internet access for those in the firm winning the bid, but VANOC says it will provide the necessary training on how to use the site.

In general, VANOC will be issuing three main packages of work on the Whistler Nordic Site this year. One deals with all the buildings that are required for the site. A second deals with work on the south side of the site: the construction of roads and compounds for biathlon and cross-country skiing, as well as an extensive network of cross-country trails that are an integral part of the project's legacy business plan. A third deals with similar work, but on the north side of the site.

The major components of how VANOC expects to conduct its work at the venues it controls, which are primarily the WNC and the Whistler Sliding Centre, north of Whistler:

A detailed gag policy: As you might expect, VANOC doesn't want any construction contractor or subcontractor getting the idea that it can issue news releases about it being a VANOC contactor or go around using VANOC's logos, or those of the International Olympic Committee, or using that sort of thing in their advertising. But VANOC's requirements go several steps further. The prime contractor is bound to ensure that no subcontractor does any ambush marketing; secondly, no proponent for any of the construction is allowed to talk to the news media about any aspect of their proposal, and the actual winner of the contract is not allowed to talk to the news media about any aspect of the work on the site, unless they first get written permission from VANOC Ñ and one has the distinct impression from the wording that's a waste of time.
Sustainability: Olympic Games, as a requirement of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are required to minimize the impact of their construction on the local environment. VANOC committed to that process in the bid phase, and it's implementing it in its construction contracts. There are a number of paragraphs that will be in those agreements requiring contractors to deal properly with garbage and industrial waste, and to keep their equipment out of nearby waterways. The idea is to build its venues to LEED silver standard as a minimum, and that requires at least 75% of construction wastes be either reused or recycled, with a goal of getting that to 90% or more. Not only will contractors have to prepare and follow a waste-management plan, it'll have to turn in monthly reports on how well it's doing with it.
Health and Safety: VANOC CEO John Furlong last year reached a formal agreement with WorkSafeBC (BC's Worker's Compensation Board) that VANOC was determined to set an exemplary standard when it came to making its venues safe and healthy. VANOC has, among many other things, adopted a "Zero-Incidence" policy; it also means a wide range of activities from protecting workers from falls or dealing with hazardous materials. For example, every employee of every contractor on a VANOC site will have to have passed Canadian WHMIS programs (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System), and have a hard-hat sticker to that effect. No sticker, and the employee's gone from the site, whether they've passed the tests or not.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 10, 2006

Monday, January 09, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Labour| #1398
BUILDING TRADES SAY VANOC JUST ONE MORE ORGANIZATION COMPETING FOR SKILLED LABOUR

The president of the Bargaining Council of the BC Building Trade Unions, Mark Olson, says the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) will have to take its chances in competing for skilled trades. And, he claims, BC's unions and unionized contractors have advantages over non-union operations.

Olson, in an open letter, noted that VANOC CEO John Furlong, "recently voiced some concerns about the availability of skilled trades and rising construction costs in B.C.'s current super-heated construction boom. He also expressed the hope that the Olympics would not be compromised by labour disruptions."

Olson says he told Furlong that there has not been a construction labour disruption in this province for nearly 20 years. "The building trades unions are currently re-negotiating their standard agreement which expired in May of 2004, and all trades are looking to negotiate a term that takes us well past the Olympics in 2010."

As for skilled trades, Olson says, VANOC is in the same competitive position as all other purchasers of construction. "There are indeed significant pressures on the limited pool of skilled trades people. Unfortunately that pool has not been expanding due to short-sighted policies of the provincial government, which virtually abandoned our once-vigorous apprenticeship system several years ago. This leaves us with a significant shortage of people with the necessary skills."

Olson fails to mention, however, that BC southwestern region has encountered a significant capital construction boom, with large corresponding increases in a wide range of construction supplies, and that both VANOC and the BC government had forecasts as early as two years about about the impending manpower shortages, even without the boom.

Olson says that construction contractors that have agreements with the building trades unions have advantages for VANOC. "They will have certainty around labour costs. And the building trades can tap in to qualified union trades people anywhere in B.C. and Canada who may be available to travel to work on a major project. As well, most building trades unions have training capabilities which they can ramp up to provide the required workers. This is far superior to hiring workers at the gate who may bring little in the way of training or experience."

He suggests that unionized contractors have "always provided the bulk of the training in B.C.'s construction industry." He adds that the building trades recently formed the BC Construction Industry Training Institute. "which has taken up the challenge to coordinate, promote and support unionized training programs to meet the demands of the construction industry and to deal with the growing shortage of qualified construction workers."

BACKGROUND

The BC and Yukon Territory Building and Construction Trades Council
www.bcciti.org

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 9, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |General| #1397
AUSSIE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CEO TO SPEAK IN BC NEXT MONTH ABOUT OLYMPIC - BUSINESS PREPARATIONS

The first speaker in the 2006 version of the RBC 2010 LegaciesNow Speaker Series is Margy Osmond, chief executive of the State Chamber of Commerce of New South Wales in Australia.

Osmond created the Sydney 2000 Olympic Commerce Centre in 1997; the Centre was a centralized tendering process for Olympic contracts that dealt with thousands of businesses which wanted to be suppliers to the Summer Olympics, and she helped major Australian organizations prepare for the Sydney Games in various ways.

