Morgan:News:2010:Bronze Edition: January 2006

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Morgan:News:Bronze:Service is published regularly, but the articles are delayed by at least three months to protect our subscribers. For timely news that comes to you, please subscribe to our Gold or Silver service at Morgan:News:2010. Bronze is free for the use of news services and for non-commercial public use under conditions described at: Morgan:News:2010:Bronze (There is a nominal charge for certain commercial uses, as described there.) You can use Google to search the site, simply add “site:morgan-news.com” after your search terms.

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, Ki