Morgan:News:2010:Bronze Edition: October 2006

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1948
Here are three moguls we ran into today:

NEW SUPPLIER EXPECTS TO HAVE VANOC-BRANDED PRODUCTS FOR SALE BY CHRISTMAS

Wilson International Products, which was granted a licence by VANOC to sell apparel with Vancouver 2010 emblems and Olympic and Paralympic brands last week, expects to have products in stores in time for this year's big Christmas buying period. "There's no deal in the world bigger than the Olympic license. There really isn't. It's bigger than Stanley Cup Finals... It is the most sought-after souvenir license that exists," Tony Wilson, owner and founder of the Richmond-based company, told the Richmond Review newspaper. Wilson International will imprint and embroider T-shirts, sweat shirts and hoodies with Olympic logos and sell them to souvenir shops across the country. Wilson expects to sell "millions of garments" relating to the Games between now and 2010. "That is not an exaggeration. That's not a hype," the 64-year-old businessman told the newspaper. "We're looking at what happened in previous Olympics." Prices are expected to be what other prime sports-branded clothing charge. Wilson, who has 35 employees, figures the company will be able to handle the new workload at first, but as the Olympics get closer, he expects his staff and equipment to double, and that it might have to contract-out some work to keep up with demand. "We can't let this interfere with what we do on a day-by-day business," he reportedly said Wilson. He added that his company has to be maintain the rest of its business, because as soon as the Games go, they're the ones who will keep his firm going.

177 PROPONENTS VY FOR JOB AS VANOC MASCOT DESIGNER

With less than 24 hours remaining before tomorrow's deadline, VANOC says so far 177 proponents have expressed an interest in submitting a proposal for a mascot for the Olympic or Paralympic Games, or both. The expressions of interest including credentials and a portfolio of previous work. So far, 151 of those have been received from Canadians, with 72 from British Columbia, 48 from Ontario and the remainder from various places elsewhere in the country. International submissions were received from Australia, Austria, Brazil, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. During the five weeks of open call, the VANOC's application documentation, which requires proponents to be professional designers, was downloaded from its website more than 3,800 times. Meanwhile, about 1,900 visitors to the website participated in an on-line poll offering their views on the best mascots. VANOC has also received hundreds of e-mails and suggestions for them. VANOC says that all of the public feedback on the mascot program will be provided to the designer or design team as part of the input for consideration during the design process, which still has several months of evaluation to run.

VANCOUVER CITY NAMING POLICY SHOULD KEEP EYE ON OLYMPIC REQUIREMENTS, SAYS REPORT

Vancouver City staff have recommended to council, which is in the process of developing an updated policy on naming rights for various City assets that such a policy needs to take into account requirements for events such as the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics. Staff note that the organizers of more and more large-scale events that include city buildings. "As part of these arrangements," says a council advisory document, "the City may be required to comply with certain event hosting obligations some of which may involve signage. It is therefore important that any policy with respect to naming not preclude the City's ability to host such events. In particular, the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games may provide both opportunities and constraints relative to naming and signage. While there may be opportunities to secure a naming sponsor seeking a high profile presence during the Olympic period, the City has certain obligations as a Host City [for the Olympic Games] to ensure a [site clean of commercial signage] on City-owned or controlled sites which may be potential sites for Olympic-related activities -- for example rented as part of the Olympic Arts Festival -- or which may be located adjacent to an Olympic venue. Therefore, City staff recommend that as a condition of any City approval [when] naming a civic community facility, that all parties be required to agree that for a specific limited time any interior or exterior signage containing a corporate name may be covered up or removed. and any named building may be referred to by a generic or pre-naming name only." Council is expected to discuss the Naming Policy during its City Services & Budgets meeting Thursday morning.

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

Morgan:News:2010 |Business, VANOC| #1947
FURLONG ENDORSES GM CANADA AND ITS VEHICLES IN NEWSPAPER AD

Quotes from the CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) today appeared in a text-only General Motors Canada ad in the Vancouver Sun newspaper in which he endorses the company and its vehicles.

The ad is professionally written, but at the top of it, the copy reads, "By John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer, Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC)." For the most part, the ad talks about VANOC's mission and the importance of it, or GM's contributions to sport, but about a third of the way down, the copy says, "We have some truly wonderful partners working with us, as we prepare to host outstanding Games. Our association with GM Canada, Official Partner of the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, is a model example. With a presence in virtually every community across the country, GM Canada offers a line-up of high-quality, dependable vehicles that Canadians know and trust. In 2010, a fleet of GM vehicles will ensure Games participants travel safely, reliably and comfortably while contributing to a sustainable Games."

The black-and-white ad, a column wide and as tall as the broadsheet's page, was opposite a full colour ad a bit larger than half of the newspaper page for specific GM vehicle from its Chevrolet brand, which also promoted its warranty package.

That ad also contains the standard VANOC logo in colour adjacent to the GM logo, which is part of the marketing rights purchased by GMC's when it became a major sponsor. A black-and-white version of the logos appears at the top of the ad in which Furlong is quoted.

The ad's penultimate sentence has Furlong saying, "Behind every great GM vehicle is a network of proud people committed to excellence."

GM is a Tier-1 corporate sponsor of the 2010 Games, and is providing vehicles for use by VANOC staff and other members of the Olympic and Paralympic organizations and related officials. Several are already in use, including vans that shuttle VANOC staff in the city. The Vancouver Sun has an average weekday circulation of about 175,000. The ad appears fairly early in the newspaper's first section, which is among the paper's most-read sections.

BACKGROUND

Here is the full copy of the GMC ad:

By John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer, Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC).

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games represent a moment-in-time opportunity for Canadians. Blending sport, culture and the environment, the Games will bring us all together in a celebration of human achievement.

At VANOC, it's our mission to touch the soul of a nation and deliver "Canada's Games" in 2010 -- for Vancouver, Whistler, British Columbia and Canada. And especially for our Olympic and Paralympic athletes, who embody the true spirit of possibility that resides within us all.

We have some truly wonderful partners working with us, as we prepare to host outstanding Games. Our association with GM Canada, Official Partner of the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, is a model example. With a presence in virtually every community across the country, GM Canada offers a line-up of high-quality, dependable vehicles that Canadians know and trust. In 2010, a fleet of GM vehicles will ensure Games participants travel safely, reliably and comfortably while contributing to a sustainable Games.

GM Canada also has an important legacy of supporting Canadian athletes and amateur sport. It's GM's "Making Dreams Possible Program", which supports the unsung heroes of the Olympic Games -- the coaches who dedicate themselves to improving the performance of our Canadian athletes -- is just one example.

Behind every great GM vehicle is a network of proud people committed to excellence. We're proud to have such supportive travelling companions as we continue our adventure on the road to 2010.

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

Monday, October 30, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1946
Here are three moguls we ran into today:

NORWAY TO TRAIN NEAR VERNON, BC, FOR SPRINT, ENDURANCE AT 2010 GAMES

The Norwegian cross-country ski teams have confirmed they will train at Silver Star ski resort near Vernon in British Columbia's south-central Okanagan area just before the 2010 Winter Games. Glenn Bond, Silver Star's Nordic manager, says Norway will bring about 40 men and women — the top athletes on the sprint and endurance teams — to the resort for 17 or 18 days. And, he says, "We're in talks with Finland, Germany and other countries," said Bond. Last November and December, the Norwegians worked out at the resort for two weeks, the longest of all the international teams, in preparation for their sports' World Cup at nearby Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre. Many of the 3,500 beds at Silver Star, he says, are expected to be booked by Nordic athletes, coaches, support staff and families in November. Meanwhile, he says, the coach and a small group of athletes on the Australian national team are scheduled to arrive November 22, and a larger group will arrive December 4. They are already booked for pre-season training through 2010."

C$30 MILLION SPORT COMPLEX AT WILLIAMS LAKE TO BE BUILT TO ENTICE 2010-BOUND TEAMS

The mayor of the town of Williams Lake, roughly in the centre of British Columbia, says a C$30-million multi-sports complex to be built on the Stampede Grounds by the fall of 2008, in time to attract athletes from other countries to train for the 2010 Olympics, will proceed. Some of the construction, Scott Nelson hopes, will begin in about six months. The federal and provincial governments have each pledged to pay a third of the cost, including a grant from the BC government from its 2010 legacies fund. The remaining third of the cost is to be paid by Chiefs Development Group of Burnaby, a Greater Vancouver suburb. CDG would run the facility for 20 years, then turn it over to the city for C$10. City council has authorized staff to enter into negotiations with Chief's Development Group of Burnaby for the design, construction, financing and operation of the event centre after the company was one of eight developers who responded to a formal Request for Proposals on the project. The building is expected to have 2,500 to 3,500 seats, an NHL-sized ice surface, a second ice sheet for curling, a walking track, and rooms that can be used for various purposes.

DOW'S INSULATION AND ANTIFREEZE VIK HEADED FOR WHISTLER

Earlier this month, Dow Chemicals signed on as a Tier-3 supplier sponsor to VANOC, with part in cash and part of the sponsorship as value-in-kind, with the total undisclosed but somewhere between C$3 million and C$15 million. The supplier status, it turns out is because the company supply VANOC with Dow's Styrofoam insulation that are made at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, as well as heat-transfer fluids. The materials are to be used in a number of VANOC venues, but particularly those in the Whistler area. Shannon Gregg, of Dow Chemical's Fort Saskatchewan, office, says, the amount of VIK is still being negotiated. "Venue construction is underway right now. Dow is working with VANOC to manage the product-supply flow." The heat-transfer fluid, called Dowtherm, is to be supplied by another Dow facility and is a product that will be used in the ice beds for the curling rinks, and the sliding track in Whistler.