Osmond is expected to start her presentation in Vancouver on February 7 during a luncheon address to The Vancouver Board of Trade. The next day, she will be in Kamloops, in BC's south-central interior, to speak to business during a meeting of the Kamloops Spirit of BC Community Committee, one of the organizations set up by 2010 LegaciesNow to help co-ordinate community response and involvement to the 2010 Games. On February 9, she will be in Prince George, in BC's north-central interior, to speak to the 2006 Winter Opportunities Summit conference. She will also be involved in a live webcast that is expected to include discussion via e-mail or a toll-free line (with in BC) after her presentation. The time and date of the webcast have yet to be announced.

Marion Lay, President and CEO of 2010 Legacies Now, notes, "The speakers we're bringing to BC will share their first-hand experiences and show us how we can translate the Olympic and Paralympic experience into practical and lasting benefits for British Columbia."

The RBC 2010 Legacies Now Speaker Series is planned to continue during the years leading up to the 2010 Games. Each of the speakers will make an appearance in Vancouver and at least two other BC communities. Osmond is the first of three speakers to take part in the program this year. Spokesman for 2010 LegaciesNow, Ian Buckley, says, "The names of the remaining 2006 speakers will be announced over the coming weeks."

The RBC Group is a major sponsor of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Graham MacLachlan, regional president for RBC Financial Group in BC, says "The RBC 2010 Legacies Now Speaker Series will enable people across B.C. to gain invaluable insight from those who have direct knowledge of how to achieve Olympic success."

BACKGROUND

BC has set up an organization similar to Sydney 2000 Olympic Commerce Centre. It's called the 2010 Commerce Centre, but it also provides information on other Olympic projects. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, runs most of its formal Requests for Proposals and Expressions of Interest through the BC government co-operative bidding system, BC Bid, and some of those documents are spread Canada-wide by a federal system called Merx. The 2010 Commerce Centre distributes linkages to the government systems.

--

Previous incarnations of the 2010 LegaciesNow speakers series produced Australian Olympic businessman Graeme Hicks, who developed Olympic business opportunities, pre-Olympic and Paralympic training situations, and cultural reunions connected to the Olympic Games. He spoke at Prince George's Conference a year ago. Maxine and Marvin Turner, owners of Cuisine Unlimited in Salt Lake City, Utah, did a webcast last February.They spoke about the experiences and insights they gained from being involved with three Olympic and Paralympic Games: 1996 Summer Atlanta, 2002 Winter Salt Lake City and 2004 Summer Athens. As the caterer for USA House in the recent 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, they and their staff of 40 prepared more than 1,200 meals during the games.

The Speakers Bureau concept was formalized last May, with the BC government's Olympic Secretariat to organize and fund it, but the RBC Group is now involved in helping to pay the expenses.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 9, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #1396
MCDONALD'S CANADA OUTLINES BEEN-THERE, DONE-THAT MARKETING CAMPAIGN FOR 2006 OLYMPICS

McDonald's Canada, part of the company's international sponsorship of the Olympics, has waited until virtually the last minute to outline what it will be doing to implement its marketing program to connect it with the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino.

McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited and its Canadian franchisees own and operate 1,375 restaurants and employ about 77,000 Canadians. Approximately 65% of McDonald's Canadian restaurants are franchised locally. Although it is the exclusive fast-food sponsor of Olympics, and will be so during the 2010 Games, it has only two restaurants in Italian Olympic venues. The two full-service restaurants were built at the Torino Olympic Village and in the Main Press Center at Lingotto. Both restaurants will open at the end of this month. There are 12 other McDonald's restaurants in Torino, but they're in previously established locations and not directly connected with any of the venues.

It has also constructed a relatively short schedule of activities and events connected with the Games, all of them designed to support employee morale, market McDonald's products and bring customers to their restaurants in Canada. And all but one of them have been done before at other Olympics.

Louie Mele, president of McDonald's Restaurants of Canada, says his company plans to offer:

Olympic Games Creative: McDonald's will switch their advertising to that which ties it closely to the Italian Olympics during February and, to the Paralympics in March. In addition, select Olympic Games creative will also appear on some, but not all product packaging.
"A Gold Medal Meal Promotion": This involves offering what he calls a "special Gold Medal Meal offering" during the month of February. It's described this way, "Purchase a Big Mac Extra Value Meal during February and McDonald's Canada will make a donation to Own the Podium - 2010." That's the C$110-million project supported by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) and the federal government, and designed to focus funds on specific sports leading up to the 2010 Winter Games. He declined to provide the amount of the donation.
McDonald's Olympic Champion Crew: Each Olympics, McDonald's runs employee contests to choose the staff who will operating the McDonald's restaurants at the venues of the next Olympics, and 2006 is no exception. McDonald's calls them Olympic Champion Crew members, noting they will be serving the athletes, coaches, officials, media and spectators alongside other McDonald's employees from around the world. Six Canadians have been Chosen "for the outstanding work ethic and dedication to excellence they bring to their jobs each and every day."
"Olympic Champion Crew Blog": A new component for this year's team will be the an online web log diary on the McDonald's main website, "where visitors to the site will have the chance to learn about some of the crew members' journeys to the Games, their adventures in Torino and their overall Olympic experience." The site will launch in early next month.
"Team McDonald's": This is a group of past, current and future Olympians, which Mele indicates were selected "based on the spirit, enthusiasm, sportsmanship and dedication they bring to their sport and to leading a balanced active lifestyle." The athletes will work with McDonald's Canada "in a number of ways" by taking part in various promotional events, such as appearing in First Fan vignettes produced by the Olympic Canadian broadcaster, CBC Sports.
"McDonald's Team Canada Hockey Olympic Mini-Jerseys": Six of these jackets can be bought for C$2.99 plus tax for as long as supplies last at "participating McDonald's restaurants" across Canada, provided customers also buy some specific meal add-ons, such as fries, drinks, salads and the like, during the month of February, A connector card, featuring Team Canada's Wayne Gretzky will also be available for another C$2.59 plus tax, while supplies last.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 9, 2006

