Morgan:News:2010:Bronze Edition

Wednesday, May 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| #1702
PARK CITY BUSINESS EXECUTIVE OFFERS ADVICE AND OBSERVATIONS FOR BUSINESS ABOUT WINTER GAMES


Bill Malone, the executive director of the Park City, Utah, Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau has offered a lot of advice to businesses in Vancouver and Whistler to help them take advantage of the 2010 Winter Games.

Malone is in British Columbia on a province-wide speaking tour arranged by 2010 Legacies Now and sponsored by RBC Financial Group, which also sponsors the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC). Malone's Chamber has about 850 business members.

Malone says "there's no handbook on how to do an Olympics," and each one is unique, but there are a lot of common features that range from the kinds of businesses that do well -- and don't -- during a Winter Games, to the characteristics of the major groups of people who come to a host city.

Park City, population 9,000 with a total of about 25,000 in the neighbouring region and three ski resorts, hosted 23 of the medal events during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, so some of his comments apply specifically to a community that's similar to Whistler, while the rest of his comments apply to any venue community, such as Vancouver, Whistler, West Vancouver and Richmond.

Malone said Park City discovered that it needed to develop "a seamless visitor information service." He added, "We had to partner with everybody, government, the organizers, businesses, to ensure that happened."

Malone says Winter Olympic "customers" were different from the community's regular winter clientele. "They were more akin to Superbowl or US Open customers in terms of their focus. They are extremely focused towards the event. They want to go to the events, and be a part of that celebration. The bulk of their spending while they were there is on lodging, food and souvenirs." Malone said the Chamber predicted the city's main streets would get about 15,000 additional visitors during the Games, but the number of those who showed up was 27,000. "We conducted surveys on those guests, asking them where they came from, opinions on their experience, and whether they would return."

He says that a significant number of the guests were customers of Olympic sponsors or guests of related corporations or organizations that use the Games "as a reward or entertainment device." But, he says, the concept wasn't limited to organizations close to the Games. "There were many companies from around the country, and the world -- as well as local companies -- that used the Games as their opportunity to reward loyal customers and to entice new business." In addition, he said, a lot of companies came to Park City to set up hospitality areas for their customers and clients, or prospects, and ensured there were lots of photo opportunities for those attending.

Research from other Olympic Games showed the Park City Chamber that regular customers of the town, he said, were likely to become "quite hesitant" to pursue their usual activities and business as the Games drew near, "We had to work to ensure they were not forgotten... and to talk about some of the perceptions they had about crowds, pricing, construction and skiing access. For instance, the actual skiing terrain that was locked up during that winter with the Games was only 2% of what was available. We had a hard time sending the message out that 98% of the skiing terrain was still available, and that people could still come to the city and go skiing as usual during the Olympics."

He also said property owners would feel they had gold mines, "but there really is a limited time block of opportunity to lease out space."

A lesson the Chamber, and Park City, learned was that they were wrong to believe that corporate sponsors would pick up a lot of the costs of various ideas to help host the Games. "There were companies that had spent a lot of dollars to acquire those Olympic rings [through sponsorship], but their stock prices, because of economic conditions, prevented them from spending a lot of money activating those rings." He noted that the 2002 Games took place during a snap recession that occurred following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington as a mitigating factor.

Malone says his organization also learned that "tickets for the Games would be everywhere. We wanted to work, in terms of helping [Games organizers] to sell tickets, but the reality is that tickets were available and we could tell people to come to the Games without buying tickets in advance, and they'll still have a good time."

He said the Chamber did 15 months of monthly membership meetings in advance of the Games to talk about issues such as transportation, athletes, Olympic-pin trading, the Cultural Olympiad opportunities and business opportunities. A 60-page "Park City Survival Guide" was also produced for the business community for use as the Games neared and ran. "It talked about everything from the Games, to tickets, to services such as trash pick-up and where Fedex boxes were delivered, celebrations, zones and times, transportation issues."

Malone said the Chamber also had to work quite hard to lower the expectations of business people who felt there were "going to be some automatic successes to their business with the Olympics." Malone says it was Salt Lake's experience that the number of spectators that arrive for the Games doesn't start off strong and stay steady until the end, it starts slow and builds towards the end of the two weeks, whether it is the Olympics or the Paralympics.

He also said that hosting World Cup competitions in the period leading up to the Games was a "a lot of fun" but, more importantly, it gave all kinds of businesses a chance to practice for what the time of the Games would be like. "You get to see the same athletes as you see during the Olympics, and you work with [the representatives of their] countries and their teams in the couple of years leading up to the Games."

Malone says that countdown opportunities -- such as 1,000 days out, one-year-out, or 100-days-out -- were used by a wide range of businesses, and there was a publicly available countdown clock that helped people be aware of the time remaining. "But," he added, "When it got to be the last 100 days, I used to curse that clock when I got to work because of all the pressure it put on us."

Malone says it was also useful to adjust marketing and labour budgets in the years leading up to the Games to set aside funds for celebrations or related activities, as well as to do post-Games marketing. "This isn't just for the public sector, but for the private sector as well. Make sure those dollars are there to carry you through, depending on the type of business you're in, during that time frame."

The Park City Chamber also worked to talk with its corporate members about its expectations for lodging, retail, dining, skiing and unsold real estate. "There are certain walls, in certain industries, that are raised during the time leading up to and during the Olympics. The real estate industry was one of these. Real estate skyrocketed after the Games, but in the period of time leading up to the Games and during them, is not the time to be showing properties, because there's a lot of customer trepidation whether the pricing was realistic. Everyone found out that the prices were realistic, but it took a bit of time for that confidence to kick in."

Among the types of businesses that boomed during the lead-up and after the Olympics, he said, were scaffolding companies. The 2002 Olympics needed lots of scaffolding to build additional seating and bleachers, and in one case, it was the largest such bleacher ever built to that time. The Games had about half a million visitors, accounting for about US$35 million in ticket sales for events. As a result, he said, "These scaffolding structures were between 11 and 12 storeys tall." But, he noted, there was no one firm that was big enough to do the job; instead, three firms had to work togeter to do the jobs required.

Another type of business that swelled involved firms that put up lighting for a lot of the buildings in Park City. "It was something that was suggested to us by NBC," the American television network that was a Games broadcaster, and will be in 2010.

There were also some oddball hits: in the cold mountainous air of the resort city during the Games, a company that offered "warming pits" -- a modern, attractive design that allowed people to have a safe fire on the street to warm themselves -- proved to be extremely popular with spectators, and, Malone said, "they were all over town." So, too, he said were big-screen TVs in various public locations, which were first used during the Sydney, Australia, Summer Games two years earlier. Also popular were "warming rooms" offered by a local beer company in various locations, and "bubble hockey" games that were set up in public areas. Monster.com, the Internet job-finding website firm, set up a snow maze. "We learned our lesson: guests need to go inside to warm up. We thought we could do a lot of functions outdoors, like serving food, but they weren't popular. People were outside for long periods of time, and they wanted to come inside to eat."

Even Park City itself found that it was lucrative to help out various companies. For instance, he said, the public library was rented to Team Norway. "It was a nice, healthy cheque that came from the country of Norway to our city government." Other oddities: some hotel lobbies were used by TV broadcasters to host national news casts or personality shows for various broadcasters, including NBC.

Another aspect of the Games themselves is that it's widely understood by the population that it's a big party. "There's a lot of celebratory activity that takes place, some of it spontaneous, some of it corporate." He noted later, as well, "There's all kinds of entertainment available." Nightlife, he said, was successful. "A lot of the people who come to the Games are single or couples, and they want to go out and celebrate, to party, to go to bars or lounges. That was really popular with the build-up crew [before the Games] and, surprisingly, with law enforcement personnel as well."

And, he also pointed out, that pin trading "was huge" in Salt Lake City. "It became kind of the currency of the Games." One of the international Olympic sponsors, Coca-Cola, was heavily involved in pin trading. But, he said, Coca-Cola also set up a radio station, where broadcasters from around the world who were attending the Games, were invited to televise themselves in their native languages.

Organizers also set up what Malone called "capture lots" -- centralized areas where people could congregate to catch various types of public transportation. VANOC is in the process now of completing a study into various types of transportation and parking areas around various venues. A "Know Before You Go" centre was also set up to help people learn about the best way to get to and from an event in advance to reduce traffic congestion.

Malone advised businesses to analyze their physical location and their proximity to venues or routes leading between venues, to decide whether the business' products or services is a match to what suppliers or sponsors to the Games need, as well as what the organizing committee needs. "I also suggest looking at scheduled events and decide how you need to adjust your operations. Learn about transportation, road closures, security issues, Guage the amount of excitment among your staff about the Games, and budget stocks and schedule staff accordingly. We found it was hard, particularly for hospitality businesses, to keep staff. There are lots of temptations out there for short-term opportunities, sometimes at higher pay, by sponsors or other companies coming into town and setting up hospitality areas. Work to develop bonus systems for your staff."

Malone said that retail spending the Park City was up 19% during the quarter in which the 2002 Games were held compared with the same quarter the previous year. "There was a lot sold in the area of souvenirs and Olympics merchandise -- there's a wide variety of products available with Olympic branding, with a lot of price ranges -- so it was important for retail stores in the City to find products that would resonate with their customers." Dining revenues were up 15%. "A lot of the dining opportunities came to the higher-end restaurants because of sponsors and corporations would reserve those types of restaurants for their VIPs or reserved them for private parties or functions." However, he said, the rest of the guests, and the usual public, preferred moderately priced food and restaurants.

Malone said that while spending overall was up, the increases happened in specific types of businesses, and at specific times. "It was based on the people who were in town. A lot of the build-up crews liked moderately priced food and pubs. Those types of things did really well. The higher-end restaurants, in the time preceding the Games, did not do nearly as well. Catering did extremely well; so did dry cleaners. Some of these people are there for extended periods of time and they need those support services. Decorations companies, equipment rentals, rental furniture. Local entertainers and artists capitalized off the event as well, such as performing on stage, as well as providing entertainment at private corporate functions. Private transit companies, such as taxi firms, did well, particuarly because people were being urged to take transportation and not deal with parking. Doctors and nurses also found opportunities, working with teams." A US$3 million contract was reached between the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee and porta-john businesses to provide services, but they had to work with each other to do that, because no one firm was large enough to handle the demands.