RESOURCES

A map showing the location of Williams Lake:
tinyurl.com/yfr2gj

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

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1945
WHISTLER SLIDING CENTRE TRACK TO HAVE 1.4 KILOMETRES OF FLOURESCENT LIGHTING

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) says it expects to start installing the weather-protection mechanism for the track of the Whistler Sliding Centre starting next spring and that the work on it probably won't be done until late August or early September.

About 1.4 kilometres of the 1.7-kilometre track, to be used for the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events, will have the mechanism installed over it. The cover has two main jobs: one is to protect the icy, twisting, u-shaped track from the sun, rain and snow, which effectively extends its useful life per season, and the other is to hold the track lighting and various other equipment.

VANOC has issued a formal Request for Proposals, which ends November 22, for companies to bid on supplying the track lighting, a line of 885 white fluorescent-lighting fixtures with electronic ballasts and lamps, plus spares, that will be located above the track for the length of the weather shield. The complex track framework of bracing girders and cooling pipes, all covered with a shotcrete-type liner, has been under construction for much of this year, and installation of the steel framework that will provide the weather protection and support for the lighting fixtures will all start together in April.

An electrical contractor, under a separate contract, is to begin installing the lighting in May, so the first third of the light fixtures have to be delivered by then, with the next third by July 1 and the final third by August 1.

To ensure harmony with TV lighting, the lights are to operate at 42 hertz or better to avoid flickering, and the lights are to have a colour temperature of 4,100 degrees Kelvin.

VANOC's instructions for supplying the lighting includes its sustainability policy, in which it tries to keep energy use and similar environmental factors to the fore in judging contractors bidding for the job.

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

Friday, October 27, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1944
Here are three moguls we ran into today:

SETH MILLER TOP NBC MARKETER FOR 2010 OLYMPICS

The new man in charge of NBC Universal's Olympics marketing is Seth Winter, who replaces Peter Lazarus. Lazarus joined the big sports marketing company IMG earlier this month. Winter is senior vice president of Sales & Marketing for NBCU's sports and Olympics properties, so he is responsible for management strategy in producing sales for the next three Olympic games -- Beijing, Vancouver/Whistler, and London, England, as well as the 2009 and 2012 Super Bowls. He will also supervise sales for NBC's Sunday Night Football and the U.S. Open golf championship. Winter has a strong technology background. He was vice president of Sales for digital media, and marketed NBCU's Internet and broadband broadcasting, and was part of NBCU's management team that launched NBCSports.com and brought to prominence NBCOlympics.com during the Torino Winter Games in February. That website streamed the men's hockey gold-medal game live, and is expected to be a major live-video broadcast outlet for the American market during the 2010 Games.

VANCOUVER COUNCIL PONDERS C$5 MILLION START TO OLYMPIC LEGACY RESERVE FUND

The City of Vancouver's preliminary budget report for the 2007 fiscal year, expected to be tabled at City Council's meeting Monday, contains the request from staff for the first C$5 million installment of City's Legacy Reserve Fund, discussed earlier. The idea is to build up the fund with equal contributions between now and 2010 until it reaches C$20 million. The City estimates more than 250,000 spectators plus thousands of international media, volunteers and athletes to converge on the City to take in or take part in the 2010 Winter Games. The Legacy Reserve Fund, will carry on after that, but as it relates to the 2010 Games, the idea is to help pay the expenses of getting "communities, citizens, and businesses" involved in the experience of the Games, "allow the City to meet sustainability objectives; and be host to visitors and residents participating in the Olympic experience." City staff think the money can also attract matching funds at some level "to maximize the overall investment by the City." On January 18, 2007, the City's Olympic and Paralympic Operations office is to report to Council on plans for the Fund. The C$5 million request, by the way, is the largest of the section of the budget report that deals with projects that have to be funded by raising taxes. The amount accounts for about a sixth of the preliminary tax hike of 6%. Council has indicated it wants to keep the tax increase to about 4%. To do that, Councillor Peter Lader says, will mean some "tough decisions."

CITY STAFF ASK FOR C$292,800 FOR TWO OLYMPIC VILLAGE PLANNERS FOR TWO YEARS

In another part of the preliminary budget, staff is also asking for a two-year extension for the jobs of two planners working on Southeast False Creek, where the 2010 Olympic Village is being built. The total cost, split between next year's budget and the one for 2008, is C$292,800 in new money. Up to now, the planners' salaries have been funded through "cost recovered" work but that ends this year. About half the time the staff will deal with planning work for the so-called Public Lands portion, and that involves Olympic Village development permits, the Village's signature the Salt Building, urban agriculture, public realm design and things such as that. The other half will handle tasks related to the adjacent private lands, where there are at least six major rezoning requests or significant development applications that have been made. They'll also be working on working on the area's road system. A lot of this support goes to the City's Property Endowment Fund, which is operating as the developer of the public lands in the area, so staff say about half the cost would be funded by the PEF, with the rest coming from city operations.

RESOURCES

Seth Winter
Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing
e-mail: Seth.Winter@nbcuni.com
phone: (+1) 212.664.6073

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

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1943
Here are three moguls we ran into today:

STILL MORE BROADCAST DEALS TO BE DONE FOR 2010

VANOC CEO John Furlong confirms there are still a number of broadcasting agreements which the IOC has yet to negotiate for carrying the 2010 Winter Games. They include Japan, Italy, Australia, the Spanish-speaking countries, and China. The IOC has so far negotiated deals covering the United States, Canada, Europe (except for Italy), South Korea and the Arabic countries. Furlong says those deals total more than US$3 billion to be split between the IOC, Vancouver and London England's 2012 Summer Games. "For us," he says, "when we sit down to negotiate with the IOC, that the revenue is the most that we could possibly achieve. We want to leave a positive financial legacy. The most important thing for us is to put out a balanced budget." Making some basic assumptions about the approximate splits, exchange rates, and using other published information, Morgan:News:2010 estimates the deals so far have generated a total of C$3.8 billion to be shared among the three, and a potential of about C$250 million for the 2010 Games.

EPCOR'S FUTURE NEGOTIATIONS REASON FOR KEEPING 2010 SPONSORSHIP VALUE QUIET

When Epcor, the Edmonton-based utility company, signed up to be a tier-3 sponsor with VANOC for a cash amount of somewhere between C$3 million and C$15 million, the actual value was not disclosed for "proprietary" reasons. Doug Downs, the senior Communications advisor for the company, says the reason is actually straightforward: "We consider the amount to be proprietary for competitive reasons. Our focus is on the benefit of this sponsorship to Canadian athletes. The amounts of our sponsorships, and the specific benefits involved, are negotiated with each counterpart, and is the basis for competitive differentiation." As for the marketing reasons why the firm became involved, he notes, "Our involvement will solidify Epcor's standing as a Canadian company, support our business strategy, and allow us to help inspire excellence among individuals and communities where we operate. It will associate Epcor with an event whose values and goals are aligned with our own. This new partnership is a logical extension of our work to inspire and support excellence in communities across Canada."

MAGAZINE EDITOR PREDICTS GREATER VANCOUVER, WHISTLER RESTAURANTS TO SHINE IN 2010

Enroute is Air Canada's in-flight magazine. Editor Charlene Rook says she expects many of Vancouver's top-end restaurants are either planning now or soon will be to take advantage of the general city excitement and tourism influx of the 2010 Winter Olympics, and if they hadn't thought about it, they should be. "It'll be similar to what happened in Sydney, Australia," she says, referring to the Summer Olympics there in 2000. "There was an explosion. It was a chance to showcase itself as a culinary hot spot and we have the same opportunity to put Canadian cuisine and the Pacific Rim in the world spotlight. That's what's exciting to me now."

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

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |General| #1942
WHISTLER COMMUNITY MEETING NOVEMBER 7 TO DISCUSS POSSIBLE LOCAL SCHOOL CLOSURES DURING 2010 GAMES

Whistler-area school officials will sponsor a community meeting November 7 to hear opinions from residents about the possibility of school closures while the 2010 Winter Olympics are underway in February, 2010.

The meeting is expected to include representatives from the district parent advisory council, the association of principals and vice principals, the BC Teachers Federation, the Canadian Union of Public Employees that represents school workers, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) and community groups like the Whistler Arts Council.

The Superintendent of schools for the Howe Sound District, Dr. Rick Erickson, says some of the options expected to be discussed are a two-week closure during the Games, and a three-week closure that would begin a week before the Olympics, to allow for school facilities to be used by visiting Olympic participants that arrive just before the Games begin. Erickson says he recognizes that working parents would be affected by closure, and that the effect would be stronger the longer the closure occured, but that's one of the things that ought be discussed.

He added that the Board would have a look at providing recreation or other activities for students not involved in the Olympics, but with Olympic activity taking over much of the area at the time and the possibility of restricted transportation and a lot of school-sized buses being used for Games transportation, there might no be much in the way of alternative activities for students.

School district staff have talked to VANOC about the opportunity of renting school facilities during the Games, but no commitments have been made. Only colleges and universities were closed during the Calgary 1988 Olympics, and local schools were only closed for students over age 15 at the 2006 Games in Torino, Italy.

VANOC's position is that any closures are up to a local school district and the BC Education ministry. A decision about Olympic school closures in the district is expected to be made by the end of the current school year, which ends next June.

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

Morgan:News:2010 |Paralympic| #1941
CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE RE-APPOINTS JARVIS, HUNGERFORD TO OVERSEE 2010 ORGANIZATIONS

Two more of the people overseeing the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) will stick around for a second three-year term.

Paralympian Patrick Jarvis has been reappointed by the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) to the VANOC Board of Directors, and Olympian George Hungerford has been appointed to the 2010 Games Operating Trust. The appointments were made as the CPC's representatives on these organizations.