Friday, January 06, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1395

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

WHISTLER SLIDING CENTRE TRACK TO BE FAST, TECHNICAL

A few more details are coming to light about VANOC's new Whistler Sliding Centre track. Here are a few pertinent details from a much longer interview of Jan Jansen, VANOC's director of Whistler outdoor venues, by Whistler's Community Relations Officer for the Sea-To-Sky Highway Improvement Project, Scott Roberts, and published in the Whistler Question newspaper today. The carefully engineered and designed ice track is expected to have a design speed of 139 kilometres per hour, with some of the 16 corners that provide five times the force of gravity to those moving through them. "We're going to have a track that is quite technical in nature given the terrain we have," he said. "It's a track that'll have high speed, a high level of difficulty, with high-speed corners from top to bottom. There will be no relaxing on this track." It's expected that it will take about 50 seconds to negotiate the 1.5 kilometre-long track. Track construction will begin this year, as well as work on some of the building footings, and the track's powerful refrigeration plant will be built." Roberts says there will about 100 kilometres of refrigerant piping build into the track. The plan is to complete the track in time for the Canadian National Sliding Championships, scheduled for the late winter of 2007.

OPEN HOUSE ON WHISTLER ATHLETE VILLAGE PLANNING SET FOR NEXT WEEK
The Whistler 2020 Development Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the resort municipality, has scheduled an open-house discussion for next Wednesday about its draft plans for the first phase of its project Ñ the C$26-million, 2010 Olympics Whistler Athletes Village. The Village is to be the core of a much larger housing development on the south side of Whistler.

MORE DELEGATIONS HEADING FOR TORINO
Whistler municipality, Tourism Whistler and Whistler Blackcomb will all be sending delegations to observe the operations of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics and Paralymics. Whistler mayor Ken Melamed, councillors Tim Wake and Nancy Wilhelm-Morden and five municipal staff will be going, and all but Melamed will be taking part in the official transfer-of-information program. Melamed will be on a VIP list, which has a different agenda. Wake is scheduled to be at the opening ceremonies and Melamed at the closing. One of the five staff members is Jim Godfrey, executive director for the 2010 Olympics in Whistler, but his expenses are being covered by VANOC because he's a member of its Board of Directors. The Paralympic delegation will include Melamed, Councillors Bob Lorriman and Gordon McKeever and the same staff. Kevin McFarland, Whistler's parks planner, and John Rae, Whistler's manager of strategic alliances, have been seconded by the Torino Games Organizing Committee for two separate, six-week periods. McFarland leaves for the Italian city on Sunday.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 6, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1394
2010 TO SHARE HEADQUARTERS WITH THREE OTHER TENANTS

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) will be sharing its new headquarters buildings complex in east Vancouver with three other tenants.

The building was purchased earlier this year for C$24 million in cash as an investment by the City of Vancouver's Property Endowment Fund from Kingswood Properties. Two of the additional firms -- and engineering company and a security firm -- will be staying, but a networking firm is expected to only be there temporarily. All three were already tenants in the building when it was purchased.

The largest firm is Morrison Hershfield, a Toronto-based engineering firm with 11 offices in Canada and the US and which occupies about 18,600 square feet on the sixth floor of the seven-floor tower at 3585 Graveley Street. It isn't working directly with VANOC, but it is the building-envelope consultant on the expanded trade-and-convention centre now under construction on Vancouver's downtown waterfront. That building will house the 2010 International Broadcast Centre, and VANOC is contributing toward its capital costs.

A second firm is Initial Security Services, an Edmonton-based company with 17 offices across Canada. It provides security officers, mobile patrols, alarm responses and 24-hour electronic security monitoring from its 5,100 square-foot office. It's not immediately clear if the firm was working with VANOC, but it does not appear to do so. The firm is indirectly known to the City of Vancouver, the building's owner, besides the landlord-tenant relationship, as Initial deals with the personnel for the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association's Downtown Ambassadors Program, in which uniformed people patrol 90 blocks of the city's business core, as part of a program that combines various security activities with offering assistance to tourists. The DVBIA is funded by the City.

The third firm, the one that is only there now on a temporary basis, is Global Technical Engineering Solutions (GTES), which provides round-the-clock software and support services for wireless applications, particularly for companies that provide various types of paging systems that use products designed by Glenayre Electronics of Atlanta, Georgia, and for companies that track expensive shipments. It was established last year when Glenayre sold off its paging division. Ironically, the VANOC headquarters buildings were originally built by Glenayre, with the tower added in the late 1990s to take advantage of the then-booming dotcom business cycle. Glenayre sold off the buildings to Kingswood when Glenayre was bought by Motorola, which subsequently closed Glenayre's operations there. When GTES moves out, it will be the end of Glenayre's connections with the buildings. Neither firm has any dealings with VANOC.