Service companies -- florists, banks, realtors, insurance companies and the like -- needed to adjust operations. "They needed to keep in mind event days and any staff holidays that fall within the period of the Games." Florists, he said, did "a phenomenal business", but not just for ceremonies, but to corporate sponsors and companies with hospitality suites.

In the long-term after the Games, visitor levels to Park City in the past three years has grown 47%, from 1.1 million skier days, to 1.7 million, while visitor nights has increased 2.7 million to 3.5 million. Restaurants and dining revenues have grown 34% "To me," Malone said, "these are clear indications of the popularity of our destinations have been elevated since the Games. The Olympics were, in some respects, a giant Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. We're seeing great growth from international business. The Olympics leaves behind a cachet. There was a lot of confidence that was built into the community that came from hosting those Games. Community confidence was a tremendous legacy for us, because if you can do the Games, you can do almost anything."


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



Morgan:News:2010 |Business, VANOC, IOC| #1701
BELL CHOOSES VANOC DIRECTOR CROOKS TO HEAD UP NEW CORPORATE MENTORING PROGRAM


Bell Canada, the largest sponsor of the 2010 Winter Olympics, has chosen a member of the organizing committee's Board of Directors to be part of a group of Canadian Olympic athletes to be mentored by Bell executives.

Mary O'Hara, Bell's vice-president of People Development, said today that Charmaine Crooks, a five-time Olympian who lives in North Vancouver, will be Program Mentor of the new Bell Champions project, and Crooks confirmed that she is joining Bell. Under the program, Bell is providing Crooks and eight other Olympians participation in a mentoring program, which aims to help athletes move from careers in sport to careers in business. The athletes are matched with executive mentors with corresponding strengths.

This program, according to the company, "offers diverse opportunities for mentoring and knowledge-sharing, ranging from general business acumen and leadership to technology and telecommunications." The company also thinks that its executives, as mentors, "will also benefit from their exposure to athletes accustomed to winning in high performance and highly competitive environments." The athletes will speak to Bell staff in what the company calls "motivational sessions" and externally on behalf of Bell to community groups, sharing their experiences.

"Since joining the company," says Crooks in a prepared statement, "I have been inspired by the drive and commitment of the Bell employees with whom I've had the opportunity to work closely. These attributes are strongly aligned with the values of the Olympic Movement. I believe that this alliance between the Bell Champions and Bell employees will go a long way to demonstrate that the characteristics required to excel in sports are the same as the ones required to excel in business. I also believe that athletes across Canada will benefit greatly from the professional insight that Bell's Athlete and Executive Mentor Program will provide."

Other winter athletes in the nine-member group to be mentored are speedskaters Clara Hughes of Glenn Sutton, Quebec and Amanda Overland of Montreal, and freestyle skier Steve Omischl of Kelowna, BC. There are also five Olympians from summer Games: Alexandre Despatie of Laval, Quebec and wheelchair athlete Chantal Petitclerc, both of Montreal; figure skater Joannie Rochette of Ile Dupas, Quebec; Kyle Shewfelt, an artistic gymnast of Calgary, Alberta; and Burlington, Ontario's, Adam van Koeverden, a canoeist and kayaker.

Bell, describing the backgrounds of each athlete, noted Crooks' service on two of the International Olympic Committee's Commissions, one for the Press and one for Athletes as a representative of the World Olympians Association, but did not mention her connection to the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games,

It said. however, that its program was connected with the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee, not with VANOC. Crooks is one of the COC's seven representatives on the 20-member VANOC Board.


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

Tuesday, May 30, 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 |Moguls| #1700

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

WILSON NAMED FEDERAL OPPOSITION CRITIC FOR 2010 GAMES
  • The federal opposition Liberal Party has named Blair Wilson, who represents West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast, as its new critic for the two portfolios of Sport and the Vancouver Olympics, replacing former cabinet minister Hedy Fry, who continues to be the Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Centre. Fry is one of a number of candidates running for the job of leader of the Liberal Party. The appointment was one of several that occurred this morning in Ottawa. Six of the competition venues for the 2010 Games are in the riding represented by Wilson. Wilson's first comment as the new critic was to call upon the federal Conservative government to approve the C$55 million requested by VANOC last November to help cover the cost of construction inflation. The BC government is awaiting confirmation of the federal funding before increasing its own funding by an equivalent amount.

    FURLONG URGES VANCOUVER BUSINESS TO CONSIDER POSITIVE 2010 SPECTATOR EXPERIENCE
  • VANOC CEO John Furlong, interviewed for the latest issue of the newsletter published by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, the Torino Olympics showed VANOC "a greater consideration of the spectator experience." Furlong says, "The spectators' experience, from the moment they buy their ticket to the moment they arrive home [after] the event, should be a seamless, memorable experience that entertains and inspires." Furlong says VANOC needs business in Vancouver "to step up to meet the challenge." He adds, "Think about what we'll need, what they [spectators] will need. Think about how your business can contribute and help deliver top-notch goods and services for the Games that will support the organizing committee; that will... help enhance a spectators' experience of the our Games in 2010. Games success is a job for all of us, not just for a few of us." Furlong said later in the article that, "A great legacy of these games will be the partnerships left behind that were needed to overcome the immense challenges to stage great Games."

    ROADBLOCKS TO C$80-MILLION AQUARIUM UPGRADE BEFORE 2010 CLEARED AWAY
  • The Vancouver Parks Board, in a 4-2 vote last night, cleared away earlier requirements for two public referenda before the Vancouver Aquarium could move on an C$80-million expansion timed to be in place by the 2010 Olympics to take advantage of government project funding. The timing of the referenda could have delayed the project sufficiently to miss the funding window. The plans of the Aquarium, which is located in Stanley Park well away from any Olympic venue, involves increasing its use of parks property by 30% and includes a new sea otter pool, an underwater viewing area for sea lions, a redeveloped dolphin facility and more dolphins. Aquarium president, John Nightingale, told reporters after the vote, "Our discussions with government clearly point out that, like a lot of things in Vancouver, 2010 is a magic date that everyone is working to." The Aquarium is a popular location for tourists, and tourism is expected to be up substantially before, during and after the 2010 Games.


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #1699
    GREATER VANCOUVER ANTI-FRAUD AGENCIES WARN OF "UNETHICAL" WEBSITE HYPING "PRE-OLYMPIC TRANSPORTATION EXHIBITION"


    The Better Business Bureau of Mainland BC (BBB), and the BC Crime Prevention Association, are warning businesses and consumers to be alert for unethical companies that advertise questionable trade show events, and particularly one that is using the 2010 Olympics as a hook.

    An international association was sent an unsolicited e-mail promoting a "pre-Olympic transportation exhibition" called Transpo Expo, according to BBB President, Sheila Charneski. The e-mail and a related website describe the event as a huge transportation trade show and networking event to prepare for the Olympics, and it claimed sponsorship from many large corporations, none of whom are connected with the 2010 Games or aware of the website's promotion. A booth for this event, says the website, can cost up to $6,000.

    The website says that the trade show will be held on January 16, 17, & 18, 2007. Charneski says it was originally advertised as being at the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre. The website now states that the trade show is at the Tradex Convention Centre in Abbotsford. However, when the BBB contacted both venues, it was told the event is not being held at either location, and that they both have other events booked for the advertised dates. As well, companies whose logos appear on the Transpo Expo website, and which the website claims are sponsors, say they have no knowledge of the event.

    Charneski says, "Our investigations indicate that this company, at least, is operating unethically by actively soliciting business before they have a venue for the event. Obviously, the location where the event is to be held will play a big role when a business is deciding whether to participate. Do your homework first to ensure that the event is legitimate before putting any money out."

    Because Transpo Expo advertises itself as a pre-Olympic opportunity, Jeff Burton, a Fraud Prevention Liaison officer at the BC Crime Prevention Association, notes that, "The Olympics brings a wealth of opportunities to BC, but along with opportunities comes the potential for fraudsters to cash in on the Olympic name."

    The website doesn't say outright that it is involved with the Olympics, but it uses the word many times throughout the site in describing the transportation infrastructure of Vancouver, noting, for instance that the "Lions Gate bridge in beautiful British Columbia will link hundreds of thousands of Olympic visitors to Olympic sites."

    RESOURCES
    Some tips from the BBB before renting space at a trade show:

  • Check with the venue to make sure that the event has been booked there.

  • Investigate the organization that is holding the event to ensure it is reputable.

  • Find out if the event has occurred before and ask to speak to people who attended.

  • Consider paying for the event by credit card. If the services are not rendered as promised, you have recourse through your credit card provider.

  • Be wary of any websites promoting a product or service where there is no business name or address listed.

  • Ask the event organizers about any hidden or add-on costs, such as fees for electricity and Internet hookup, tables and tablecloths, and other charges that may not be included in the booth rental fees.

  • Ask to see a contract before you make any financial commitments.

    --

    Transpo Expo was the nickname of a transportation exhibition in Vancouver in the mid-80s that became Expo 86.

    RESOURCES

    Here is the website the BBB and the BC Crime Prevention Association is using as an example:
    www.transpoexpo.net


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

  • Monday, May 29, 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 |Government| #1698
    WHISTLER EXPECTED TO GIVE WHISTLER ARTS COUNCIL $100,000 TO SET UP 2010-RELATED CULTURAL OFFICE


    Whistler Municipal Council is expected to triple its annual grant to the Whistler Arts Council to C$315,000, in part so the arts group can become "the lead agency to carry out the objective of arts, culture and heritage in the Whistler 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games Strategic Plan."

    The Arts Council, a registered charity, received a grant from the municipality of C$115,000 last year but applied for $315,000 for this year, retroactive to January 1, an increase of $200,000. Half of that increase, C$100,000 is coming from Whistler's share of the BC government's Hotel tax and it's to be used for the specific purpose of creating an “Office of Cultural Coordination” to carry out the 2010 responsibilities. In addition, C$40,000 is coming from reductions to the annual budgets of the Whistler Museum and the Whistler Animals Galore, a non-profit society that deals with lost, unwanted and homeless animals in the Sea-to-Sky corridor between Whistler and Mt. Currie. The balance is to come from general revenue.

    The Arts Council also produces a number of festivals, events and programs throughout the year. These include: Celebration 2010 and the Whistler Business & the Arts Awards, as well as Performance Series, Children's Art Festival, Bizarre Bazaar, ArtWalk, the Whistler Arts Festival, ARTrageous and Missoula Children's Theatre. It also provides student art awards and bursaries, and works on projects with other event producers to integrate arts programming.


    Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 29, 2006



    Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1697
    BC OPENS POSSIBILITY FOR WHISTLER TO SQUEEZE MORE FROM HOTEL TAXES TO PAY FOR 2010-RELATED PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS


    The BC government has made it possible to increase the amount of money Whistler can obtain from the government's hotel tax on the rooms in Whistler, and that will make it easier for the mountain municipality to pay for 2010-related projects over the next few years.

    BC premier Gordon Campbell announced Saturday in Invermere that resort municipalities, including Whistler, will be eligible to work out specific plans with the government to receive more than the 1/5th of the 10% hotel tax they are now getting. Whistler still has to work out the deal with Victoria, but whatever the increase, it is expected to reduce the impact of several 2010 projects on Whistler's property taxpayers.

    Campbell, speaking at the B.C. Chamber of Commerce's annual general meeting in Invermere, in BC's Kootenays region, said, "This new revenue-sharing strategy is a direct result of the work done by the B.C. Resort Task Force in consulting with resort communities and operators. It's one more tool we can give resort communities to unleash their vision for becoming world-class tourism destinations."

    About a quarter of the C$3 million available before the announcement to Whistler from BC's hotel tax, C$772,500 this year alone, was expected to pay for several Olympic-related projects -- C$250,000 per year -- toward the Games Office as well. The hotel tax component is also to cover 2010 celebrations and other Olympic related event support. The information came from Whistler's five-year financial plan, which was made public earlier this year.

    RESOURCES

    To be eligible for the hotel-tax revenue sharing, municipalities must have economies that are strongly oriented to tourism, which means that the per capita amount of tourist-based accommodation must be 2.5 times the provincial average and the total amount should be at least two-thirds of the average. A community is also eligible if they are defined as a "mountain resort municipality" under the Mountain Resort Associations Act. Communities must take advantage of their current authority to impose an additional two per cent hotel room tax and enter into a five-year results-based tourism development agreement that sets out what will be achieved through revenue sharing.

    --

    The BC government says 13 municipalities are eligible to enter into agreements for the increased revenue-sharing. They include: Fernie, Golden, Harrison Hot Springs, Invermere, Kimberley, Osoyoos, Radium Hot Springs, Revelstoke, Rossland, Tofino, Ucluelet, Valemount and Whistler.

    --

    Here is how staff in Whistler expect Council will allot expenditures, per the five-year plan, from 2006 to 2009 inclusive that include the hotel-tax revenue. The plan is updated annually, so these numbers are likely to be updated annually as well.

  • Over the five years, the 2010 Games Office is expected to cost about C$2.5 million in total, with C$1 million of that coming from the hotel tax, and the balance from Whistler's General Fund.

  • C$690,745 will go to pay for the operations of the 2010 Games office in Whistler each year, 58% of the money will from Whistler's General Fund, and 42% from the hotel tax.

  • C$50,000 will be set aside each year to support 2010 celebrations, the funding to be covered entirely by hotel-tax revenue.

  • C$140,000 is being budgeted each year to pay for support of unspecified "other" 2010-related events, also covered by the hotel tax.

  • C$32,000 was spent on Whistler's formal visit to Torino for the 2006 Winter Games. That was already known, and there was quite a bit of debate about it. But the five-year plan also shows that the municipality spent an additional C$125,000 this year in paying for various activities and events and related support at BC/Canada House in Torino. These expenditures, of course, will not be repeated. The money for the spending came from the hotel-tax revenue.

  • The plan includes contributions -- C$225,000 each year -- to an "event reserve" to help pay for expenditures expected around the Olympics and Paralympics in the first part of 2010. The reserve was begun a couple of years ago, and it is expected to be about C$1.12 million by the end of 2006. The plan projects the reserve will have C$2.25 million in it by the end of 2009. The reserve amount is to be paid for from the hotel tax.


    Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 29, 2006



    Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1696
    COMMUNICATIONS, FINANCIAL SECTIONS TO BE STRENTHENED THIS SUMMER


    The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) continues to beef up its communications and financial functions.

    Over the next few weeks, it intends to hire:

  • A Manager of Internal Communications - The job's primary roles include developing and managing how VANOC's strategic communications plan is implemented for its Internal Communications programs, and manage all internal communications programs. The person hired will also work with VANOC's Human Resources department to ensure internal-communications programs synchronize with HR goals and objectives, work with various departments to ensure they're messages make it into the strategic internal communications plan and work with VANOC's Creative Brand & Services group "to infuse VANOC brand, culture, and personality" into internal-communications projects and activities. The job will also require the person to implement significant employee events, maintain VANOC's Corporate Calendar of Events, and make sure all the rest of VANOC's communications groups -- Media Relations, Community Relations, Internet and Editorial Services -- are aware of internal-communications programs.

  • A Communications Co-ordinator - The job's major roles involved dealing with the communications requirements of specific assigned "functional business units", as VANOC calls them, acting as their “account manager” within the Communications department, but the person will also be working with VANOC's external stakeholders, including sponsors and the governments with which it works. They'll also handle overflow work from the Media Relations department, writing draft news releases, background documents and communications briefs, do speech writing, and also do overflow work for Event Management, such as writing event briefs, planning technical and logistical requirements, working with contractors and suppliers for the events, do necessary advance work, even brief executives on environmental issues, risks and details.

  • An Editorial Services Specialist - This person will be helping to write, edit and produce newsletters, brochures, fact sheets, guides, reports, technical manuals and multi-media presentations. Sam Corea, who's head of the Editorial Services function, said recently that the Torino Olympic Organizing Committee has provided VANOC with a list of several hundred publications -- brochures, reports and the like -- that it produced during the lead-up to the Games and while they were underway earlier this year. Although not all of them will be applicable to what VANOC will be doing, planning for what is needed is underway this year.

  • A Media Relations Administrative Assistant - This person is to help the Media Relations department deal with the flood of incoming media inquiries, requests for interviews or information, and general correspondence end up in the right hands, are tracked, and properly archived. The person will also help produce, co-ordinate and distribute media materials for VANOC announcements and media events

    On the financial support side:

  • A Functional Business Manager, Finance - This person would supervise specific aspects of finance for various VANOC divisions and functions, such as forecasting operational activities, financial planning, budget management and modelling, and help VANOC people deal with project management, scheduling, risk identification and financial reporting. The person is also expected to help the functional groups deal with contracting and procurement, as those polices become more sophisticated, as well as help them draft requests for proposals and expressions of interest. VANOC says the person hired doesn't need a professional designation, such as chartered accountant, certified general accountant or certified management account designation, but it will help if they do.

  • A Manager of Financial Systems and Reporting - This job entails being responsible for VANOC's Financial Management System, administering the general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, being responsible for Operations and Venue accounting, dealing with periodic statutory filings including GST, WCB, and PST, and providing accounting support for VANOC's related entities: the 2010 Games Operating Trust, the 2010 Games Operating Trust Society, the Athletes Village Trust, and odds and ends remaining with the Bid Corporation.

  • A Cost Estimator - The job entails helping Project Managers and other people in the Project Services group research and validate costs, manage budgets and VANOC commitments, and develop forecasts and trends on multiple projects. The person will also be asked to develop cost reports, monitor construction progress, help to develop forecasts and estimates, and do cost-trending analysis. VANOC also wants the person to prepare and maintain a costing database that can be used by VANOC to prepare or validate costs.


    Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 29, 2006



    Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1695
    WINNERS OF VANOC LATEST RFPS FINALLY PUBLISHED


    The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) has released the names of companies that have won several different contracts through RFPs issued in the last few months. The values of the contracts, as per VANOC policy, were not released.

    --

    Alem International of Louisville, which is northwest of Denver, Colorado, and The Pace Group of Vancouver have won contracts to provide consulting services for the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays. The work involves preparation of what VANOC calls the "concept of operations documents" for both Relays, a technical review of the routes such as the logistical requirements, alternative methods of transportation, and development of early budgets for the run. It is also expecting to have a strategy document developed that outlines the core torch relay planning and logistical criteria, according to VANOC's objectives.

    Alem, which has about two-dozen employees, was involved in planning and implementing the 2004 Athens Olympics Torch relay, and is capable of doing all the work: company handles everything - logistics, transportation, media and broadcast operations, public relations, security and safety operations. it was also a consultant to the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan, and the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia. It conducted the torch relay for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

    The Pace Group is a special events and marketing company based in Vancouver. Managing partner Norman Stowe, in the 1980s, Norman was a senior communications executive with the Province of British Columbia. He was responsible for the day-to-day marketing, communications and public affairs of various ministries and Crown corporations, including International Trade, Transportation and Highways, Tourism, Economic Development and the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, and still has strong connections to the BC government.

    --

    Several firms have won two-year consulting contracts for various types of services connected with the development of VANOC's venues. The contact information for all the firms mentioned are in the Resources section below.

  • Temporary-seating consulting services: Nussli International of Switzerland;
  • Venue lighting: Electric Aura Lighting Design of Burnaby, a Vancouver suburb. VANOC used the company last year to help light the Imagine 2010 show, when VANOC launched the Vancouver 2010 Olympics emblem; and Justlighting of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA;
  • Venue-rigging consulting service: Muise Technical Services, Riggit Services of North Vancouver;
  • Mechanical engineering consulting services: Cobalt Engineering, Cochrane Engineering (a subsidiary of the Cochrane Group);
  • Civil engineering services: also Cochrane Engineering of Vancouver;
  • Architectural consulting: CEI Architecture Planning Interiors, PBK Architects (one of the Cochrane Group companies), both firms are headquartered in Vancouver;
  • Structural engineering consulting services: Pomeroy Consulting Engineers of Burnaby;
  • Environmental consulting: AMEC Earth & Environmental, with offices in Burnaby;
  • Geotechnical engineering consulting services: Trow Associates

    Riggit Services is also working on the expansion of the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre, where VANOC plans to host its media centre for the 2010 Games, and Marti Kulich, the executive producer of Ceremonies, Festivals and Special Events for VANOC thinks highly enough of Riggit to provide the firm with a testimonial, noting, "Riggit has become arguably the top Western Canadian supplier of rigging services, equipment and technicians. Equally adept in designing and installing the hangs for stock truss as well as unusual ‘one of a kind’ pieces, Riggit is at home both indoors and outdoors...”