The appointments of all the directors for their first three-year term on the Board of Directors ends in November. All except Board Chairman Jack Poole represent various stakeholders, such as the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Paralympic Committee and various governments. Whistler's representatives, for instance, were recently re-appointed.

Having completed a three-year term on the VANOC board, Jarvis's second appointment extends through to 2010. Jarvis has been a board member of the Canadian Paralympic Committee since 1993, and was president of the organization from 1999 until early 2006. He competed at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games and served as the chef de mission for the Canadian team at the 1998 Nagano Paralympic Games. He was an official CPC representative at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games and the Salt Lake City 2002 Paralympic Games. Jarvis was also member of the first National Sport Advisory Committee to the Secretary of State for Amateur Sport and the 2010 Bid Corporation Board of Directors. Based in Calgary, Alberta, he is a certified engineering technologist and the owner of Amarok Training Services.

Vancouver's Hungerford will represent the CPC on the not-for-profit 2010 Games Operating Trust, which oversees the Legacy Endowment Fund. The Fund provides operating and maintenance money for three major venues to be built as part of the 2010 Games, and funds high-performance programming for Canadian athletes.

"George has a passion for the Paralympic movement and actively advocates for disabled people to become active and get connected through sport. He also has the solid financial background needed for this appointment," says CPC chief operating officer Brian MacPherson. Hungerford won Olympic gold at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in pairs rowing with Roger Jackson. The two athletes were awarded the Lou Marsh trophy as Canada's outstanding male athlete - either professional or amateur - in 1964.

A business lawyer with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin since 2000, Hungerford regularly acts for a broad range of clients. He is active in the community, having served as Chair of the Salvation Army Greater Vancouver Advisory Board, Chair of Major Gifts for the BC Cancer Foundation, Chair of Pacific Salmon Foundation, and is currently Chair of the new UBC Richmond Rowing Center. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1984 and appointed Queen's Counsel in 1991. Hungerford has a Bachelor of Arts (1965) and a Bachelor of Law (1968), both from the University of British Columbia.

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

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1940
Here are three moguls we ran into today:

VANOC PROVIDES UPDATED VENUE COMPLETION SCHEDULE

VANOC has issued an updated list of estimated completion dates for the venues that are under construction. It actually has specific dates by when the project must receive its substantial-completion certificate, but hasn't gone into that level of detail with this release. We've grouped the venues in order of completion, starting with the earliest:

Whistler Nordic Centre: Fall 2007
Whistler Alpine: Fall 2007
Hastings Park skating venue: Fall 2007
Cypress freestyle and snowboard venue: Fall 2007
Whistler Sliding Centre: Winter 2007

UBC ice hockey arena: Spring 2008
Hillcrest Curling Venue: Fall 2008
Whistler Athlete Centre: Fall 2008
Richmond Speed Skating Oval: Fall 2008
Training venues (Vancouver's Trout Lake, Killarney arenas, etc.): Fall 2008

Whistler Athletes Village: Summer 2009
Vancouver Athletes Village: Fall 2009

VANOC ACCREDITATION FUNCTION BEGINS TO INFLATE

VANOC has begun the process of filling out its Accreditation function, with people expected to be added in the new year. VANOC's begun looking for a person to manage the accreditation operations. That involves planning, developing and implementing the accreditation operations plans, accreditation centres and facilities, across all of VANOC's competition and non-competition venues, sports and functions. The person will be working with VANOC staff at each venue to work out logical zones of accreditation. The new manage is also being asked to ensure that accreditation needs are met when procuring, fitting-out and staffing the accreditation centres and facilities at venues, and to develop and deliver specific training for all accreditation staff and volunteers. VANOC is also searching for a manager to deal with accreditation of the so-called "Olympic Family," which includes people from the various winter-sports national and international federations, all the politicians interested in being a part of the process, and all the staff of the sponsors, the media and VIPs. The person applying for the job has to have experience with governmental organizations, visa and immigration issues, and security clearances. The application deadline for both positions is November 6.

IOC GIVES NOD TO NBC IN BEIJING SWIM SCHEDULE DISPUTE

The IOC has decided, in the case of the Beijing Summer Olympics, to side in favour of American broadcaster NBC to schedule the high-profile swimming matches in the morning, so they can attract more of an audience in the US, where they can be carried live in the evening. Australia, a leading nation in Olympic swimming, had noisily opposed morning swimming finals, as it affected training schedules both the Olympics and other contests. The European Broadcast Union and Australian TV channels Seven and Nine, along with FINA, the international swimming sports organization, had also opposed the change. The European and Aussie broadcasters say that such a change would put the competitions at bad broadcast times for them, considerably reducing the revenue they could expect to offset the fees they've paid to broadcast the Games .IOC representative Giselle Davies said the needs of Olympic swimmers were a consideration and that under the Beijing program they would have more recovery time between evening heats and morning finals than if the finals were at night. She also said the decision did not set a precedent and that swimming finals had been held in the morning at previous Olympics and major championships. The US network is also paying the IOC US$2.2 billion for rights to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the London Games in 2012. That, in turn, would boost NBC's ability to generate advertising revenues for the competitions, and thus offset the amounts of money its paid to the International Olympic Committee for broadcasting rights. VANOC had been asked by Morgan:News:2010 if NBC had or other broadcasters had asked for changes to the 2010 schedule, but it did not reply. There is a potential effect on the amount of money VANOC might receive from IOC rights as a ripple effect of this story. The Australian contract to broadcast the 2010 Games has not yet been negotiated, and if the Aussie channels feel similar types of changes might occur in future Olympic Games, such as 2010's, will affect the value of their deal adversely, their bids might be reduced accordingly.

RESOURCES

Here's the story we first wrote about the Beijing issue and its potential effect on the 2010 Games:

'Beijing swimming schedule tussle has potential to splash part of 2010 funding'
[Morgan:News:2010:Number:1770; Published on Thursday, July 6, 2006]

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

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1939
FIRST NINE LICENSEES APPROVED BY VANOC; PRODUCT IN STORES BY JANUARY

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) has started with nine Canadian companies in its new Official Licensee Program, these ones are under the 'Apparel' and 'Headwear' categories.

The licensees, including five BC-based companies and four located in Toronto, Markham Ontario, and Montreal, will develop and sell products bearing Vancouver 2010 emblems and the Olympic and Paralympic brands. More will be added in other categories later. It includes one company that made its name at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The first nine licensees, in alphabetical order:

Aritzia LP (Apparel and Headwear; women's fashion), Vancouver

Filmar Sportswear Canada Inc. (Headwear; caps and knitted toques), Montreal, QC

Kootenay Knitting Company Ltd. (Apparel and Headwear; knitted sweaters, vests/scarves, matching toques), Cranbrook, BC

New Era Cap Canada (Headwear; caps and toques), Toronto

Panabo Sales Ltd. (Apparel; scarves and ties), North Vancouver, BC

Paris Glove of Canada (Apparel; gloves and mitts), Montreal

Please Mum (Apparel; kids, toddler and infant clothing), Vancouver

Trimark Sportswear Group Inc. (Apparel; lifestyle/activewear), Markham, Ontario

Wilson International Products Ltd. (Apparel; cotton/cotton-blend T-shirts/sweatshirts), Richmond, BC

"Their products will complement the strong merchandising program started by our Premier National Partner, HBC," says Dave Cobb, VANOC executive vice president of Revenue, Marketing & Communications, in releasing the names. The licensee program began with a formal request for proposals earlier this year. "Representing businesses both large and small, these nine licensees reflect the spirit of entrepreneurship for which Canada is renowned, and exemplify how smaller businesses from across the country can get involved in the Games," Cobb added.

The sale of Vancouver 2010 official licensed products contributes directly to Games operational revenue. Merchandise developed by the new licensees is expected to be in stores by January.

BACKGROUND

Here's a look at the companies on the licensee list in a bit more detail:

ARITZIA LP: Aritzia is an off-shoot of Hill's of Kerrisdale, a long-established Vancouver department store owned and operated by the Hill family. Aritzia LP, founded in 1984 by Brian Hill, is a vertically integrated, young-women's apparel retailer, that is also based in Vancouver. Aritzia has 20 boutiques in mall and street locations in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. Its target market is young women aged 15 to 30 interested in advanced styles. It's website: www.aritzia.com

FILMAR SPORTSWEAR CANADA INC.: Filmar, a wholesaler for men's and boy's clothing based in Montreal, sells branded headwear and sportswear to the sporting goods industry. Filmar headwear products are distributed under the Bula and Merkley trademarks in 23 countries worldwide. The company also produces private-label headwear for several other brands. The company is also the exclusive Canadian licensee for the O'Neill sportswear brand and Ron Jon Surf Shop retail stores. Founded in 1976 as a startup, the company has grown to the largest domestic manufacturer of headwear to the sporting goods industry, currently employing more than 200 people in its manufacturing and distribution centre in Montreal. The parent company has a domain, www.filmarcorp.com, but it's website is not yet up. Address: 5445 Av De Gaspe, Montreal QC H2T 3B2, Phone: 514-270-4222; Fax: 514-270-1118; President: Phil Marcovitch.