The City of Vancouver, in order to accommodate VANOC's large office-space demands, quietly rezoned the property November 29 from Light Industrial to Comprehensive Development over the objections of at least one nearby property owner, and the City wasn't sure there was sufficient water capacity to the buildings to deal with fire-flow demands Ñ nor what might have to be done about it if there wasn't Ñ when it made the decision. VANOC has been told by the city to provide the necessary information at VANOC's expense, so the city can decide if water upgrading is necessary.

The City is also being generous in its support to VANOC by giving it a preferential C$5-per-square-foot, triple-net lease rate through to April 2010 on the 230,000 square feet in VANOC's lease and on which VANODC didn't start paying until this month, even though its lease of the two buildings took effect in September. VANOC expects to move to the office tower building in late March or early April, once the fit-up has been completed, and expand into the two-storey building late this year. Colliers International, the listing broker which VANOC had contracted early in 2005 to find new office space, had listed the average lease rate for the Kingswood Atrium at C$16 per square foot and the Kootenay Street property at between C$11 and C$15 per square foot. City staff say the amount of support is being counted as part of the City's overall share of support of the 2010 Winter Games.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 6, 2006

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1393

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

VANCOUVER CLOSES SEA WALK AS ATHLETE VILLAGE WORK BEGINS

The City of Vancouver is rerouting the section of the popular Seaside greenway and bikeway that runs along the south shore of False Creek from Ontario Street to Columbia Street, as work begins on the site for the Vancouver Olympic Village. The first public work involves removing old decking and piles located northwest of the Salt Building, along with toxic soil disposal, and other preparations of the site for construction. Construction of the roads, underground utilities and waterfront, including a new greenway and bikeway from Ontario to Columbia, is scheduled to begin in a few weeks. Eventually, construction of the building sites will begin, and continue until just before the Olympic Games. The developer, who has not yet been chosen, and won't be chosen until the City Council decides on the housing mix to follow the Games, is expected to turn over the buildings for VANOC's use by November, 2009. It's not expected the Sea-walk, as it's popularly known, will be restored until after the 2010 Games, as the entire area, from the Cambie Bridge to Quebec Street will be part of the Village and VANOC's adjacent storage areas and parking lots, will be under heavy security during the Games.

PEKEN PUMPS CHINESE SKIERS FOR 2010
The Swedish coach of the Chinese cross-country ski team, Per-Erik "Peken" Ronnestrand, says he believes China's skiers will improve gradually over the next three years and move into the top 10 teams for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. "I think they will be [ranked] between 20 to 30 for the Torino Winter Olympics," he told the People's Daily newspaper, noting that 10 team members qualified for the Games. "But in 2010, some of them could be in the top 10," said the Swede after the 50-kilometre Vasaloppet cross-country race in Jingyuetan at Changchun. Peken, the former head coach of the Swedish national cross-country team, started his job with China's national team four months ago. Ronnestrand is confident that with three to four years of practice, both men and women skiers will be able to compete with the best skiers in the world. "They train as much as their European competitors. Together with the Chinese coaches, we'll make some adjustments in technique and equipment, and then I'm confident we'll soon be fighting with the best," Ronnestrand said. Vasaloppet 2006 was set up in China by Nordic Ways -- a Scandinavian company that has been promoting branded sports events in China for a couple of years now -- working with the Chinese Ski Association (CSA) and the Changchun municipal government. Nordic Ways and CSA recently reached an agreement that outlines events, international competitions, training and equipment support for the next four years. Ronnestrand, Nordic Ways and CSA believed they've assembled "an extensive training and competition program in Europe for China's top cross-country skiers." China will be the focus of the international cross-country skiing when it hosts a World Cup competition in the sport in March.

HYPHEN-ATING
From Morgan:News's Intellectual Prosperity Department: "Recruitment-2010" are the latest two wordmarks registered for protection by the Vancouver branch of the law firm that does such work for VANOC, Borden Ladner Gervais. The marks were Gazetted in the December 28 issue, Vol.52 Issue 2670, and brings the number of trade marks and logos registered in Industry Canada Canadian Intellectual Property Office. Why does our department keep saying two, when it only talks about one? Well, that's because there are two formal applications that the lawyers decided to register, and it necessitated some discussion and paperwork for each. There's a version with, and one without, the hyphen.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 5, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1392

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

FASEL SAYS WORLD HOCKEY TOURNEY ATTENDANCE BODES WELL FOR 2010

The man who is both the head of the International Ice Hockey Federation and the IOC's committee that oversees the development of the 2010 Winter Games franchise, Rene Fasel, hopes a deal will be worked out so European officials can work a few NHL games prior to 2010 Olympic hockey tournament. Officiating has been an issue at the Junior World Ice Hockey Championships wrapping up today in Vancouver. To partially offset the criticism extending to the Olympics four NHL referees and four NHL linesmen will be part of the Olympic officiating team of 10 referees for the Torino 2006 Hockey Games. Meanwhile Fasel says he's amazed by the success of the Vancouver world junior. "I'm really amazed at 269,510 attendance so far," he said. That exceeds the record of 242,000 set in Halifax three years ago, and it doesn't include the games to determine ninth, seventh and fifth and today's bronze and gold medal games. "Can you imagine 2010? All the tickets will be sold in 15 minutes. Ten minutes. Gone!"