    AMEC Earth and Environmental is an international consulting firm, with Greater Vancouver offices in Burnaby. It has bid before on several contracts offered by VANOC in connection with the Nordic Centre near Whistler, but other firms were awarded them.

    --

    Arcas Consulting Archeologists, Millennia Research and Golder are three firms that have won two-year contracts with VANOC to October, 2007, to provide archaeological consulting for VANOC, mostly in the Whistler area in connection with agreements VANOC reached earlier with the Squamish and Lil'wat aboriginal groups, which have interests in the land being used for VANOC's alpine venues.

    Arcas is an archeological consulting firm with aboriginal expertise based in Coquitlam, a suburb of Greater Vancouver. It has about 20 years of experience, a resource centre of about 7,000 archaeological documents, and a laboratory for dating culturally modified trees.

    Millennia Research, based in Victoria, BC, does similar work as Arcas.

    Golder & Associates has won a number of ground engineering and environmental-services contracts with VANOC and the BC government in connection with the 2010 Games.

    --

    Meanwhile, its been learned that the company that is currently building the wall that will stand behind the shooting targets for the 2010 Winter Olympics biathlon event near Whistler is Mutual Construction of Burnaby.

    RESOURCES

    Steve McCarthy,
    Chairman and CEO
    Alem International Management, Inc.
    624 South Arthur Avenue
    Louisville, Colorado, 80027
    1.303.473.1998
    www.aleminternational.com/

    Norman Stowe,
    Managing Partner
    The Pace Group
    55 Water Street, Suite 200
    Vancouver, British Columbia
    Canada V6B 1A1
    (+1) 604.689.1889
    E-mail: nstowe@pacegroup.com
    www.pacegroup.com

    ==

    Dr. Arnoud Stryd,
    President
    Arcas Consulting
    55A Fawcett Rd.
    Coquitlam, B.C.
    Canada V3K 6V2
    604.526.2456
    www.arcas.shawbiz.ca/

    --

    Morley Eldridge
    President
    Millennia Research
    510 Alpha Street
    Victoria, British Columbia
    V8Z 1B2
    (+1) 250.360.0919
    www.millennia-research.com/

    --

    Ateesh Roop
    Golder & Associates
    Greater Vancouver Office
    500 - 4260 Still Creek Drive
    Burnaby, British Columbia
    V5C 6C6
    Phone Number:
    [+1] 604.296.4200
    <aroop@golder.com>

    ==

    Nussli International, Switzerland

    English version of its website:
    www.nussli.ch/html/en/home/index_en.asp

    --

    Robert Sondergaard
    Electric Aura Lighting Design
    8760 Forest Grove Drive - Unit 64
    Burnaby, BC Canada V5A 4C9
    Tel: (+1) 604-728-7919
    Fax: (+1) 604-648-9161
    <rob@electricaura.net>
    www.electricaura.net

    --

    Just Lighting
    2431 Granada Bluff Ct.
    Las Vegas, NV 89135
    Phone: (+1) 619.249.7336
    Fax: (+1) 866-364-1248
    www.justlighting.com

    --

    Riggit Services Inc.
    415 Tempe Crescent
    North Vancouver, BC, V7N 1E7
    Canada
    Phone: (+1) 604.696.1481
    Fax: (+1)604-987-7632
    www.riggit.com
    --

    Edward Smith
    Managing Partner
    Cobalt Engineering
    305-625 Howe Street
    Vancouver, B.C. V6C 2T6, Canada
    Phone: (+1) 604.687.1800
    Fax: (+1) 604.687.1802
    www.cobaltengineering.com

    --

    Cochrane Group:
    - Cochrane Engineering:
    www.cochrane-group.ca/sites/cochrane/index.html
    - PBK Architects:
    www.pbkarchitectsinc.com/

    Vancouver Head Office address:
    #200 - 1985 West Broadway
    Vancouver, BC V6J 4Y3 Canada
    telephone: (+1) 604.736.5329
    fax: (+1) 604-736-1519

    PBK: Elisa Brandts, President & Managing Principal

    --

    CEI Architecture
    300 - 131 Water Street
    Vancouver BC V6B 4M3 Canada
    Phone: (+1) 604.687.1898
    www.ceiarchitecture.com

    --

    John Wallace, P.Eng.,
    President
    Pomeroy Consulting Engineers
    #400 - 6450 Roberts Street
    Burnaby, British Columbia V5G 4E1
    Phone: (+1) 604.294.5800
    Fax: (+1) 604-294-0400
    www.pomeroy.ca

    --

    AMEC
    Earth & Environmental Division
    2227 Douglas Road
    Burnaby, BC V5C 5A9 Canada
    Phone: (+1) 604.294.3811
    Fax: (+1) 604.294.4664
    www.amec.com

    --

    Sasha Milovic, P.Eng.
    Trow Associates
    7025 Greenwood Street,
    Burnaby, BC V5A 1X7
    Phone: (+1) 604.874.1245
    Fax: (+1) 604-874-2358
    www.trow.com

    ==

    Chris Hardwick,
    Chief Executive Officer
    Mutual Construction (2000) Ltd.
    202 – 545 Clyde Avenue
    West Vancouver BC V7T 1C5
    Phone (+1) 604.925.2929
    Fax (+1) 604-925-8430


    Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 29, 2006



    Morgan:News:2010 |IOC, Business| #1694
    EIGHT SCHOOLS AWARDED SPORTS EQUIPMENT FOR TAKING PART IN COC PROGRAM OFFERED BY BANK SPONSOR


    The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and its major sponsor, the RBC Financial Group, which is also sponsoring the 2010 Olympics, today announced the eight Canadian schools selected at random as the grand prize winners of the Canadian Olympic School Program.

    The program, in its 19th year, is part of RBC's Olympic sponsorship activation plans for the COC sponsorship, not the VANOC sponsorship.

    Catherine Crozier, the managing director of Sponsorship Marketing for RBC, said, "...We hope that this program educates youth on the merits of sport in Canada, while also providing them with an opportunity to participate in, and encourage, healthy, active lifestyles."

    Each winning school receives an Olympic-themed sports kit, which RBC funded. The kit includes sports equipment, such as basketballs, soccer and volleyballs, hockey sticks, pucks and the like. There are also in the kit 12 gold medals, 12 scrimmage vests and an Olympic Games banner.

    COC Chief Executive Officer Chris Rudge noted that, "In 2005-06, more than 10,000 teachers from across Canada participated in the program. Together with RBC, we look forward to... educating more students on the Olympic values and the benefits of physical fitness."

    The Canadian Olympic School program, also funded by RBC, is a free online teacher resource that offers information about the Olympic Games and Canadian athletes to help educate, motivate and inspire students.

    It was developed with teachers from across Canada, and is designed to promote Olympic values and the importance of health and physical activity.

    The Canadian Olympic School Program links stories about Canadian athletes from such disciplines as freestyle skiing, ice hockey and snowboarding into lesson plans and classroom-ready activities dealing with language, mathematics, health and physical education for students in Grades 4 to 6.

    This year's program encouraged children to embrace Olympic themes while being excited about the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy.

    RESOURCES

    Here are the schools that were awarded the grand prize, which was done randomly from teachers who submitted one of their Olympic-related activities from the RBC program:

    2005-2006 Canadian Olympic School Program Grand Prize Winners


    School Teacher Grade City


    Ranch Park Elementary
    School Dana Robb 5 Coquitlam, B.C.


    Bisset Elementary
    School Terri Elliott 5/6 Edmonton, Alta.


    Pinewood Public
    School Doris Boyd 5 Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

    Holy Family Catholic
    School Frank Greco 6 London, Ont.

    St. Monica Catholic
    School Samantha Macdonald 6 Toronto, Ont.

    Fern Hill School
    of Ottawa Richard Forsyth 6 Ottawa, Ont.

    Ecole Sts-Martyrs
    Canadiens Caroline Cyr 3 Montreal, Que.

    New Germany Elementary
    School Dawn Henderson 6 New Germany, N.S.



    Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 29, 2006

  • Friday, May 26, 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| #1693
    MARKETING INDUSTRY JOURNAL EDITOR SAYS VANOC'S DIRECTOR OF CEREMONIES "SHOULD HAVE RESIGNED, OR BEEN FIRED"


    The editor of Blitz Magazine says the Director of Ceremonies at the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) "should have resigned, or been fired" for VANOC's portion of the Closing Ceremony at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino last February.

    Louise Aird, editor of the veteran BC-based publication that's circulated every other month to 10,000 marketing-industry representatives in Canada, and a marketing expert in her own right, says she "refrained" from immediately joining "the tsunami of criticism" about Vancouver's eight-minute portion of the three-hour program, because she wanted to find out what would happen to Burke Taylor at VANOC afterwards.

    The Vancouver program was designed, in part, to invite millions of TV viewers and thousands of people who attended the ceremony, to come to Canada in 2010 to see the next Winter Olympics. It featured ice-fishing and igloo-building, among other images.

    "Burke Taylor should have resigned, or been fired," she writes in a stinging editorial in the May/June issue just published, "He's still there. Had he been working for any other company, that would not be the case."

    Aird says she tuned into the TV broadcast to watch the ceremonies "with great anticipation," knowing that Tourism Vancouver "does a terrific job of selling Vancouver worldwide" and because Taylor's previous job was as Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs at Vancouver City Hall who "knows his product inside out." But at the end of VANOC's portion, she "felt as if I'd been kicked in the stomach, and my heart ached for the hard-working professionals at Tourism Vancouver."

    Aird says there were two major marketing mistakes in the ceremony: conflicting brand images between what was suggested in the ceremony and the approach Tourism Vancouver takes in international marketing, and, as she puts it, "Forgetting what it is you're marketing. Canada is not the product, Vancouver is the product."

    And, she writes, "VANOC reps have referred to this as a 'mis-step', as if it were a typo in a print ad, but it is not something than can be dismissed with an 'oops.' This is a marketing error of colossal and damaging proportions. This absurd piece of 'marketing' was seen by 500 million people, who received inaccurate and misleading information. Produced by people who are paid with public money. Supporting an event whose success is wholly dependent on public support. And what the public got was a massive waste of money and opportunity that has left Canadians seething, and many non-Canadians who know Vancouver shaking their heads."

    Among those who criticized the broadcast was BC Premier Gordon Campbell, who said on April 3 that "When you're inviting people, you don't have to tell them this is a cold place. I think there's lots we can do, and we'll improve."