KOOTENAY KNITTING COMPANY LTD.: Kootenay Knitting first came to Olympic attention during the 2002 Winter Games for the knits it sold to broadcasters of the Games. It is a small British Columbia manufacturing company that sells a variety of knit products to outdoor retailers in North America. A growing part of its business is supplying unique logo hats and sweaters to corporations, resorts, special events and sports teams. Website: www.kootenayknitting.com

NEW ERA CAP CANADA: Since 1920, New Era Cap Canada of Mississauga, Ontario, has been a fashion-headwear brand. It produces more than 30 million caps per year. It is also the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of the official on-field cap worn by every major-league baseball team and their minor league affiliates. Other licenses include the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and Little League Baseball. Some of the Company's core markets include action sports, children, fans, suburbanites, women and fashion/lifestyle. The Company employs more than 1,500 people in New York and Alabama, and at its operations in Canada, Europe and Japan. New Era is a 'Category A' affiliate of the Fair Labor Association. Its website and contact info: www.neweracap.com/talk/

PANABO SALES LTD. A family-owned company based in Vancouver's North Vancouver suburb, has provided made-in-Canada products to the local and international gift and souvenir industries since the 1960s. Some of the major brands include Magenta Designs and three-dimensional works of Boma Manufacturing, as well as leather goods and glassware. Panabo manages distribution outlets in southern Ontario and in Washington State and, it says, "has a dedicated sales force throughout North America and Japan to provide sales support to our customers." Panabo also works with with northwest Pacific aboriginal artists to promote their art and heritage. Website and contact info: www.panabosales.com Note that the website is under construction, but has contact info available on the home page.

PARIS GLOVE OF CANADA: Paris Glove is part of the Paris Group of eight firms, and is one of the oldest glove companies in North America. It's based in Montreal. Since its inception in 1945, Paris Glove has supported Canadian athletes. The company provides 20 nationally recognized brands, across many sport product categories. It makes and sells gloves around the world, and still has production facilities for several of its product groups located in Quebec, Canada. Auclair and Paris have one of the longest sponsor-team relationships in sport with their 30-year history with the Canadian Cross Country ski team. Auclair is also the official supplier to almost every Canadian team on snow and ice including alpine, snowboarding, freestyle, speed skating, bobsled, luge, Nordic combined, biathlon, telemark, speed skiing and, of course, cross country. It operates through its major division AuClair Gloves. www.auclairgloves.com. The president and CEO of the Group is Peter Monk, who took over the company's operations in 1973.

PLEASE MUM: Please Mum is a national children's wear retailer specializing in providing children to age 10 with fashion clothing. Since opening the first outlet in Burnaby, a Vancouver suburb, in 1986, Please Mum has grown to 90 stores across Canada, with about 1,000 full-time and contract jobs and a warehouse in Vancouver. Please Mum also has a strong social side as well, "In the past few years, our partnership with World Vision has generated over half a million dollars to supply schools, education and housing, in Mozambique, Senegal and Mauritania, Africa and we have recently committed to raise another half million for the Survive Five program that gives children there the nutritional and medical essentials they need to survive past the age of five." The company president is Stephen Lee. Its website: www.pleasemum.com Its e-mail contact for suppliers and buyers is <supplierbuyerinquiries@pleasemum.com>

TRIMARK SPORTSWEAR GROUP INC.: Trimark is a privately owned Canadian company founded in 1975, selling lifestyle and performance sportswear within the Canadian logo-apparel industry. The CEO is Derrick Milne, who has an MBA from Harvard and who bought the Markham, Ontario, based company in 1995, says that Will Andrew is to be the president of a new division, to develop a new line of apparel aimed at servicing retailers and sponsors of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The Group was set up after Trimark bought three American companies: Rivers End Trading Company and LA Loving in 1999 and Loving-Kayman a year later. John Black is the chief financial officer of TSG, and Stuart Campbell is the chief operating officer. Website: www.trimarksportswear.com

WILSON INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTS LTD. Founded in 1973 by Tony Wilson, the company has developed into a diversified operation that provides in-house products and services to its clients in the corporate, retail and event sectors of the apparel and promotional merchandise markets. It has a 1,860 square metre (20,000-square foot) facility in Richmond. Wilson International provides integrated services: in-house graphic design, embroidery, screen printing and e-commerce. It also deals with Silk screen printing, embroidering, sportswear, hats, t shirts, jackets, automotive trimmings, pleating, decorative and novelty stitching, tucking, wholesale men's, women's and children's clothing and furnishings and accessories. Website: www.wilsoninternational.com

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

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1938
2010 OLYMPICS EXECUTIVES TARGET BALANCED C$1.7 BILLION OPERATION BUDGET IN LATEST ANNUAL REPORT

Now that Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) has moved its venue-construction deadlines several times over the last three years, and finally won approval for its increased capital budgets from the Canadian and BC governments, its latest annual report says it's on time and on budget.

VANOC's annual report, for the fiscal year that ended July 31, was released today. Here are the highlights from the management discussion and executive interviews that followed its release:

VANOC's chief operating officer John Furlong says the organization's goal is a balanced operations budget of about C$1.7 billion by the time the Games are completed. The estimates until the end of the Games on that will include a contingency. That's changed slightly. Until now, he had referred to operational expenses of about C$1.5 billion. Three senior VANOC executives said in various ways in interviews following the release of the report that VANOC will complete its venue-construction program within the C$580 million budget provided by the BC and federal government cost-sharing arrangement, which has a contingency of C$66.8 million plus C$14.5 million total in-project contingencies . That includes VANOC's executive vice-president of Construction, Dan Doyle. As Furlong puts it flatly, "We will complete it for less than that figure." Notes Rex McLennan, VANOC's executive vice president and chief financial officer, "We are committed to finishing the venue program under that number." McLennan adds that by December, the venue construction program will be past the halfway mark. (The organization accounts for the two budgets separately, since venue construction is financed by governments and the operations budget is financed by private-sector revenues and expenses.) The annual report's management discussion section adds, "Venue construction is on budget with secured government funding and a healthy contingency relative to the uncommitted capital funds. Excellent progress is being made at all venues and we expect to meet the targeted venue completion dates to support VANOC's goal of maximizing venue testing and athlete training opportunities well before the Games. The sponsorship program continues with strong momentum; revenues are up significantly year over year."

For the first time, VANOC is reporting cash revenue from its sponsorship efforts is now flowing into its accounting department, and for its first year, it was a healthy C$38 million. All told, VANOC has so far raised C$550 million in sponsorship sales, with a target of C$100 million for the current fiscal year.

Thanks to deals with its retailing sponsor, HBC, and to marketing and public interest surrounding last February and March's 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, VANOC sold more than C$3 million worth of licensed merchandise, up from just C$21,250 the year before. Executive vice-president of Revenue, Marketing and Communications, Dave Cobb, told Morgan:News:2010, "We are certainly ahead of the targets that were in the first version of the business plan that we submitted last summer. The results that HBC had around the Torino Games were far in excess of what we and HBC expected and, as a result of that, we will be increasing the revenue targets for merchandise sales in the business plan we'll be submitting to our Board in a couple of weeks." Cobb says the demand was so high for VANOC merchandise, HBC encountered shortages. "We're told that the sales of Olympic merchandise were the highest on a square-foot basis in the history of their company. It was very positive, and I think they are looking at adjusting their plans based on a higher-than-expected demand in the future." Expansion of VANOC's licensed merchandise program will occur over the next several months with a quite number of new products bearing VANOC marks becoming available for purchase soon.

Money is flowing through VANOC at a good pace now, as a result of its own efforts in earlier years. Net revenues were C$32.2 million and C$4.3 million for the years ended July 31, 2006 and 200. Revenues for the year ending last July 31 include cash sponsorship revenue of C$38 million, value in kind (VIK) sponsorship revenue of C$6.5 million, licensed merchandise royalties of C$3.4 million and incidental income of $1.1 million. VIK revenue came from its use of sponsors' telecommunications goods and services, banking services, vehicles, fuel, building products, uniforms and clothing and office furniture.

All of VANOC's major revenue sources have costs attached directly to them because of various contractual arrangements, such as assignment of marketing rights by other organizations. As a result, the revenues are net of C$16.6 million in marketing royalties which are paid to the IOC and the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC). Management attributes the increase of C$27.9 million compared to the preceding year to the overall growth in activity and the activation of several major sponsor agreements. Total revenues before royalties and the like and including merchandise were C$47.8 million, compared with C$1.4 million the year earlier.

The deficit [see BACKGROUND for some reporting presentation details] for the 2006 fiscal year was C$17.5 million, up C$1.5 million from the year before. "It is typical for Games organizing committees to operate at a deficit in their early years as a substantial portion of revenues are generated closer to Games time."

Morgan:News:2010 has been reporting over the last year the amounts of money being spent in directed contracts by the federal government to help the Canadian Meteorological Service build four sophisticated weather stations in the Sea-to-Sky corridor near Whistler. Ottawa is recovering its money. VANOC's report says that some of the C$1.3 million in expenses in its Venue Management section relate to "development of weather reporting systems."

VANOC's major expenses, as expected, are payroll and benefits for the 250 employees who worked for the organization as of July 31, which are lumped in with some sustainability expenses, to total C$23.6 million. The second highest component expenditure was in the Finance, Administration and Legal sections. It spent C$12.8 million on "acquiring,
fitting out, and operating VANOC's office, interest and banking charges, financial systems, insurance and legal fees." Much of it had to do with the set up of VANOC's new headquarters in east Vancouver. The third largest expenditure was C$3.8 million for communications and marketing activities, which included sponsorship-related costs.

The report notes that the Canadian government finally brought its account with VANOC up to date during the latest full fiscal year, contributing C$64 million for venue construction for the years 2005 and 2006. "On a project-to-date basis, venue development funding from BC totals $81.0 million while funding from Canada totals $72.1 million.

VANOC's liquidity position at the end of July seems reasonable, given where the Games are in their development: VANOC had cash and restricted cash balances of C$20.2 million and had borrowed C$48 million against its demand credit facilities with its financial sponsor, RBC's the Royal Bank. The restricted cash balances are connected to expenditures for the Hillcrest Curling venue and the Hastings Park skating venue, both in Vancouver, and had to do with the delays in receiving money from the federal government. The expenses were funded by BC during the interim, and finally reimbursed by the Canadian government.