ZOOM&GO TAKES A LOOK AT TORINO OLYMPICS
A tourist's travel-review website, which includes brief on-the-spot video reports, has posted several pages of photos and brief, news-style video reports Ñ suitable for loading into an iPod Ñ about traveller experiences in October at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. The view-from-the-tourist point of view covers a range of topics, from a look at the construction of various sites as it was two months ago, to handy tips and ideas for tourists coming to the city. ZoomAndGo.com reporters Allison Woo and John Harrison also looked at hotel accommodations, reviewed logistics in Torino, and asked people on the street about out how the Italian city is reacting to the event. "We're thrilled to give people an exclusive glimpse into Torino they won't find anywhere else," says Jonathan Haldane, CEO and founder of ZoomAndGo.com. "This video footage and insider information provided by our members is different from what you'll see on the official Torino and Olympic Web sites." Most of the videos are under 30 seconds in length. ZoomAndGo has done similar reports about the areas affected by the Boxing Day tsunami.

US TO ISSUE STAMP TIED TO TORINO OLYMPICS
The US Postal Service says it will issue a US$0.39 stamp with an illustration of an Olympic downhill skier on January 11, in Colorado Springs, and throughout the rest of America on January 12, to commemorate the 2006 Winter Olympics. Colorado Springs gets a 24-hour jump because it was host of the downhill skiing event during the 2002 Winter Games. Artist John Mattos of San Francisco, captures the skier cutting into a turn at full speed. The Olympic rings appear in the bottom left corner. Some text along the bottom border reads "2006 Olympic Winter Games." Various officials of the US Olympic Committee are endorsing the stamp -- and the use of the Olympic logo.

RESOURCES

ZoomAndGo.com's Torino website:
www.zoomandgo.com/travelreport/torino2006/

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 5, 2006

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1391
CONSTRUCTION TRADE CONTRACTORS AND MATERIALS SUPPLIERS SOUGHT FOR NORDIC CENTRE CONSTRUCTION

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) has begun asking specific types of construction trade contractors and materials suppliers if they're interested in getting on a short list to help build the Whistler Nordic Centre buildings.

This is the leading construction project that's firmly under the control of VANOC, and it's located in the Callaghan Valley, just southwest of Whistler. It has an overall budget, in 2002 dollars, of about C$100 million. The construction of the buildings is expected to take two construction seasons, this year and next, with completion of the project scheduled for about November, 2007.

In this particular case, specific types of trade contractors and suppliers need to provide their corporate resumes to VANOC contractor administrator Joanne Shirley by January 20 if they want to be considered for the short list. Once the resumes are in, they'll be vetted with a short list of no more than three firms per trade offered a formal request for proposals, tenders or contracts, depending on VANOC's requirements and the breadth of the resumes. The work might be done by the trade contractors at any point in the next two years.

More than 150 contractors showed up at an overview briefing provided by VANOC a year ago about how the work, which began this past year with clearing, grubbing and compound construction, would go, more than double the number that were expected. That work came in slightly under budget after some discussions between VANOC and its contractors about work scope.

The project manager for the WNC is Doug Ewing, and the design engineering firm that's been working on the project is Sandwell of Vancouver.

The building projects that are about to start this spring include:

The two-storey day lodge, which is 922 square metres (almost 10,000 square feet);
The cross-country skiing sport's technical and wax buildings, which total about 580 square metres (6,240 square feet);
The biathlon sport's technical and wax buildings, which total about the same size;
A maintenance building, which is 598 square metres (about 6,400 square feet) and,
A judges tower.

VANOC, on several occasions, has urged potential contractors to consider providing a comprehensive solution to the types of work they want done. VANOC is also quite interested in comprehensive environmental aspects, such as dealing with or using recyclable materials. The eventual winners of the process in each area will also have to undergo a detailed security check, including a criminal-record check.

There are also a number of technical requirements that VANOC wants the contractors and material suppliers to include with their resumes, and a document that outlines this has been posted on BC Bid.

BACKGROUND

The specific construction-trade contractors sought by VANOC include those who work with (in alphabetical order):

Ceramic tile and slate
Concrete placing and finishing
Curtain wall
Drywall
Electrical
Elevators
Entry floor grilles
Fire Protection
Flooring - Carpet, resilient and/or wood
Insulation
Masonry
Mechanical
Metal roofing system
Millwork
Miscellaneous metals
Painting
Plumbing
Rebar
Spray insulation
Stonework
Storefront and windows
Waterproofing

VANOC's also inviting material-supply contractors for these supplies, also in alphabetical order:

Concrete
Doors frames and hardware
Glulams
Lockers
Pre-fabricated elements
SIPS panels
Toilet partitions
Washroom accessories
Windows

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 4, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1390

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

NEW VANCOUVER, WHISTLER MAYORS MEET IOC OFFICIALS IN VANCOUVER

Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan and Whistler mayor Ken Melamed, both of whom were elected to their positions in November, met for the first time in their official capacities in a quiet meeting with officials from the IOC who supervise VANOC. The meeting today, which was not publicized in advance, was with Ren Fasel, Chairman of the Coordinating Commission, who is also in town as head of the International Ice Hockey Federation for the International Junior Hockey Championships, and Gilbert Felli, the IOC's Executive Director for Olympic Games. The meeting, it was said, was primarily held so the four could get to know each other and understand some of the overall issues involved with the 2010 Games.