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |IOC| #1692
    WOMEN'S SKI JUMPING CLEARS MAJOR HURDLE IN BID TO JOIN 2010 OLYMPICS


    The full International Ski Federation voted Friday to accept an executive decision and add an individual event in women's ski jumping to the 2009 World Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic, a necessary prelude to the sport attaining Olympic status.

    Canada, Norway and the United States worked together to lobby representatives attending the FIS Congress in Vilamoura, Portugal. A normal-hill competition was approved for 2009. World championships are required by the International Olympic Committee before an event can be part of the Olympics. A preliminary vote of FIS delegates approved women's jumping for inclusion in the 2011 world championships, meaning it couldn't become an Olympic event until 2014. But the proposal was later revised to hold the individual event in 2009.

    For women jumpers to compete at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the sport must still be approved by the IOC at its meeting in July 2007 in Guatemala.


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1691
    WOMEN'S SKI JUMPING A STEP CLOSER FOR 2010 GAMES
  • The International Ski Federation's executive council, meeting Thursday in Portugal, endorsed a Canadian proposal to stage a women's ski-jumping world championship in 2009, and to encourage the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow the event to debut at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. The proposal goes today to the full FIS Congress, whose 100 members usually approve executive council decisions. If FIS approval is given, the International Olympic Committee will be asked in November to add the competition to the 2010 schedule in Vancouver, a move supported by that city's Olympic organizing committee. VANOC, which doesn't have women's ski-jumping on his scheduled, has noted in the past that the IOC determines what sports take place during the Games, and that the line-up for 2010 won't be finalized until 2007. The IOC, in turn, requires specific levels of support around the world for games that want to be included in any Olympics. There are 14 nations currently supporting women's ski jumping.

    VANOC REGISTERS ANOTHER BATCH OF WORD MARKS AND SLOGANS
  • VANOC has registered another batch of word marks that it wants protected in Canada, some of which are designed to held protect the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. The word marks and slogans include "Que Les Rêves Commencent" and its English equivalent "Let the Dreams Begin", "Beijing '08", "2008 Games", "Lucky Loonie", "Beijing and Beyond", "See You in Beijing", "Road to Beijing", "Beijing 2008" and "Olympic Collection". "Lucky Loonie" stems from an incident where the Canadian men's ice hockey team buried a loonie, the nickname for the Canadian dollar coin, for inspiration in the ice where the gold-medal round of hockey was to be played during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and then went on to win the game. VANOC financial sponsor RBC used the term during the 2006 Winter Olympics and the Royal Canadian Mint created a commemorative coin called the Lucky Loonie in 2004. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, the Canadian icemakers in the curling tournament buried two loonies, one at each end of the sheet — coincidentally, the Brad Gushue rink would win the gold medal there. In the same Olympics, the icemakers at the hockey tournament announced that they would not bury a loonie under the ice — coincidentally the men's team finished out of the medals. "Let the Dreams Begin" was originally the slogan of the failed New York City bid for the 2012 Olympic Games that went to London, England. In recent years, it's been used by the Special Olympics Ontario Provincial Office. (The Special Olympics is not related to VANOC or the Olympics; it focuses on sports competitions for mentally challenged people, while the Paralympics focuses on physically challenged athletes.) All of VANOC's new word marks are advertised in Vol.53 Issue 2690, the current issue, of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's gazette. It brings to 116 the number of trade marks, slogans and word marks owned by VANOC in Canada, only a fraction of which are listed on VANOC's website.

    IPC SIGNS "PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT" WITH HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL
  • The International Paralympic Committee and Handicap International have signed a long-term "partnership agreement" designed to promote "the rights and opportunities both internationally and nationally where both organizations operate." The signatories were IPC Chief Executive Officer Xavier Gonzalez and the General Director of Handicap, Jean Baptiste Richardier. The overall goals for the partnership are to increase co-operation between the IPC and HI, including their members and national offices, and share expertise of both organizations to promote the rights and opportunities for persons with a disability through sport, while adhering to the principles of sustainability. Gonzalez said: "We are particularly interested in this partnership as it will enhance the grassroots athlete development and training, as well as building capacity within National Paralympic Committees through HI's well established and trained network." Handicap International, which has an office in Montreal,, has been involved in various projects over the years that help develop Paralympic sport. For instance it provide support, training and administration, to enable delegations from Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Senegal to participate in the Athens Summer 2004 Paralympic Games. Created in 1982, it is a non-governmental organization that supports people with a disability in 60 countries. It was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for its work against land mines.

    RESOURCES

    Handicap International's main language is French; the English version of its website is somewhat limited.
    www.handicap-international.org/english/

    Canadian contact info page; its website is in French only:
    www.handicap-international.ca/default.asp?id=22&mnu=22


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1690

    Here are three moguls we ran into today:

    HIGHWAY PROTESTERS FAIL TO STRONGLY LINK OLYMPICS TO COMPLAINTS
  • The band of environmental protesters that were arrested yesterday for disobeying a court enforcement order to leave an area of West Vancouver appear to have failed to strongly link the protest to the 2010 Olympics. The protest is over a short portion of the much bigger, and long-needed expansion by the BC government to the mountainous highway that connects Vancouver and Whistler, known locally as the "Sea to Sky Highway." It's being done by the government in support of the 2010 Winter Games, but VANOC is not involved in supervising the work. Many of the protesters carried signs suggesting 2010 commitment to the environment or sustainability was suspect. However, news coverage of the arrests and the protest, which has intensified over the last month when a protest camp was set up at the base of Eagleridge Bluffs, has usually mentioned the Games in connection with the story, but it's usually well buried. News reports of the arrests were carried on all major Canadian news media, including network TV newscasts, and circulated around the world by wire services such as Associated Press, Canadian Press, Reuters, United Press and others, but they all focused on the arrests themselves and provincial government reaction to it, or commentary by government officials that were aimed at refuting comments about the environment or the environmental review process of the highway. Only one agency's story, AP's, had the Olympic link in its first paragraph. The story said, "Two dozen protesters were arrested for preventing work on the road that will carry tourists and athletes between Vancouver and Whistler during the 2010 Winter Olympics." The story didn't bother to mention that the highway will also be carrying such traffic, and a great deal more, well before the Games begin and long after they are completed, although traffic restrictions are expected to be imposed on the highway during the times when the Olympics and Paralympics are running in February and March, 2010. Stories were also carried on the Internet by the websites of various media, including MSNBC and Yahoo, virtually all of them picking up the wire stories. VANOC officials, which are known to be monitoring the public-relations aspect of the protest, declined comment about what their research revealed.

    HARPER SWITCHES FOCUS IN DISCUSSION ABOUT ADDITIONAL 2010 OLYMPIC FUNDING
  • Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper was cryptic yesterday when asked by a reporter for The Province newspaper whether the federal government would approve the C$55 million in additional capital funding requested by VANOC more than seven months ago. The BC government has approved an equal amount conditional on the federal government doing the same. Harper, however, said "Overruns per se are not the responsibility of the federal government, but there certainly are other elements in the agreements where we can be flexible and try and deal with some of the increased costs." He did not elaborate.

    WASHINGTON STATE FETES WINTER OLYMPIANS
  • Washington State governor Chris Gregoire held a reception last night in the state capital of Olympia for the state's Torino Winter Olympic athletes, one of a series of such events that have been held by various politicians in Canada and the U.S. following the Games. "Our feeling here is that you're all gold to us," she said." Gold-medal short-track speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno, who has reportedly been thinking about retiring, said as he arrived at the reception that the lure of the 2010 Winter Games is strong for him, and he may skate. "I don't know yet," Ohno said. "Competing in the Olympics in our own back yard would be incredible." However, he added, "Short track is still obscure -- still amateur. It must be pumped up in the media and on television." Such receptions have been held by the Canadian federal government in Ottawa and the American government in Washington, DC, in recent weeks.


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1689
    VANCOUVER, CMHC REACH 'BEST PRACTICES' DEAL TO HELP MAKE SOUTHEAST FALSE CREEK 'SUSTAINABLE'


    The City of Vancouver and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding today as part of the effort to encourage sustainable-housing practices at the City-owned Southeast False Creek development. CMHC describes itself as "Canada's national housing agency."

    The core of the area is the 2010 Olympic Village, which is to be turned into residential apartments after the Games conclude in March, 2010. it's a 32-hectare (79-acre) site of City-owned and privately-owned land near downtown Vancouver, which is to be redeveloped as a mixed-use "sustainable" community. The City intends to develop the area over the years, starting with the Village, until about 2018. By that point, it's expected to house between 12,000 and 16,000 people.

    CMHC says it will lend its expertise to the Southeast False Creek design process, providing technical assistance and best-practices research. CMHC will also "support the design and construction of a net-zero, energy-healthy housing project, a state-of-the-art energy and resource-efficient building that produces as much or more energy as it consumes on an annual basis."

    CMHC has also agreed to document the Southeast False Creek development along the way, turning the results into a case study that will serve as a blueprint for sustainable-community design.

    Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan, calling the area "a landmark development, added, "We're looking forward to this partnership as we strive to bring the ambitious sustainability vision for Southeast False Creek to reality."

    Nelson Merizzi, General Manager for B.C. of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says, "Our priority is to create healthy housing and sustainable communities across Canada, and this agreement is a significant milestone in our push towards that goal."

    RESOURCES

    Rob Bennett
    Manager, Sustainable Development Initiatives,
    Sustainability Group
    City of Vancouver
    (+1) 604.871.6485

    CMHC's Housing Industry home page
    www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/inpr/


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #1688
    PRE-TORINO SURVEY OFFERS CONSUMER MARKET RESEARCH ON WINTER OLYNPIC-RELATED SNOW SPORTS


    A survey conducted by SnowSports Industries America (SIA) shortly before the Torino Winter Games began last February discovered that nearly two-thirds of the American respondents believed new technology in equipment introduced at the Olympics by athletes could help the public in the future as a winter-sports participant.

    In addition, it was reported that 76% of respondents planned to ski, snowboard or snowshoe after the Olympics ended.

    The survey also posed questions on television viewing plans for the Olympics. It reported that the majority of winter-sports participants (97%) planned to watch at least some of the television coverage surrounding the Torino Winter Olympics games. Overall, the top sports, which three quarters planned to watch, were ski jumping (79%), freestyle skiing (77%), snowboarding (74%), and alpine skiing (73%). Only 1% of participants planned to attend the Games in Torino, Italy.