VANOC' hedging program began last February, and that's reported in detail for the first time in this annual report. VANOC gets a significant portion of its revenues from broadcasting deals made by the International Olympic Committee, and various other sources, in foreign currencies, primarily the US dollar and the Euro. By July 21, VANOC was able to confirm future net cash advances of US$240 million and e50 million, and so it set up forward foreign-exchange option contracts to sell those cash flows at specified future dates through to March 2009. The "downside" weighted average rates are at 1.087 for US dollars and 1.405 for Euros. Since August 1 this year, VANOC received US$17 million in advance, generating C$23,000.

COMING UP:

The report confirms that the organization's second business plan, and the first to be made public, won't be released until "early 2007" and perhaps as late as March. VANOC staff and management have been working on its preparation since March, with a deadline of getting it to VANOC's Board of Directors at its November meeting for the first of several sequential approvals it must go through before being released. After the Board is finished with it, it must also be approved by the federal and BC governments, and the IOC. The federal government approved its first plan, about 18 months ago, but the BC government did not, because it was concerned about a lack of sufficient detail behind the initial numbers. Furlong said in an interview today that many of the numbers were "placeholders" for when the organization was able to test its estimates against the operations of the 2006 Winter Games in Torino.

VANOC's senior staff will hold discussions in about two weeks with the IOC about the process of how negotiations between the two will proceed during the next few months over the critical percentage split of the IOC's revenue from 2010 broadcast auctions and international sponsorship. "We've had a brief chat with the IOC about putting in place a process for those discussions," Furlong told Morgan:News:2010 this morning. "There's a project review coming up in Vancouver with the IOC staff in the next two weeks, and we will likely spend a bit of time talking about how we're going to go through this process at that time." The IOC itself uses only about 8% of revenues it generates for its own operations, and distributes the rest through the world-wide Olympic movement, some of which funds the Canadian Olympic Committee and its programs. VANOC will be aiming for as much as it can get to help fund its operations and achieve its balanced budget. The new business plan won't be released until the outcome of the IOC's talks are known and the revenue figures are nailed down. A conservative estimate of the revenue will be in the draft of the new business plan when it goes to VANOC's board of directors in mid-November.

VANOC is still in discussions with Canadian government officials regarding a request for special legislation to protect the Olympic Brand. VANOC's Dave Cobb hopes the legislation will be "introduced and effective" in time to protect its marks and to prevent or reduce ambush marketing of its sponsors during the period leading up to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games through to the end of the 2010 Games. The legislation would give VANOC the power to "act quickly" to counter violations of its intellectual-property rights, and normally it would take too long to get court rulings in such events. The legislation, hopes Cobb, will bypass the normal system for VANOC. Cobb indicated the legislation, which still hasn't been introduced in Parliament, should have been in place "now."

Terry Wright, VANOC's executive vice president of Service Operations and Ceremonies, confirmed the concept of hiring a cruise ship and berth it at Squamish, about an hour's drive from the Games to help house part of the Olympic family is going to go ahead. Wright says those people include, "media, broadcast technicians, potentially security and other members of the workforce". The alternative, he notes, is to house them in Vancouver, two and half hours drive away. The IOC had initially rejected the concept, saying that the ship would be too far away, and preferring the media, at least to be about 15 minutes away from the Games or less. But Wright says, "We're continuing to work with the IOC, and continuing to press ahead to confirm what the potential arrangements will be [in the Sea-to-Sky corridor], and we'll work through the specific press issues over the next three or four months. We'll meet with the [IOC's] Press Commission before we finalize what the allocation of the rooms on the ship will be to the press."

It appears VANOC may advance the bridge funding necessary to have the Vancouver School Board finance an elementary school at the Vancouver Olympic Village, since it's the policy of the BC Ministry of Education to not build schools until there are students ready to attend it, as it's expected there would be in September, 2010. VANOC plans to use the school building to house its polyclinic, and once the School Board discovered it wouldn't be getting funds in advance from the BC government, it went looking for bridge financing. Says Wright, "Traditionally the polyclinics are housed in a temporary facility, usually a modular-space trailer complex. It's our hope that we might be able to contribute a part of that budget for a temporary lease towards some enhancements of the school. If the school doesn't go ahead, then we'll go with the traditional route. If the school goes ahead, then we'll look for a creative partnership to benefit both parties. We need to know, for that decision, about 18 months before the Games."

Planning activities for VANOC's ticketing program will begin this year to prepare for the anticipated public sale beginning in the spring or summer of 2008.

VANOC will learn officially in November whether the IOC will confirm any new events, proposed by seven sports federations for the 2010 Games. They include such things as skier cross, women's ski jumping, singles curling, mixed culring and team events in some of the sliding sports. The IOC program commission made its recommendations last week, but the IOC refuses to reveal what those recomments to the IOC executive meeting in November are. Furlong says there will be no new sports added, but there were a number of events suggested for various disciplines. The chances of "many of them being added" to the 2010 Games, he predicts, is "slim", and requires VANOC to consider the costs and ticket revenues that would be generated by the additions. "There's always the possibility we'll see a new discipline. We have not been formally notified that there will be a new one... most of the applications are not likely to be successful... once we have been told by the IOC which one they might want us to consider, we would look at whatever the cost implications might be. There may be some cases where there are no cost implications, but there might be revenue implications." Reading between the lines, it appears that women's ski jumping, which has a strong push behind it, doesn't have much cost impact but could generate ticket sales, is likely to have the best chance of being approved.

Construction chief Dan Doyle says a BC government requirement for a risk analysis to be turned in by October 31 has been completed and will be sent to Victoria shortly. Doyle says it will be up to the BC government whether its made public. And, he adds, the four-person Capital Advisory Committee also requested by the government to be in place this month has been set up, and he's awaiting confirmation from the fourth of the four people invited by VANOC to sit on it and oversee VANOC construction spending. Once confirmed, the make-up of the Committee will be made public.

VANOC continues to negotiate its venue agreement with Orca Bay, the owner of GM Place, where VANOC medal hockey tournaments are to be played, among other things, but the reason for the delay in concluding it, according to Revenue chief Dave Cobb is that it's a complex arrangement, not because Orca Bay's negotiators are, as has been said, playing hardball. Cobb says that the cost of the arrangement will come out of VANOC's operational budget, not its taxpayer-funded venue construction budget. "We're working with them on such things as how they can help us. We're looking at doing a joint-marketing program, for example, and other ways to share revenues that may be available to us through events at the venue, and really pulling everything we can with them on both sides. I don't think it's fair to say we're playing hardball. We want to make sure we don't leave any rock unturned. And the [negotiations] are within the timeline we need to have certainty by the time we conclude our operating business plan, which will be early in the new year."

VANOC will be starting its Donor Program about two years out from the Games, which would make it likely to begin in early 2008. Dave Cobb says the planning for the program is still in the early stages, and his staff are looking at what kinds of things previous Games did to raise funds this way. Cobb told Morgan:News:2010 that, "Salt Lake [2002 Winter Games] was quite successful in putting together opportunities for businesses and individuals to donate to various aspects of our program. It is one that will evolve [for VANOC] over the next little while, and when we have that formulated, we will give you more information on it."

VANOC now has 53 of its function areas operating, with senior management recruited for most of those functions. It has 275 staff and Furlong says the target is to have 485 people on the payroll by the end of next year.

VANOC's next quarterly report, for the first quarter of VANOC's new fiscal year, ending October 31, will be issued in December.

BACKGROUND

VANOC reports its financials using Canadian generally accepted accounting principles, but because of the short-term, rapid growth nature of the organization, and its short life span, it makes some adjustments in accounting to reflect that. For instance:

The results of its activities are reported as deferred operating revenues and expenses and venue development presented for the year ended July 31, 2006 with comparative figures for the preceding year. As VANOC has an extended operating cycle with a steep growth curve, management always reports its results on a project-to-date basis, which is more meaningful. All revenue and deficit figures are reported as deferred. In our report above, Morgan:News:2010 removes the word "deferred" for readability reasons.

The results of deferred operating revenues and expenses and venue development activities are recorded in the periods received or incurred and deferred over the extended operating cycle which concludes in 2010 with the staging of the Games. That's why no it calls the reports interim financial statements. No prepayments are recorded, and none of VANOC's assets are amortized or depreciated. It's seen simply as an extended operating cycle. so they will be expensed with the staging of the Games in 2010.

RESOURCES

VANOC's annual report is available for download in PDF format here:
www.vancouver2010.com/resources/PDFs/0610_AnnualReport.pdf

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

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1937
Here are three moguls we ran into today:

DOW CHEMICALS, VANOC STILL HAVE LOTS OF WORK TO DO ON SPONSORSHIP DEAL

Sources close to the Dow Chemical Canada sponsorship negotiations with VANOC say there is still quite a bit of work to be done in resolving the details of the arrangement. The deal, whose total value is being protected for competitive reasons, will be a ratio of cash, value-in-kind and expertise, but what the ratio will be and how the three components will be applied is still undecided. "There's still lots to discuss and sort out," says the source. The Official Supplier category values range from a low of C$3 million to a high of C$15 million, and Dow has also bought rights to support the Canadian Olympic Teams for Games through to the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in London, England, in 2012, but the form of that contribution has also yet to be decided. "Those are all still talks we're having about where the funds and products will be best utilized." As for the marketing strategy, the sources say the marketing aspect for the arrangement gives Dow the opportunity to increase corporate awareness of the quality of its products and applications. "There are going to be a lot of opportunities to highlight the relationship in a variety of means in [Dow's] different businesses, whether that's in trade shows or relationships with [Dow's] customers," says the source. VANOC's public statements indicate that Dow's materials will be used in the construction of the two major venues VANOC is building in Whistler, the Nordic Centre and the Sliding Centre, as well as the Hillcrest Curling Centre in Vancouver, but the source says Dow's involvement has only been confirmed for the Sliding Centre so far; Dow's sponsorship will probably be applied to the other two venues but VANOC's process for assessing the materials and the applications has not yet confirmed it. The source, however, says it's also expected there will be other venues where the sponsorship aspects will be applied, as time goes along, adding, "That's one of the places where the company's materials will be involved, but there are others where it will have the opportunity to bid on projects as the Games progress."