PANASONIC DIGITAL-BROADCAST ROLE EXPANDING FOR TORINO GAMES
Matsushita Electric Industrial company's international-level sponsorship of the Olympics, which continues until the 2008 Olympics and is expected to be renewed for the 2010 Games in Vancouver and Whistler, has been extended beyond its current Video and Audio categories to include vehicle-navigation systems and related multi-media equipment. Under its Panasonic brand, the Japanese-based company, which has consolidated net revenues in the area of US$81.4 billion per year, will also supply security equipment, starting with the Torino Games. The broadcasting equipment in Torino will be completely digital. Panasonic says that part of its role as the supplier of standard- and high-definition recording equipment, it will provide solid-state memory equipment for high-definition broadcast, as well as high-definition recording equipment. Because they have no moving parts, they are more reliable in severe weather. Panasonic says it will also be providing 200 professional digital video recorders, 100 video cameras and camcorders, as well as 600 monitors for the International Broadcast Centre, specific Olympic Games venues and several broadcasting companies. The sponsorship expansion agreement also means it will provide about 8,800 color televisions and monitors, including 200 plasma TVs, for the Main Press Centre, the International Broadcast Centre, the Media Village and Italy's Olympic Villages.

ONTARIO SPORTS PROFESSOR GIVES GOOD MARKS TO CANADA OLYMPIC SPORTS PLANNING
Darwin Semotiuk, a Canadian professor at the University of London, Ontario and who will be spending the next three months at the University of Melbourne while doing research into high-performance sports programming in Australia, predicts that Canada is "going to do very well" at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino and "35 medals predicted for Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics is very realistic." Canada is hoping to win about that number of medals of various colours at the Italian Games next month, which is eight more than the country won in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 4, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1389
A LOOK INSIDE VANOC'S NEW HEADQUARTERS BUILDING

A look inside the new headquarters of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) is expected to reveal a spacious, open and inviting area to work, with plenty of room for the expected expansion to about 1,200 full-time staff by 2009.

VANOC headquarters will move permanently from its current downtown location, where it's been leasing two floors of a tower at 1095 West Pender, to East Vancouver's Kingswood Atrium building, located at 3585 Graveley Street, and the adjacent 1570 Kootenay Street, close to the 1st Avenue interchange on the Trans-Canada highway in Vancouver. A firm moving date hasn't yet been set, but the move is expected now to take place in late March or early April, which is roughly three to four months behind the schedule originally set about a year ago.

VANOC will also share the building with two other tenants Ñ we don't yet know who they are but they are likely connected in some way with VANOC. One will be on the second floor and occupy about 5,100 square feet, and the other will be on the sixth floor and occupy about 18,600 square feet, with access to a patio.

VANOC took possession of the two empty office buildings, owned by the City of Vancouver, in September. One building is seven storeys with a total of about 117,000 square feet (or about 21,000 square feet per floor), and the other is a two-storey building totaling about 113,000 square feet (about 56,500 per floor). The buildings were empty at the time, but secure and fully air-conditioned. VANOC then set about hiring a project manager to oversee the construction and engineering to fit the buildings up with various plumbing, electrical, lighting, networking, garbage collection, recycling and security systems.

However, planning and work is sufficient advanced that we now know VANOC will first occupy the tower and then, late this year, expand into the adjacent, lower building. By the end of April, 2010, VANOC planners expect the place to be essentially vacant once more.

Visitors to the building will see a courtyard with tables and chairs. When they move into the main lobby and waiting area -- with its display plants and tiled floors that will be mopped twice daily as well as stripped, scrubbed and rewaxed weekly Ñ they'll see a merchandise kiosk where they can buy VANOC souvenirs, and the reception desk, where they'll be greeted in French or English, as they wish.

After they sign in and are given a guest pass, they'll be escorted through the building, perhaps noticing the building's large atrium, its vestibules, mirrors on walls of the elevators, glass partition walls in some of the areas, and they'll pass through glass doors, but the offices and collaborative areas themselves will be secured, with an electronic system tracking those who provide the access codes to go into those offices. As a result, they may be guided to the 'guest' washrooms, since security concerns keeps staff away from the so-called 'public' areas. For the same reason, it's unlikely most people will never see the executive office areas or their surrounding support staff locations unless specifically invited to those rooms.

The public areas include a media room, where VANOC will hold news conferences.

On the inside, the staff, because they work in a collaborative setting, will have access to boardrooms and meeting rooms with whiteboards and audio-visual equipment on each floor that's occupied. There are only about 150 employees at the moment, although VANOC's joint security planners and VANOC's major sponsors and other members of the so-called Olympic Family will all have offices, along with each of the eight major function areas VANOC has established.

They'll also have access to an employee staff room, with a coffee area, a microwave and a dishwasher for cups, glasses, dishes and cutlery, tables and chairs, a formal cafeteria, as well as several coffee nooks. Surprisingly, there are areas -- still to be determined -- which will have ashtrays.

Other amenities include a first-aid room with a cot and supplies, a library, training rooms, a fitness room and separate change rooms for men and women -- including change rooms on the parkade level -- and a secured bicycle parking area. Office supplies, such as printer paper, staples, pens and the like, will be kept in a central storage room, where the printers, copiers and the group fax machines will be generally kept.