    While snow-sports participants, in general, were enthusiastic about watching the Winter Olympic Games, different groups plan to watch different sports. Survey respondents were asked about all 15 Winter Olympic sports, but the results focused only on snow sports. It showed:

  • The sport with the biggest draw for men was alpine skiing (80%) and for women, figure skating (82%).

  • The younger age group 16 to 24 was enthusiastic about watching snowboarding (83%) and skiing jumping (80%).

  • Respondents aged 45 or more said they would be watching ski jumping (83%) and alpine skiing (82%).

  • The eastern (83%) and middle (72%) regions of the United States were drawn to ski jumping while the west planned to watch ski jumping (82%), freestyle skiing (82%), and snowboarding (82%).

  • Those with household incomes below US$49,999 per year, which also tend to be the younger demographics, planned to tune into ski jumping (80%) and snowboarding (77%).

  • The middle incomes (US$50,000 to US$99,999) concentrated on ski jumping (79%), freestyle skiing (78%) and snowboarding (77%).

  • Higher incomes ($100,000+) prefer alpine skiing (84%).

  • Those 25 to 44 planned to watch a variety of Olympic sports.

    RESOURCES

    More than 750 snow-sports participants completed surveys in the week prior to the start of the Winter Olympics. The survey was conducted using The SnowSports Consumer Panel, developed by SIA to track consumer participation and buying habits. A winter-sports participant was defined as a person 16 years or older residing in the US who had participated at least once in any of the following sports: alpine skiing, snowboarding, telemark skiing, cross country skiing or snowshoeing. The survey was projected to the winter-sports population using gender, age, income and region demographics.

    RESOURCES

    A sheet from the study that shows the answers to the question, "Please tell me which Olympic sports you plan to watch."

    www.thesnowtrade.org/downloads/media/olym_survey.pdf


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

  • Wednesday, May 24, 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 |Government| #1686
    RICHMOND SWITCHES TO FAST-TRACK TO BUILD OLYMPIC OVAL ON SCHEDULE


    Richmond City Hall documents show that city planners have been forced to change the design strategy of the 2010 Olympic Oval sports complex, switching about half of it to fast-track, because they won't be able to deliver it on schedule and budget unless they do so.

    The staff report, written by the Director of Richmond's Major Projects, Greg Scott, and dated May 5, says seven tender packages for the project will have to be broken out and accelerated from the main design because of scheduling problems and projected cost escalations. However, he says, the project should still come in within the budgeted C$178 million, even though the architect, Cannon Design, will be paid just over C$1 million in additional fees for the extra work involved in splitting out the tender packages.

    Cannon's design fee for the project is just over C$15.2 million. The budget for the project's architectural services is C$17.3 million.

    When Cannon Design was hired in the fall of 2004 from a field of architects bidding for the job, the strategy was to completely design the building, then tender and construct it. But only half a year later, in the summer of 2005, according to the documents, staff began getting signals that such a strategy would take too long and, in the Lower Mainland's super-heated construction industry, that would also mean a significant escalation in the cost of the building, so it set some additional funds aside in case it needed to fast-track the project and complete it by November, 2008.

    Richmond has now decided to break out the seven packages and issue tenders for them before the full design is completed. They represent about 50% of the total construction budget. They include:

  • Additional foundation piling to be placed between existing soil-densification stone columns to support the massive structure.

  • All structural concrete hollow core components.

  • All of the elements of the glulam long-span roof structure, including the steel supports and bracing elements

  • All of the electrical and, in a separate package all of the mechanical, work that will be installed below grade, under the building and under the plaza slabs.

  • All of the concrete-and-rebar work, which is about 90% of the building's structure.

  • All of the elevators.

    The packages are to go to tender between now and July 14, if the current timetable holds.


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1685
    RICHMOND TO SPEND MORE THAN C$5 MILLION ON OLYMPIC SPEEDSKATING OVAL PUBLIC ART


    The City Council of Richmond, home of the 2010 Olympic's signature project, the sports complex housing the speedskating oval, has endorsed a plan to spend more than C$5 million on public art connected with the project between now and 2010. That's almost three times the amount it would normally budget for art on a project.

    In an omnibus motion at last night's meeting, council members, except for McNulty and Steeves, approved the following:

  • That council endorsed its Oval Art Plan, under construction for the past half year, as the road map for art opportunities in the Oval site;

  • That it endorsed the use of the Plan as a guideline for art in the Olympic Gateway Neighbourhood, the housing complex that's to be built nearby to help pay for the building, which is budgeted at C$178 million before taxes;

  • That it spend almost C$1.8 million for projects in the plan that are due to be implemented in 2006 and 2007, with the money to come from council surpluses;

  • That funding for subsequent years be addressed through a combination of the Plan's sponsorship strategy and the city's five-year capital plan process;

  • That staff work with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) to identify opportunities to collaborate on the artwork; and

  • That staff identify the sponsorship opportunities that could be included in the overall Oval sponsorship strategy.

  • That Richmond staff seek advice on opportunities for public involvement in public art in and around the Oval facility.

    A Seattle-based consultant, 4Culture, was contracted last October to help the City develop the art strategy for the building. It set up a working group comprised of Richmond City staff, Public Art Commissioners, representatives from the Musqueam aboriginal reserve, and the chair of Richmond's Oval Building Committee.

    The plan recommends a series of art integrated with the building's construction, and several individuals sculptures. One project scheduled for this year involve Salish aboriginal carvings on a portion of the concrete buttresses that handle roof water run-off and located on the north plaza side of the building. A pedestrian bridge on the east side of the project, scheduled to be designed in late this year and in 2007, would have art generated by a competition yet to be developed. The bridge would be built in 2007 and 2008. Yet another project, to be designed and built on the same timing as the bridge, would handle storm-water run-off on the east side of the building. Greg Scott, the City's Director of Major Projects, says it would be a water feature that would help the City get LEED points as part of the VANOC-mandated sustainability program. The art for this, too, would be by competition.

    A "Legacy Plaza" spread from 2007 to 2009 would see construction of "scupltural and light works", which Scott says would be idea for sponsorship. Another project on a similar time frame: site furniture and lighting, such as tree grates, seating, garbage cans and paving would be done by a design team.

    Other projects for 2008 or 2009 fiscal years include a "water-sky viewpoint" on the river side, an Asian-aboriginal themed "Medicinal Garden."

    Scott says there are several opportunities for corporate or private sponsorship of the public art under the plans. "In particular, these are the lobby-suspended artwork [scheduled for 2009] and the sculptures in the legacy plaza... As the City develops a sponsorship strategy, staff believe that the opportunity for sponsorship of the other projects may also be possible. These two works have also been identified as potential works to include in the VANOC "Visiting Artist" program.

    Scott says that participation in VANOC's artist program could increase the draw for corporate and private donors as well as draw on internationally recognized artists. He says that council's decision to "include significant art at the Oval sends a message of expectation that the area is truly to become a unique destination and a dynamic international gathering place." And, he says, the Art Plan "will be made available to developers to ensure their developments complement the Oval."


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1683

    Here are three moguls we ran into today:

    COQUITLAM TIES TRANSIT TO 2010 TOURISM
  • The Spirit of BC Committee in Coquitlam, a suburban community in the northeast area of Greater Vancouver, is tying 2010 Olympic marketing to its worries about insufficient funding of a proposed light-rail rapid transit system to the area. The BC government is being urged to cover a C$230 million shortfall, with the suggestion that transit is the only way of the populous area tapping into 2010-related tourism. The committee plans to market the city -- especially the adjacent French-Canadian community of Maillardville -- as part of a larger campaign to draw Olympic visitors to Coquitlam. Brochures distributed at downtown Vancouver hotels would be part of the campaign, but they'll be ignored if tourists can't find an easy way to get to the area from downtown. The nearby Port Coquitlam city task force focusing on Olympic legacy projects says it expects to start talking about its ideas in public later this summer. And nearby Port Moody, at the eastern end of Burrard Inlet, will hold a meeting June 5 to look at the details of promoting itself for international hockey and short-track speed skating teams to practice for the 2010 Games at its facilities.

    BELL TO BUILD TELCOM CENTRAL OFFICE IN WHISTLER
  • SNC Lavalin Nexacor, which is working with Bell Canada, is looking for companies to build a 600 sq. ft telecommunications central office at the Franz Trail site at Creekside, Whistler as part of the 2010 Winter Games telecommunications upgrade work. The site, on Lake Placid Road involves two heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units with remote condensers, a Total Pak pre-action fire-protection system, various fibre-optic conduits into the Bell operations portion, telecom and electrical service from the existing Base Building electrical room, as well as lighting and demising walls. The full tender package will be sent to companies expressing interest. Companies not already approved by Nexacor have to provide completed application forms to the firm by Thursday, May 25 by 3:00 PM Pacific. If you're already approved, you have to contact Nexacor by the next day at 9 am Pacific, in order to get the tender package. There's a walkthrough on Tuesday, May 30. Tenders close on June 9.

    VANOC SPONSOR OLYMPICS FUNDRAISING TO BE HELD IN NINE CITIES THIS YEAR
  • VANOC sponsor HBC says that its annual 10-kilometre Run for Canada on July 1, Canada Day, will be held in nine cities this year, up from six last year. Between now and 2012, the annual run will raise funds for the HBC Foundation that supports Canadian Olympic athletes. Two hundred athletes from across Canada identified by the Canadian Olympic committee will each receive a $5,000 bursary. Some money will also go to the ‘Own the Podium’ fund, also administered by the COC, to help athletes train for the 2010 Olympics. The Run began in Ottawa in 2004 with just one city participating. Over the past two years the run has raised C$600,000 for local charities across the country. The cities where the run will take place this year: Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Algonquin Ontario, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.

    RESOURCES

    Nexacor contact information:

    Gord Hunter
    Nexacor Realty Management Inc.
    Phone: (+1) 604.298.6224 Cell: (+1) 604.787.1683 Fax: (+1) 604-298-6233
    E-mail: <ghunter@nexacor.ca>


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

  • Tuesday, May 23, 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| #1682
    BELL CANADA EXECUTVE SAYS COMPANY IS BEING RESHAPED BY ITS 2010 OLYMPIC SPONSORSHIP


    Norm Silins, General Manager of Bell Canada's Olympic Telecom Solutions, says the technological requirements of the 2010 Olympics are effectively changing the way the huge telecommunications firm is shaped.