INTRAWEST SALE TO FORTRESS EXPECTED TO COMPLETED TOMORROW

Intrawest Corporation is still expecting its sale to Fortress Investment Group LLC be completed tomorrow. Intrawest owns Whistler-Blackcomb resort, which is a venue of the 2010 Winter Games. Today, the Supreme Court of British Columbia approved the deal involving Intrawest, its shareholders and optionholders and two companies owned directly or indirectly by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress. The arrangement was approved by Intrawest securityholders at a meeting October 17. More than 99.9 per cent voted in favour. Yesterday, the transaction was approved by the Canadian minister of Industry under the rules of the Investment Canada Act. Once the deal's completed tomorrow, the common shares of Intrawest will be delisted from the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges. Intrawest's shareholders are to receive US$35 in cash for each Intrawest common share they own.

COQUITLAM FIRM MOVED VANOC HQ STAFF

Information released by the BC government shows that Williams Moving & Storage of Coquitlam, a suburb of Vancouver, was the company that moved VANOC staff from their former headquarters in downtown Vancouver to their new building in east Vancouver earlier this year. The 77-year-old, family-owned moving company contracted with Innovation Networks to help it deal with moving computer equipment. Innovation Networks is 56% owned by people from the Tsawwassen aboriginal band, where the firm was formed in 1997. Williams responded to a VANOC ad for a moving company and it and Innovation submitted a joint bid.

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

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1936
DOW CHEMICAL BECOMES OFFICIAL SUPPLIER OF VANOC'S REQUIREMENTS FOR INSULATION AND HEAT-TRANSFER FLUIDS

The latest supplier-sponsor for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) is Dow Chemical Canada Inc. (DCC), a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.

DCC, in a deal with VANOC that gives it sponsorship rights within Canada for the 2010 Winter Games -- including sponsorship rights for the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Olympic Team for 2008, 2010, and 2012 -- is to be "the official supplier of insulation materials and heat transfer fluids." Dow Chemical, the international firm, has supported the Olympic movement in various ways for about 30 years.

The deal was given little fan-fare by VANOC. A prepared statement from VANOC says the two organizations are "mutually committed to the principles of sustainability," and that they "will work together to support a green Olympics by increasing awareness of how to reduce waste." Dow's Building & Construction business will supply insulation products that will be extensively used in the construction of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic venues.

Dow Chemical Canada Inc., a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, employs approximately 1,300 people in Canada. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Dow Canada and its affiliates have manufacturing locations in: Sarnia and Toronto, Ontario; Fort Saskatchewan and Prentiss, Alberta; and Varennes, Quebec. The category value is between C$3 million and C$15 million, but the value for the Dow deal was not disclosed, nor the ratio of cash versus value-in-kind.

Jeff Johnston, president, Dow Chemical Canada, also notes that "A portion of Dow's sponsorship will be directed to support VANOC's sustainability objectives, which will include a focus on recycling and litter clean-up initiatives." He added that for over three decades, "Dow's insulation materials and building solutions have been widely utilized at Olympic venues. We are pleased to have so many products that will contribute to VANOC's venue construction program."

The company's products have found application that are diverse, such as protecting ice surfaces, providing for a uniform and consistent cold temperature, and for keeping buildings "warm and comfortable" for athletes and the spectators.

Dan Doyle, executive vice president of Construction for VANOC says that Dow's products will be used in the Whistler Sliding Centre, the Whistler Nordic Centre, both in the Whistler area, and the Hillcrest Curling Centre in Vancouver. "These venues will not only host athletes and spectators during the Games, but will contribute to sustainable sport and recreation legacies for generations to come," he said.

Dow's building envelope products deal with energy efficiency, moisture resistance and durability and includes brands such as Dow Styrofoam extruded polystyrene insulation, Weathermate, housewraps and Great Stuff Pro, a collection of insulating foam sealants and adhesives.

Dow's heat transfer fluids are sold under the brand names Dowther, Dowfrost and Ucartherm. They're used in industrial and commercial applications for high-temperature and low-temperature applications. Dowtherm SR-1, for instance, is to maintain high-quality ice in arenas and other ice-sports facilities.

The international parent company has annual sales of US$46 billion and employs 42,000 people worldwide.

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

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #1935
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BUYS MORE EXPENSIVE PIECES FOR 2010'S NEW, SOPHISTICAED WEATHER RADAR SYSTEM

The Canadian government's weather service is, for a third time, intending to contract with an American company for more parts for the four weather stations it intends to build by next March that will provided meterological information for the planners of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Public Works documents show that it will spend C$289,000 with Sigmet Corporation without going to tender to purchase four sets of equipment that will control the weather stations' radar antennae and process the signals it receives. Sigmet Corporation of Manalapan, New Jersey, is a subsidiary of Vaisala Inc of Woburn, Massachusetts. Vaisala, in turn, is owned by a parent company by the same name in Helsinki, Finland. The latest contract brings the total spent by the Canadian Meteorological Service on the Doppler-weather stations to at least C$649,000 in new equipment, without going to tender, but the Service is also using other equipment it bought for other purposes in the network of 30 similar stations in other parts of the country.

Last June, a directed contract was issued to Vasiala for C$360,000 for a wind-profiling radar system and a radio-acoustic sounding system, and on October 3, and in October Public Works bought cavity magnetrons, a high-powered tube that generates coherent microwaves and works like an amplifier, from the same company at an undisclosed price.

The Doppler weather radar system will be located in the Sea-To-Sky corridor not far from Whistler for Olympic and Paralympic weather surveillance, forecasts and detection of severe weather. The Meteorological Service of Canada's National Radar Program will build and deliver the radars for the Games, and they'll be integrated into Canada's overall weather system after the Games are gone.

The reason, says Public Works Canada, that such a large contract is being directed to a specific company is that all of the radar control systems currently in use by the MSC are supplied by Sigmet Corporation. These include operational radar systems and networks, and wind-shear detection. The money will be spent on purchasing an antenna control, model RCP8. This equipment controls the scanning strategy of the radar itself. The antenna dish rotates horizontally, but scans vertically. That produces a large volume of radar return data, as the signal bounces off objects and returns to the dish. Movements of the dish, and the antenna within the dish, must be precise to produce accurate information, and so a sophisticated antenna control system is required.

The Signet signal processor and antenna controllers work in pairs. The main task of radar's signal processor is to make decisions. After a signal has been transmitted, the receiver collects the bounce information, with signals bouncing from near objects arriving first because time of arrival translates into target range. The signal processor makes decisions over whether a specific bounce is due to an object or is just electronic noise. Atmospheric noise enters into the system through the antenna, and all the electronics in the radar's signal path produces noise, and the bounce signal is quite weak. The processor has to decide whether a given bounce is a reflection or noise. If it's too sensitive, the radar screen produces false objects; not sensitive enough, and bounces from far-away objects, or poorly reflecting ones, are ignored.

For the Vancouver 2010 stations to work within the model RCP8 system, specific types of equipment have to be used, says Public Works, which is why they are only buying from Sigmet Corporation: they get data consistency, maintenance expertise, archival assistance and the like in a way that works with the rest of the system.

General scientific expertise, technical support processes, equipment sparing and maintenance strategies used by Environment Canada, says Public Works, "that rely on the availability of Vaisala-Sigmet radar components... The development of operational and systems-management weather-radar capabilities are not trivial and have taken years to develop. The purchase of antenna-control and signal-processing units from other vendors would result in this unit being incompatible with the national system. It could not be recycled back into they system at the end of the Olympic Games. Moreover, no expertise exists in Environment Canada for the operation and maintenance of other vendor's systems. Essentially, it would be unlikely MSC could construct and operate a weather surveillance radar in time for the Games if another vendor or venders were chosen."

RESOURCES

Sigmet contact information:

www.vaisala.com/businessareas/measurementsystems/weatherradar/products/sigmet
--

Vaisala Inc. info
The Helsinki-based company is public; here's its investor-relations page:
www.vaisala.com/investors

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

Monday, October 23, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #1934
VANOC TO COMMISSION MAJOR TRAFFIC-REGULATION STUDY FOR GAMES-TIME USE

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) has launched the process that is to provide it with detailed plans by June 1 for how traffic could be regulated in Greater Vancouver and along the highway between Vancouver and Whistler during the 2010 Winter Games.

VANOC says it has preliminary estimates that indicate that the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will generate up to 400,000 trips per day. To put that number in perspective, the regional public transit system registered about 500,000 trips daily last year. The estimate is based the fact there were about six million trips that took place daily in the Greater Vancouver area in 2005, and of those, two million were destined for the City of Vancouver alone. About 370,000 vehicles entered or left the City of Vancouver each day.

VANOC is expected to award a contract by December 1 to a traffic-planning firm to develop a transportation model that will help VANOC predict how Games-generated traffic is to integrate with the "background" flow of vehicles that would normally be expected to be using the streets around its Greater Vancouver venues and the Sea-to-Sky Highway from the Eagleridge interchange at West Vancouver and Function Junction, which is just south of Whistler and near the highway exits to VANOC's Whistler Nordic Centre and its Whistler Athlete Village.