There will also be a shipping and receiving area for both buildings, as some areas will be used for VANOC storage.

All of these areas will be kept clean 24 hours a day, five days a week, by contracted and uniformed janitorial staff, who will be required to use materials, including cleaner fluids, that can be recycled or are environmentally friendly, as part of VANOC's sustainability commitments made to the International Olympic Committee during the bid. VANOC says janitorial contractors from anywhere in the world will be invited to bid for the contract; it won't be restricted to local firms, although proponents have to provide a strategy for conducting business in Canada if they're outside the country -- and be comfortable with a thorough security-clearance vetting for the successful firm, which is standard with all such VANOC contracts.

You'll be intrigued to know that those cleaning supplies will be supplied by VANOC sponsor Rona, the renovations company, wherever possible, to keep VANOC's cash use down as much as possible.

And, by the way, keyboards, computers and monitors, and every telephone will be cleaned or disinfected daily.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 4, 2006

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1388

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

WHISTLER TO HOLD BLUE-SKY PUBLIC MEETING JAN 14 ABOUT SLEDGE-HOCKEY ARENA

The municipality of Whistler has scheduled a public forum and "community visioning workshop" about VANOC's Paralympic sledge hockey arena for Saturday, January 14, from 2 to 5:30 p.m. at the Telus Whistler Conference Centre. The meeting will deal with the future of lots 1 and 9 -- the undeveloped lots identified as a location for the arena. According Bob MacPherson, Whistler's general manager of planning and development, the workshop, "part of Phase 1" of the project, is designed to establish "a vision of the highest and best long-term use for the lots and a broad range of alternatives will be explored in the categories of arts, culture, education, recreation, learning, entertainment, retail, commercial, public, institutional and accommodation and with a view to a legacy for the resort community." And, he adds, "There are no bad ideas and nothing will be discarded." Notes from the meeting will be given to a "steering committee of community members and stakeholders," and will also be given to municipal staff, the development manager and to Whistler consultants working on the project. That committee will then develop a master plan for the lots and deliver recommendations to Whistler council by June. At that point there will only be about 1,300 days remaining before the Paralymics start in which to complete the design, tender and build the structure. The committee and the development manager, he says, are to be named shortly.

VANOC MONTREAL BRANCH EXPECTED TO OPEN BY MID-YEAR
VANOC expects to open its second community-relations office, this one in Montreal, by the middle of this year, according to CEO John Furlong in a wide-ranging interview by Vancouver Sun newspaper reporter Jeff Lee. VANOC has had a community-relations office in Whistler since the time it was still bidding for the Games, and more than 100,000 visitors have gone through the small structure since it opened in 2002. The establishment of the Montreal office follows a protocol agreement signed with Quebec in October that calls upon the Quebec government to be involved in promotion of the Games in the province. Furlong has said that he is also working on similar agreements with Ontario and other provinces as part of the VANOC's goal to make the Games Canadian and not just of interest to the Vancouver region. VANOC's Board of Directors also has two directors with Quebec connections: France Chrtien-Desmarais, a nominee of the federal government who worked with the Quebec Liberals, and Dick Pound, a nominee of the Canadian Olympic Committee, who runs the World Anti-Doping Agency from its Montreal headquarters, and two major VANOC sponsors are headquartered in the Montreal area: Rona and Bell Canada.

CHRISTIAN YOUTH GROUP TO USE PUBLIC TORINO OLYMPIC EVENTS FOR 'FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM'
While VANOC, governments, businesses, sponsors, athletes and national teams make plans to converge on Torino for the February start of the 2006 Winter Olympics, another organization with a much different product is getting its sales message and team ready for the same audience. A major international evangelical Christian youth organization is calling on its thousands of members to sign up for an "outreach" mission to Torino during the 2006 Winter Olympics. And it's urging them to use such street-level public events as snowboard clinics associated with the Games for what it calls "creative interaction" with local people as well as international visitors to the Games. Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is an Hawaiian-based international "movement of Christians from many denominations dedicated to serving Jesus throughout the world...our calling is to know God and to make Him known." The organization's website says the Torino area and its surrounding villages, where Olympic venues are located, "will be an area full of entertainment opportunities and will open doors for us to serve in various ways." The organization, which says it will also set up a 24-hour "prayer centre," will start the outreach project with a three-day meeting of its adherents to teach those attending "guidelines... on how to effectively reach the locals and internationals. The approach we want to take during the outreach is one of 'Friendship Evangelism.' We don't want to offend the locals through in-your-face evangelism tactics, but rather show them love and a true servant heart through various community and church partner projects." The organization reports that it is "operating in more than 1,000 locations in over 149 countries, with a staff of nearly 16,000." It will be the 16th "Olympic outreach event" in the organization's 40-year history.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 3, 2006

Monday, January 02, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1387
SQUAMISH TO TALK TO VANOC, 2010 LEGACIESNOW THIS MONTH ABOUT POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES

Squamish mayor Ian Sutherland says he expects to meet with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) this month to see if there are still opportunities for the city that's halfway between Vancouver and Whistler.

He said in a question-and-answer interview published in the Squamish Chief newspaper that he will be meeting with both VANOC and 2010 LegaciesNow in Vancouver in that regard.