    Bell Canada is the largest sponsor by far of the 2010 Winter Games, with a deal that the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) valued in cash and value-in-kind at C$200 million when it won the sponsorship bid about 18 months ago over western Canada's telco, Telus. The rule of thumb is that a company spends about three times as much as the original sponsorship amount to activate the marketing side of is deal, but Silins says marketing and activation is separate from the technological side.

    Bell, which was largely focused on eastern Canada and had only set up a few beachheads in western Canada until that point, is a strong rival of Telus, which had strongly supported Vancouver's Olympic bid process. Telus was, corporately, taken aback by the size of Bell's bid and VANOC's decision to end Telus's involvement.

    "When we started the sponsorship process," says Sillins, "we had to project six years out, and then five and now four years. And we had to ask, 'What is the technology going to be like, and what is Bell going to be like, in 2010. And it's forced us into strong thinking about what kind of technology we're using and what kind of organization we want to be."

    Silins says that, "When I talk about the technology, I talk specifically about Bell being an Internet-Protocol company, having our customer interfaces being much, much simpler, our product offering being simple -- one cable: voice, data, Internet -- our wireless services being broad, providing Internet access into Olympic venues and the home. That's on the product side. We're going to transform, on a product basis. Internally, we're actually changing the way the company works, because where we're coming from and where we're going to are two different places. We are going to a more competitive marketplace, where we have to be faster, and more nimble, and provide services quicker."

    Silins says that as a result, the company has decided to use 2010 "as an endpoint." He added, "We've stirred the pot at Bell, under the Olympics banner, to say 'We need to transform, and here's why, and here's the way we need to be.'

    Sillins says, however, that the process for Bell in that conversion corporately and on product delivery is not yet complete. "We've started the traction. Has the wheel spun all the way around, 360 degrees? We're getting past the 180 and heading for the 270 degrees now. And that last 45 or 90 degrees is going to be the hardest."

    Silins says the new markets into which it's entering in western Canada, and competition elsewhere is driving the change, adding, "We've got to take the Olympic values and become more of a high-performance organization that's results-focused.

    Bell is building seven fibre-optic rings to provide the Games-time network. The development is focused on Greater Vancouver and Whistler; the network is both wired and wireless.

    Silins says the company is in the process of building 27 cell sites along the highway that connects Vancouver and Whistler to provide wireless services, and another 20 in the Vancouver area. Thirteen of the highway sites have been completed, and he expects the company will launch Squamish coverage within the next couple of months, and coverage of Whistler itself and on the highway between West Vancouver and Squamish by about the end of this year. In Greater Vancouver, he says, "we're primarily focused on in-building coverage for venues." That means, he says, a focus on the Pacific Coliseum, designing the infrastructure plans for the new curling facility near Little Mountain, BC Place and the University of British Columbia's new hockey facilities, but the completion of that work is expected to occur between 2007 and 2008.

    The Sea to Sky Highway has about 120 kilometres of fibre-optic wiring. He says about 30 kilometres of that has been done so far this year. That service will be essential for broadcasters connecting their feeds between Whistler and the International Media Centre that will be housed in the expansion to the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre now under construction. "Broadcasters use a tremendous amount of bandwidth, and it will be coming out of [the 2010 Nordic Centre in] Callaghan Valley, the [Whistler] Sliding Centre and the alpine out of Whistler Creekside. We're pretty well on track for that." Sillins says the first cell site at Cypress Mountain, where the 2010 snowboarding competitions will be held, has been completed, and in April the company completed its primary optic-fire line to the Cypress grounds, including a shelter for its technology there, and is starting work on Cypress's venue design, since a new part of the mountain is being opened up for the 2010 Games.

    The company is working in parallel with VANOC and venue design firms to figure out the amount of capacity and services that will be needed and incorporate it into venue design. "Timeframes are compressed. We typically don't get access to venues until the end. The more we can design upfront with the venue planners, and be specific about conduits, cable trays and what services are needed and where, the better." Planning ahead of time, he says, is critical because, "venue access, equipment, management, logistics and accreditation all creates unique challenges at Games time."

    Silins says the surprises for him came from observing the telecommunications operations in Torino during the 2006 Olympics and Paralympics in Italy last February and March. There, he learned how important it was to ensure telco access to venues, and working with other agencies, such as the City governments where venues are located. Having great relationships with all of them, he said, "is really ingrained in us, and we're a newcomer. we don't have historical relationships, so we have to build them. [After Torino], we realized it was something we had to put more effort into."

    The technology executive says that success for Bell is defined as having great technology at the Games that works flawlessly, success corporately is determined by "how much we grow business in the west, and with revenues across Canada. "As much as I understand sponsorships, I've got to build business relationships along with the Games to be successful in this market."

    Sillins says Bell has generated sales as a direct result of its involvement with the 2010 Games. "I'd like to talk specifics about a couple of them, but I can't because they're not announced yet. But we've seen a couple of really good things come our way... The trust that VANOC has put in us as a supplier and a partner has meant that we can go in [to pitch a deal] with more credibility, and we can provide a comprehensive solution that is comparable to what we're doing with the Olympics. Maybe in a few more months, I can give details about them."

    Sillins adds, however, that there's no question that being a 2010 sponsor, a supporter of 2010 Legacies Now and a supporter of The Vancouver Agreement, helps its executives meet business and government people that will be helpful to Bell well beyond 2010. "It's helped build relationships, and those relationships would not have been there, if we were not here [as a sponsor]."

    Atos Origin, the Paris-based international networking firm that moves from Games to Games with networking programs and support applications specialized for Olympics, called Games Time software, will arrive in Vancouver with three or four people in July, the lead team that set up facilities for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Atos Origin's systems will sit on top of Bell's infrastructure when it operates during the 2010 Games. "We're just starting to talk to them now about the detail work of how much redundancy is needed according to what we've planned, and where the two data centres will be located. That detailed planning will allow us to revisit our strategic planning to see if there's a connect or disconnect."

    One of the new data centres will be located at VANOC's headquarters in east Vancouver, but because Vancouver is considered an earthquake zone, VANOC is thinking that it will be placed somewhere outside the zone, but has not yet determined where that will be yet.

    The next major technology supplier for the 2010 Games, expected to arrive in Vancouver and Whistler in 2007, is Swatch of Switzerland, under its Omega brand. "We've designed a tremendous amount of backup and redundancy in highly survivable networks, but if you want to see those, talk to Swiss timing and scoring people."

    The Olympic Broadcaster Services (OBS) operation will arrive in BC shortly after the 2008 Games in Beijing finish, with a project office likely set up in Vancouver in late 2007. Sillins says, however, that his operations people have "been in conversations with them about their requirements since April 2005... they've helped direct our design for connectivity and redundancy, and fibre paths. They were distracted with Torino, but they gave us enough information we could plan our designs."

    Bell executives left last Saturday for Madrid, Spain, OBS headquarters, to work on additional planning. OBS sets up a unique operation for each Games. OBS provides multi-lateral pool broadcasting for most international broadcasters, but America's NBC and Canada's CTV networks will have unilateral access to the Games. Sillins says Bell is making the assumption that all broadcasting of the 2010 Games will be in high-definition feeds. "HD was a small bit in the broadcast centre [of the Athens Summer Olympics in 2004], primarily Nippon Television, in Torino's broadcast centre, it was about half of the centre's large floor space of about 20,000 square feet [1,860 square metres]. I expect Beijing will be about 80%, and we'll be 100%."

    A subsidiary of Bell, Telesat Canada, is expected to launch a new satellite in 2008 specifically to handle high-definition broadcast feeds, but Sillins says it's not yet determined whether Olympic broadcasting will be carried on it. "OBS is tenacious -- and I mean tenacious -- about having fibre-optic connectivity everywhere. And each venue has fibre going in one side and out the other side, so there's a ring everywhere to ensure broadcasters get great coverage. However, there's potential for third-level backup and we're in discussion with OBS about whether we require non-fibre third-level backup around the venues. It could be Telesat services. But the satellite service for long-haul transmission, say from Vancouver to Europe, to Asia to the Americas, to Australia or New Zealand, is very likely to be Telesat services -- that satellite -- or satellite services generally."

    Sillins says that because of how Bell has built up its fibre-optic network, it will be able to take a broadcast signal from the Olympics in Vancouver to Halifax, and then, with one hop, get it to Europe, or the Arab world, and it can do the same with one hop to Asia. "One hop is important to broadcasters because with two or more hops, they encounter too much signal delay."

    Bell has an office set up now at VANOC's new headquarters tower, with six employees working in it, which is part of its sponsorship arrangements, but it will also maintain its downtown offices for marketing, planning and corporate administrative services. The half-dozen workers at VANOC are working on venue office services, and planning venue design and cabling. "I would say that about a third of the telecom department is us," notes Sillins.

    Bell has also hired a contractor to cable the 2010 headquarters building itself, OptiNet Systems of Richmond, BC.

    The company, also as part of its sponsorship agreement, is hosting VANOC's website using content-management software that was jointly developed between Bell and VANOC, and it runs on Bell's server farm. The full retail-sales and ticket-sales components have not yet been added. "The way I see it, and it may not be categorical, but they'll have individual applications as modules that will allow VANOC to do such sales as well as scheduling and traffic, and which will be added over time. The existing system can management the interface to those applications, but they won't actually do the application. I see it as having experts in that know all about [software for] ticketing or on-line sales [to construct those modules.]" The modules, he says, will likely be hosted on Bell's computers, and the look and feel for the consumer will be seamless as they move from VANOC's pages to the modules.

    There are seven cities in various parts of the world that are bidding now on the 2014 Winter Olympics, but Sillins says the company hasn't dealt with any of those cities as they develop their bids. Bell, because its focus is Canada, doesn't expect to export its expertise to the eventual winner of those Games, which is to be decided next year by the International Olympic Committee. However, he says, the company has talked to the London, England, Olympic Committee about sustainability, which is something VANOC is encouraging between Olympic Committees, and "some technology," as well as to Beijing. "Right now, it's primarily sharing best practices in areas they we know about. For example, as we build our fibre optic network up the Sea to Sky Highway, we're using existing infrastructure, because we're using a railway right-of-way."

    Bell, again as part of its sponsorship program, is providing office floor space and telecommunications for VANOC's Montreal office, to open later this year, and "because we're across Canada, they're going to be using some of our office space across Canada."