VANOC last June received its first third transportation study, all done by Creative Transportation Solutions of Port Moody. VANOC won't release the report or give much detail about it, other than to say that it contains a "geo-marketing study" to identify the origins of spectators, volunteers and skiers, another geo-marketing study to identify spectators' origins for each of its the 2010-Olympic venues, a study of the parking supply in the areas surrounding the venues and how much the parking is used, and a venue-by-venue analysis of transit and parking strategies. By February 1, VANOC wants to have an updated geo-marketing report.

By next June, it wants to have a complete transportation demand model constructed, along with plans for Sea-to-Sky Highway transportation; the mountain area in the Whistler region, which would take in all the Whistler-area Games venues; and a similar plan for the Greater Vancouver area.

All the plans would figure out a list of preferred corridors for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, an assessment of the impact of street closures, traffic-flow reversal, and any additional transit and park-and-ride capacity that would be necessary to accommodate the additional Games-related traffic.

Here's what VANOC wants to know and the work it wants done:

TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MODEL:

This would be constructed from VANOC's existing transportation studies, and the studies of other government agencies, along with census numbers and projections -- and VANOC's own information about parking, traffic, projected attendance and the assumptions about Games schedules -- as a way of being able "to forecast how Games-related vehicular and pedestrian traffic flows will interact with background traffic" even with Games-related traffic being injected into the traffic flows. The idea is to provide a detailed computer model of the expected regional 2010 transportation system, that includes "forecast non-games infrastructure and demand." It would also mode the regional "Games-induced transportation demand both for direct Games-generated demand and indirect demand" for each of the main VANOC traffic generators [see BACKGROUND, below, for the list of these generators].

It's a model that VANOC hopes will help it manage the "background demand" for motor vehicle use -- that is the general non-Games related traffic -- Games demand, the various shares of different types of transportation, and transportation capacity. "The goal of this exercise," says a VANOC staffer, "will be to maximize the likelihood that the movement of goods and people between the venues will occur within time requirements set by VANOC. The phrase, "by people", it says it defines as, in order of helping: athletes & team officials, workforce (volunteers, staff, contractors), broadcasters, the press, IOC/IPC members, NOC/NCP members, international sports-federation members, marketing partners, spectators, and residents.

The plans are to compile, particularly in the Greater Vancouver area, the list of of Olympic traffic lanes or roadways that might be set aside that would only carry the various categories of VANOC vehicles, such as those carrying VIPs, Olympic officials, athletes and their team support, and the like.

There are a number of agencies that will be using the information the model provides: the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority, BC Transit, the BC Ministry of Transportation, the federal government's Transport Canada, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Vancouver International Airport, the City of Vancouver, and the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit, which oversees security for the Games.

Here are the questions VANOC is hoping the model might be able to answer once it's constructed:

Will the vehicular traffic occurring during the Games period -- from January 30 to March 31, 2010 -- generate congestion above the existing levels? If so, where will the congestion occur? What are the options that might mitigate this?

What will be the effects of a street closure or change in flow direction on the traffic flow in surrounding streets?

What are the effects of the creation of temporary pedestrian malls, such as streets dedicated only to pedestrian traffic, on the vehicular and pedestrian flow in the streets surrounding the VANOC venues?

Is the existing public transit capacity to each one of VANOC's competition and non-competition venues sufficient to adequately service the incoming and departing traffic? If not, what additional capacity would be necessary?

Is the existing park-&-ride capacity around the venues and other traffic generators, and in the Greater Vancouver Regional District of municipalities sufficient to accommodate the expected volume of traffic? If not, what additional capacity would be required? (Park & ride is a nickname for car parking lots that have shuttle-bus access from the parking lot to a nearby location.)

THE GREATER VANCOUVER AREA TRANSPORTATION PLAN

This transportation plan is for the area that takes in all of the Olympic and Paralympic venues in and around Vancouver. The primary goal of the plan is to figure out strategies to ensure that the movement of goods and people occurs within time requirements set by VANOC. [See the "Greater Vancouver Area" in BACKGROUND, below, for the list of traffic generators that would be covered by this plan.] The governmental organizations that VANOC would like to help in developing the plan include the BC Ministry of Transportation, the City of Vancouver, the City of Richmond, the District of North Vancouver, the District of West Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority, at a minimum. The idea would be for the plan to provide VANOC with "preliminary contingency strategies to mitigate the effect of any disruption that may occur in the area."

THE SEA-TO-SKY HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION PLAN

This plan is to be build out of the information provided by the model. The major goal of this plan is figure out strategies that would ensure that the movement of goods and people along the highway corridor occurs within time requirements set by VANOC, which it so far has not released publicly. Although the primary focus is from the Eagleridge intersection at the south end of the highway to just south of Whistler, the corridor plan also has to integrate with traffic using the Upper Levels highway east of Eagleridge junction to Cypress Bowl, which is another of VANOC's venues.

THE MOUNTAIN AREA TRANSPORTATION PLAN

This plan is for the area that covers all of the Olympic and Paralympic venues in and around the Resort Municipality of Whistler and the District of Squamish, to the southwest. The primary goal of this plan, says VANOC, will be to figure out strategies that ensure that the movement of goods and people also moves within the times set by VANOC. [See the "Whistler Area" in BACKGROUND, below, for the list of traffic generators that would be covered by this plan.]

BACKGROUND

The list of locations VANOC wants these studies to involve:

GREATER VANCOUVER AREA

Vancouver's downtown core

Vancouver International Airport

BC Place Stadium, where the medal hockey games will be played

Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park, where curling is to be the main driver

The Northern Media Village, which apparently is still contemplated for Squamish, although the International Olympic Committee has frowned on the distance from Squamish to Whistler for the media

Richmond long-track speed-skating Oval

Trout Lake and Killarney Rinks, which will be used for secondary hockey games and practice

Cypress Mountain

IOC/IPC Headquarters

UBC Winter Sports Centre

General Motors Place

Pacific Coliseum at Hastings Park in eastern Vancouver

Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre

Vancouver Olympic Village

WHISTLER AREA

Whistler Sliding Centre

Whistler Celebration Site

Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village

Mountain Media Centre in Whistler

Whistler Creekside

Whistler Nordic Centre

and

Live sites, where big-screen TVs will be located for public viewing of the Games, and sponsor villages in both Vancouver and Whistler

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

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1933
Here are three moguls we ran into today:

VANOC TO HIRE COMPANY PROVIDING MOTOR COACHES FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS

VANOC is offering a formal Request for Proposals for what appears to be a two-year contract for a company to provide it with motor coaches and drivers, however the contract offer is carelessly prepared, with one part suggesting the contract would be to November 2009, while another part says the contract would start this November and go to February 2010, which is just before the Games are due to start. In either case, VANOC says it's also offering "an option to renew for an additional term to carry through to April 30, 2010" which would take the deal through the period during which both the Olympics and Paralympics would be held, and during which it would be expected there would be heavy demand. VANOC is looking for a company that can provide a wide range of modern coaches, from those that hold 56 passengers to 20-passenger mini-buses, including coaches that hold 30-48 passengers, depending on VANOC's needs at any given time. The services, according to the offer, would be on an "as and when" the buses are required basis, starting this November. These services are required for the Greater Vancouver area including round trips to Whistler; even so drivers need to know "the Greater Vancouver Regional District area, Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton." And, says the RFP, "The services will be used to provide occasional transportation for employees, media and other interested parties as needed up to Games time in February 2010." The coaches all need to be set up with "DVD and CD systems, as well as television monitors." The contract offer appears to be hastily prepared, with parts of the offer template not properly filled in. There are no details at all about the expected motor coach demand during the period. VANOC is insisting that the buses provided be "the newest, most mechanically sound motor coaches regardless of the length of the trip," but it adds elsewhere that the buses can't be more than 10 years old. VANOC says all the supplied coaches will be inspected by VANOC crews before use. The closing date for the RFP is November 14.

COC HAS ANOTHER LOOK AT VANOC VENUES

The Canadian Olympic Committee has conducted its second official site visit to Vancouver as the Committee prepares, as it normally would for any Olympic Winter Games, for the 2010 Games. Members of the Committee's Olympic Preparation and Games department participated in venues tours and met VANOC personnel from most functional areas. The officials' visit was aimed at becoming more familiar with construction plans and progress on the venues so ar, and continuing their discussions with VANOC officials "on strategies that will give Canada home field advantage leading to and during the Game," according to a spokesman. Besides reviewing the venues and the sites of the Olympic Villages that are now both under construction in Vancouver and Whistler, the COC staff identified potential sites for other team activities such as performance services, clothing distribution and special events. The NOC Relations division at VANOC did an excellent job hosting us," said Dermer-Norris, the COC's director of Team Operations. "They anticipated our needs during this visit and provided us with comprehensive information which will help advance our Olympic-preparation strategies and team operations plans." The COC also works with the national winter-sport federations (NSFs) to identify key elements of their individual Olympic plans. "We are encouraged to see the cooperation between the NSFs and the VANOC Sport division on sport venue and technically related matters," said Dermer-Norris, who added that the work should "result in teams being able to maximize their training and pre-Games competition opportunities at Olympic venues." The COC will conduct several site visits to Vancouver and Whistler over the next four years. "When we participate in Games outside the country," said Dermer-Norris, "our focus is to create an environment which is performance centred but also a home away from home for the athletes and coaches. But in 2010, we will already be home. What a unique advantage this will be." The COC's staff who were on the site review besides Dermer-Norris included: Carla Anderson, the manager of Team Operations; Derek Covington, the director of Olympic Preparation and Mike Christie, the technical manager of Olympic Programs.