Squamish has had a couple of disappointments because of decisions made by VANOC during 2005, including a choice to not proceed with a ferry between Vancouver and Squamish as part of the VANOC transportation plan, and a possibility that the town might be asked to host the Paralympic sledge-hockey portion of the Games if Whistler decided not to proceed with them. Whistler, however, has decided to push forward with the sledge-hockey arena, after an 11th hour decision in October.

"We have to make sure we find solutions that help them put on a better Olympics," he says, adding, "We have to keep on working on what is happening with the sledge hockey and what Whistler decides to do at the end of the day. The biggest frustration [for Squamish] is the whole "Legacies Now" funding, which we don't qualify for because we live in the so-called Squamish-Whistler corridor. We're going to have meetings... to clarify that role. It is all stuff that can be done, and stuff that can be fixed. [VANOC CEO] John Furlong has a tremendous job to do and I respect him tremendously, as well as everyone on his team. We have had some hits in the last year, and it is no secret I am not happy with it, but at the end of the day we have to find a way to find solutions and help VANOC put on the best games ever. We intend to do that."

Sutherland told the newspaper that whether anything 2010-related comes to Squamish or not depends on a lot of variables. "There are so many pieces of the puzzle it all depends on what falls in what order. Clearly for us, if we can get involved, in some way, shape or form, in the Paralympics - that is something most of the community can buy into. If in fact, the accredited media, or part of it, comes to Squamish, then that will tie in perhaps to part of the expansion plan for Capilano College. If you look at legacies, without direct impacts on 2010, then you are looking at whether there is funding available to maybe upgrade the existing hockey arena with their dressing rooms and common area buildings. Is there the possibility to secure funding for a performing arts centre? What are the possibilities? It is all part of the process we have to work our way through - and it is a complicated process. My fear is that we sell ourselves short and settle for something that gives us C$50,000 in funding when maybe there is C$9 million in funding available."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 2, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1386

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

HBC TO "SELL OLYMPIC PRODUCTS" YEAR ROUND TO 2012

Rob Moore, who is responsible for managing HBC's programs connected with the company's sponsorship of VANOC, says of the company's in-store Olympic boutiques, "Our intention is to sell Olympic products 12 months of the year," says Moore. "There will be a need for new products and clothing for the boutiques for the next six years." The sponsorship agreement expires at the end of 2012. The boutiques, currently selling clothing connected with the Team Canada 2006 line, are located in about 500 Hudson Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters and Fields stores in Canada. They first opened generally in November, to take advantage of the year-end holiday season, although a few pilot shelves were selling a limited range of merchandise in a few stores starting last June. To become HBC vendors, companies must corporate standards and pass an HBC audit to satisfy ethical-sourcing requirements. Contact Lori Ronald, Assistant General Manager for HBC's Olympic merchandise program, at (+1) 905-792-6424.

WASHINGTON STATE TRADE FAIR HYPES 2010 CONNECTION TO GLOBE 2006 CONFERENCE
The concept of linking the Vancouver 2010 Olympics to business being used as a marketing tool by organizers of the Washington State International Trade Fair, which is pushing the US state's business people to attend the Globe 2006 Conference scheduled for March 29 to 31 at Vancouver's Trade and Convention Centre. "Globe 2006 and its relationship to the 2010 event caught the attention of our board early on," said Robin Cheung, executive director the Trade Fair, a non profit organization founded to assist Washington companies increase revenues through export dollars. Cheung views Globe 2006 as Washington State's best opportunity to showcase the goods and services businesses can offer in support of the 2010 Winter Olympics. "Business should choose this opportunity to expose themselves to British Columbia businesses and to take advantage of the Winter Games." Cheung says the Trade Fair will sponsor one of the largest custom-designed pavilions at Globe 2006. Both the Canadian Consul General's office and the Governor Christine Gregoire's Olympics Task Force plan to invite Linda Coady, Vice President, Sustainability for VANOC to Seattle to talk about opportunities for business. Only one event at Globe 2006 is focused on Olympic sustainability topics, and that's mid-afternoon on the last day. Coady is on the Globe 2006 preliminary speaker's list and so is Dave Rudberg, General Manager of Olympic Operations, for the City of Vancouver, and Ian Smith, the City of Vancouver's Manager of Development for the Vancouver Olympic Village.

VANOC CURLING VENUE CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE REMAINS FIRM
The City of Vancouver and VANOC, which are working together to build the 2010 curling complex in conjunction with a large new swimming pool, confirm that the planned construction schedule for the C$37 million project hasn't changed significantly from its original projections. It will be built in two phases. The Hillcrest Curling Venue, which was budgeted in 2002 by VANOC to cost about C$16.6 million, and the Percy Norman Aquatic Centre, which the Parks Board budgeted in 2005 at C$16.7 million will be build in Phase 1, with procurement starting in July and the project due to be commissioned and completed by November, 2008. Phase 2 involves a job valued at C$4.2 million in 2002 dollars to convert the Curling Venue into its legacy configuration -- which will include a library and a community centre. That work - to start in March 2010, shortly after 2010 Olympics conclude -- is to take about nine months to complete.

RESOURCES

Globe 2006 info:
www.globe2006.com/

The Washington State Trade Fair pavilion info:
www.thetradefair.org

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on January 2, 2006

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