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1681

    Here are three more moguls we ran into today:

    PROGRESSIVE CONTRACTING WINS C$2 MILLION DEAL FROM RICHMOND
  • The City of Richmond has released the winner of a contract to reroute River Road from No 2 Road to Hollybridge Way, to move it out of the way of the sport complex that will house the 2010 Winter Olympics long-track speedskating oval. Progressive Contracting (Delta) was awarded the project, which was tendered last January, for a bid of just over C$1.9 million.

    TEENAGE US SNOWBOARDERS SIGN AGENTS TO HELP PREPARE FOR 2010 GAMES
  • A pair of American snowboarders training for the 2010 Winter Olympics have negotiated a representation agreement with a major US agent, Arluck Promotions. The terms of the deal with Teddy and his sister, Jordan Karlinski, of Aspen, Colorado, were not released. Jordan, debuted at the Winter X Games in boardercross at the age of 15, and is a member of the US Snowboarding Team. Teddy is 18.

    SQUAMISH FIRE DEPARTMENT UPGRADES SAFETY SOFTWARE
  • The fire and rescue service in Squamish, a town about halfway along the highway connecting Vancouver and Whistler, has installed a computer-aided dispatch system to improve its response along the highway as part of its preparations for 2010 Games. An increase in traffic along the highway within the fire department's jurisdiction is expected to increase the number of calls the new emergency system gets. “As Squamish grows, we are well positioned to provide superior service to our community and the Sea to Sky corridor in the run-up to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Fire Chief Ray Saurette. The software, provided by FDM Software of North Vancouver, places a red dot on a computer-generated map of the area where an emergency call originates. The system gives dispatchers incident locations, unit recommendations and alerts about hazardous materials in the vicinity.

    RESOURCES

    Progressive Contracting Limited
    5591 No.3 Road, Richmond, BC V6X2C7
    (+1) 604.273.6655

    --

    David Arluck
    Arluck Promotions:
    www.arluckpromotions.com/
    (+1) 917.331.1329

    --

    FDM Software:
    www.fdmsoft.com


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1680

    Here are three moguls we ran into today:

    WEST COAST WAR GAME PLAYS OUT 2010 SCENARIO
  • Exercise Trident Fury, one of the largest task group exercises ever held off the coast of southwest British Columbiam included a scenario about an unidentified aircraft that could have been heading toward a 2010 Winter Games venue. The exercise, running from May 16-24, was organized by the Canadian Navy's Maritime Forces Pacific; the senior officer in charge was commodore Roger Girouard, Commander of Canadian Fleet Pacific, but it also included American officials. "The cooperation and coordination evidenced in this exercise are vital to our mutual air defence. Outstanding efforts such as this one will ensure that events such as the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver come off without a hitch," said U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Donald Quenneville, the Deputy Commander of the Canadian NORAD Region, who was also involved in the exercise. Quenneville is responsible for providing air sovereignty defence anywhere in Canada. Quenneville told today's issue of the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt's newspaper "Lookout" that, for him, the most valuable exercise serial observed was a NORAD cross-border intercept involving ships, aircraft, and shore-based command centres from both Canada and the U.S. The scenario involved a suspicious aircraft that was picked up on CFB North Bay's Canadian Air Defence Sector (CADS) radar heading south along Vancouver Island's west coast. CADS coordinated with the U.S. Western Air Defense Sector to launch two US F-16 aircraft from a Seattle-area base. Once airborne, the fighters were transferred to CADS control to conduct the intercept; in turn, CADS directed the Iroquois-class destroyer HMCS Algonquin to take control of the intercept. Algonquin's on-board air weapons controllers helped the F-16s successfully intercepted the suspicious aircraft, forcing it to land at Victoria International Airport.

    BC MAN CHOSEN COMPETITION CHAIRMAN FOR 2010 CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING
  • Rob Bernhardt, the president of Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre near Vernon in BC's south-central Okanagan area, has been named competition chairman for cross-country skiing at the 2010 Winter Games. He was chief of competition for the 2005 World Cup, which was held at Sovereign Lake. "This appointment gives recognition to the entire region, our event organizing committee and all of our hard-working World Cup volunteers for the extremely successful event we put together," he said. Bernhardt received the nomination for the position from Cross-Country Canada, the sport's governing body. It was supported by the International Ski Federation and VANOC. "VANOC recognizes that we now have the expertise to handle this level of competition," said Bernhardt. Jennifer Strachan, Greater Vernon'a community marketing director, felt the decision will give a marketing boost to the area. "When we have local representatives working in integral roles for 2010, it shows that there is significant recognition given to the quality of people and expertise our region has developed for sport hosting," she said. "This reflects well on the members of our community and their efforts to host top-level events. As well, there are opportunities to work in collaboration with VANOC for pre-Games events and training, bringing economic and skill development to the region."

    FURLONG SAYS LOCAL MEDIA PLAY KEY ROLE IN HOW OLYMPICS PERCEIVED BY INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE
  • VANOC CEO John Furlong told about 150 people during a breakfast speech at the Surrey Conference Centre that one of the key lessons for him from the Torino Winter Olympics last March was that "It is important that what the world watches inside that box is spectacular." Furlong told the group, "That means the images of the venues, the athletes, the colour -- everything that happens on that screen. Because that is where the story of the games will be told." He suggested that global media coverage often originated from what was reported by Torino media, adding, "If there was an issue in Italy or a problem with a venue or something exciting happened, how it was reported in Torino is how it was reported all over the world," he said.

    RESOURCES

    Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre
    www.sovereignlake.com/


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1679
    LATEST STATISTICS HIGHLIGHT VANOC'S PRESSURE ON OTTAWA FOR ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION FUNDING


    Statistics Canada has provided more ammunition for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC), as it works to persuade the federal government to authorize additional funding for the Games venues.

    The national statistics-gathering agency reported today that non-residential investment hit a record high in 2005 for the fifth year in a row, and the West can take a lot of the credit, according to a new study. The investment trend is important to VANOC's arguments because investment translates fairly quickly into construction. Thus, it offers the latest information on why there is such a shortage of construction labour and materials, which in turn has increased the costs of 2010's venue and non-venue construction.

    Non-residential investment -- commercial, industrial and institutional projects -- hit C$31.5 billion in Canada last year, up 8.7% from 2004. This was the strongest gain since 2002. In Vancouver, investment shot up 45.1% to C$458 million. This performance, the agency says, can be partly attributed to good economic growth, increased commercial transactions with Asia and low vacancy rates.

    StatsCan's report, which was reviewed by a five-person expert panel, says that demand for office buildings surged in 2005 following a soft performance in this sector from 2000 to 2004. The agency says the "likely factor was strong demand from a growing number of organizations and businesses, notably telecommunications and consulting firms, serving the 2010 Olympics."

    Lower vacancy rates and higher rents for office space across the country encouraged businesses to invest in the construction of office buildings.

    In Western Canada, the metropolitan areas of Calgary and Vancouver posted strong gains, and that exacerbated the issues for the 2010 Games in Vancouver and Whistler because in times of high demand, construction firms would normally come from Alberta to deal with the overflow.

    The C$1.4-billion gain in Canadian office-tower investment accounted more than one-half of the total increase in non-residential construction last year. Just two metropolitan areas -- Vancouver and Calgary --accounted for nearly one-quarter of the jump in investment in office towers.

    Nationally, investment in office-tower construction soared 28.2% to C$6.2 billion in 2005, halting a two-year decline. But investment in hospitals and health clinics was up at the national level for the fifth year in a row, rising in seven provinces.

    Investment in warehouses jumped 14.6% to C$2 billion, likely the result of a strong performance by retailers and wholesalers, supported by consumer spending and international trade.

    The agency suggested the largest gains occurred in Alberta, which saw booming conditions as a result of oil prices, and in British Columbia, which saw rising trade with Asia and preparations for the 2010 Olympics, among other factors.

    RESOURCES
    The full study, "Review of non-residential construction in 2005" is available by PDF file for free from Statistics Canada. The 11-page report examines investment in Canadian non-residential construction in 2005 as well as trends since the turn of the millennium:

    www.statcan.ca/cgi-bin/downpub/listpub.cgi?catno=11-621-MIE2006043


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

  • Friday, May 19, 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 |Moguls| #1678

    Here are three moguls we ran into today:

    VANOC'S SUPPLIER SPONSORSHIP CATEGORY DETAILED
  • We now have some further information about the new Supplier category, which turns out to be a type of sponsorship, from VANOC's Sponsorship Department vice-president, Andrea Shaw. Shaw says the Official Supplier category is considered a Tier III national sponsorship by the 2010 organization. The sponsorship value ranges between C$3 million and C$15 million, and the combination of cash and value-in-kind (VIK) will vary per sponsorship. VANOC signed the first such Supplier sponsorship agreement with Haworth earlier this week. Under the deal, Haworth's contribution to VANOC will be "in excess of C$5 million upon the completion of the Campus 2010 development phases," a reference to Haworth providing the office furniture for VANOC's headquarters buildings. The arrangement is primarily VIK, however Shaw says "Haworth has committed to contribute 5% of the value of any sales to VANOC partners to Ski Jumping Canada or Nordic Combined Canada," as opposed to contributing to the "Own the Podium" program like Tier 1 and Tier II sponsors. In exchange, Haworth will be able to has the ability to develop advertising and promotions using its designation as official supplier.

    WHISTLER WILLS WASTE TREATMENT TO CALLAGHAN ENTRANCE
  • Whistler Council has authorized staff to proceed with a BC government land application to locate a new waste transfer station at the entrance to the Callaghan Valley, triggering a public consultation program. The Callaghan Valley site was chosen, despite opposition from the Forest and Wildland Advisory Committee who presented to Council at a special meeting April 24, after an assessment of nine possible options. A new location is required because the current waste transfer site is at the old landfill, which has now been closed because the land is to become VANOC's Whistler Athletes village. Operations is contracted to Carney's Waste Systems; it is in the first year of a five-year contract and would assume operations of the new station. The Callaghan Valley is the location of VANOC's Whistler Nordic Centre.

    FURLONG SPEAKS TO ROTARIANS IN WHISTLER
  • VANOC CEO John Furlong spoke to about 600 visiting Rotarians today in Whistler about the Olympics’ potential to “touch the soul of the nation.” He was the keynote speaker at the first plenary session of the Rotary International Districts 5040/5050 annual conference.


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



    Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1677
    FURLONG OFFERS ADDITIONAL DETAILS OF REORGANIZATION; SEARCHES FOR NEW EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT


    There has been some confusion over the interpretation of information p