CODA TO SPEND C$2-MILLION ON UPGRADING CANMORE CENTRE FOR 2010 NORDIC ATHLETES

A new C$2-million investment by the Calgary Olympic Development Association has been established to expand the Bill Warren Training Centre in Canmore, Alberta, for 2010 Olympic-bound Nordic racers. CODA's financial injection is expected to expand the existing Centre by about 560 square metres (6,000 square feet), and "significantly enhance" weight training and aerobic facilities, laboratory testing space as well as expand offices for coaches and support staff. A video analysis room is also to be added. "CODA is committed to providing Canada's athletes with the premier training facilities they need to win in 2010 and beyond," says Bob Nicolay, CODA's president and CEO. The organization is also undertaking to build Canada's first Centre of Sport Excellence. "This investment complements the more than C$30 million the Government of Alberta recently spent to modernize the Canmore Nordic Centre to current world-calibre standards, and will ultimately put more Canadians on the international podium in the sports of cross-country skiing and biathlon," Nicolay says. The Canmore Nordic Centre, he notes, is core to CODA's plan to develop the Centre of Sport Excellence in Alberta. The national body announced two weeks ago construction of five new world-leading facilities at Calgary's Canada Olympic Park for the sports of snowboarding, freestyle skiing, alpine skiing and ski jumping. The expanded training centre, which is home to the national skiing federation, Cross Country Canada, is expected to be available for use in November 2007. The idea is to give Canada's high-performance athletes three full winters to access to new support facilities before Canada hosts the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

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

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1932
Here are three moguls we ran into today:

VANOC FINANCIAL REPORT DUE WEDNESDAY

VANOC is expected to provide its latest financial and business operations report on schedule on Wednesday morning. On the same day, VANOC CEO John Furlong will provide his own interpretation the organization's progress to the Vancouver Board of Trade during a luncheon speech. VANOC began issuing quarterly financial reports with its initial quarterly report last spring, providing the public with financial results, operational updates, recent milestones and a look ahead to the next quarter. The organization's financial year starts July 1.

C$15.8 MILLION SPENT ON RICHMOND OVAL TO JUNE 30

Richmond City's second-quarter fiscal report to June 30 shows the city has spent C$15.8 million so far on building the sports complex that will contain the 2010 Olympic Oval and that represents 9% of the project as being completed. The total capital budget for the project is C$178 million budget. The estimated date of completion for the building is July 31, 2008. VANOC requires the building to be completed by November of that year. It has also spent C$35,000 of the budgeted C$110,000 on the planning for the public art portion of the oval area. That represents about 70% of the job completed, according to staff. The report also shows that KD Engineering of Vancouver won the contract for being the independent commissioning authority for the oval on a bid of C$113,974. and that North American Pipe & Steel, with offices in the Greater Vancouver suburb of Surrey, won the contract for supplying and delivering steel pipe to the oval construction site on a bid of C$91,564.

RICHMOND CAPITAL PLAN PREDICTS OVAL SPENDING OF C$56.6 MILLION TO 2011

Meanwhile, Richmond City's latest five-year capital plan, for fiscal 2007-2011, shows that spending on the sports complex is expected to come to C$56.6 million during that time. All but C$3.8 million is coming from funds generated by Richmond sources, the balance is coming from "future grants/donations/contributions". There's also another C$2.4 million expected to be spent on capital aspects during that period from the Olympic Legacy Fund, which is set up to help operate several 2010 venues after the Games are completed. The Olympic related spending in the proposed five-year plan accounts of 81.7% of the city's total building program. The city's total 5-year capital plan is proposed to be C$135 million. The total budget for the sports complex is C$178 million. The city also expects to spend C$1.8 million on public art in the oval's precinct. The 5-year capital plan is updated annually.

RESOURCES

KD Engineering's contact info:
www.teamkd.com/contact.html

North American Pipe & Steel contact info:
www.napsteel.com/napcontact.htm

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

Friday, October 20, 2006

Morgan:News:2010 |General| #1931
ECONOMICS PAPER SAYS 2006 WINTER GAMES EFFECT WAS GENERALLY POSITIVE FOR HOST REGION

A paper released today at an international Olympic symposium at the University of Western Ontario reports the 2006 Winter Olympics had a generally positive effect on Torino and the region that hosted the Games, even though the Games themselves ran a $33 million deficit on spending of $1.3 billion. That made Torino the most expensive Winter Games so far. VANOC has not yet released a business plan but it's total budget is expected to be about $1.7 billion.

The paper -- 'Torino: What Kind of Olympic Games Were They?: A Preliminary Account From an Organizational And Economic Perspective' -- was written by economists Piervincenzo Bondonio and Nadia Campaniello.

The authors note that five of eight Winter Olympics since 19809 have lost money, but it also talks about the growth of the Games in various ways: From Lake Placid in 1980 to Torino in 2006, revenue from TV rights leaped to $832 million from $21 million, athletes to 2,500 from 1,072; participating countries to 80 from 37; media to 10,000 from 3,983 and spectators, 1.5 million from 433,000.

The paper offers a positive perspective on the Torino Games, noting that, like those in BC, the Italian Games were pursued as an economic springboard for a city and region seeking revival. The paper talks about the significant amounts of urban redevelopment that occurred, and that the image of Torino and the surrounding regions is more positive for tourists than before.

The paper reports the infighting and hostility among various levels of government and committees, significant disinterest on the part of Italian media, and continued uncertainty about the legacy of the Games. It also notes that most of the event management expertise that was gathered for the Games has dissipated.

Bob Barney, Western Professor Emeritus (Kinesiology) and founding director of the Western's International Centre for Olympic Studies, which is hosting the symposium in London, Ontario, where the paper was released, says, "Nothing surprised me or shocked me about the paper. Do these things break even? Hardly ever. In the case of Vancouver, I think that the eye that is cast forward in terms of escalation of costs, labour, materials and services required to put on the Games is too conservative or is done fairly optimistically. It should be done with the worst case scenario in mind, but that never happens."

In Barney's view the cost overrun issues that the Vancouver Olympics face are foretold through the research in Bondonio's paper. "Their bids always make it seem as though the Games are going to break even. This isn't usually the case."

Barney says VANOC also needs to pay attention to the legacy buildings of the Games and how those assets have often turn into debits.

"Vancouver should be focusing on the cost of running those facilities once the Games are done," he says. "The history of that in post-Olympic Games is not an attractive history. The operators of the Sydney facilities went back to the state and asked for $10 million to operate them after their initial projections for usage were found to be too high. So that should be a concern for Vancouver." A trust fund is to be set up to help subsidize VANOC's venues following the Games until they can build up enough business to pay their own operational expenses.

"There's no doubt about that in my mind," Barney says, that the Olympic Games franchises are healthy. "Olympic TV viewership for the Beijing Games will approach four billion people, around four-fifths of the world's population. If you look at the Games in terms of corporations willing to invest, or athletes interested in starting a career, then the answer is yes, the Games are still healthy." Barney also notes that the Games are about as pure a family entertainment spectacle as can be found. The inspirational and motivational stories are what Barney sees as the hooks for the Games for all spectators, including himself.

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

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #1930
Here are three moguls we ran into today:

CANADIAN FORECASTER SUGGESTS 2010 WINTER LIKELY AFFECTED BY EL NINO

A weather forecaster for the CTV network, the host broadcaster of the 2010 Winter Games, says there's a good chance that the winter of 2010 may be somewhat dryer and warmer than normal because he forecasts it will be part of an El Nino event. That could bode well for reducing the intensity of winter storms coming onto the coastline around Vancouver and Whistler from roughly October 2009 through March 2010. The 2010 Olympics start Feb 12, 2010, while the Paralympics begin on March 12. "It would probably be better for [VANOC] to have calm conditions, dryer conditions as opposed to having storms every day with massive amounts of snow, rain or wind, or all those things associated with storms," said CTV meteorologist Jesse Mason. El Nino is a warming of the Pacific Ocean between South America and the International Date Line, centered directly on the equator, and typically extending several degrees of latitude to either side of the equator. It occurs every two to three years. Typically, El Nino is first noticed along the South American coast around Christmas. The effect on snow packs in the Vancouver/Whistler area of an El Nino event are that less precipitation occurs during the winter and the freezing level is higher, so rain occurs somewhat higher up the mountains, and the season where the snow accumulates is shorter. How strong is the likelihood these effects will occur? In normal years, it's about 50-50 whether a winter will be warm and dry or cold and wet. In the southern British Columbia area, El Nino tends to bring drier winters. Since it tends to occur in cycles, and the coming North American winter of 2006/2007 is also expected to be an El Nino event, it increases the likelihood that the winter of 2009/2010 will be one as well. During an El Nino event, the likelihood of a dry winter is increased to between 65% and 75%. VANOC has made extensive plans for snow-making during the construction of its snow venues, such as significant improvements to snow-guns and pumping machinery at Cypress Bowl and Whistler/Blackcomb, as well as new equipment being laid in place as the Whistler Nordic Centre is constructed. The Olympics planning also tends to put more of the alpine events towards the beginning of the two weeks of Games in case any have to be postponed. In addition, the federal government is in the process of installing sophisticated weather forecast equipment in the Whistler area to help VANOC predict as early as possible whether to go ahead or postpone a particular sports event with enough time to warn spectators if it needs to be delayed.

KIMBERLY BC TO HOST PARALYMPICS WORLD CUP IN SKIING

One of British Columbia's communities that's been trying to lure national Olympic and Paralympic teams to train for the 2010 Winter Games has been chosen to host a World Cup in skiing from January 24 to 26. The International Paralympic Committee's Alpine Skiing committee made the decision following a series of meetings in Bonn, Germany. The event, sponsored by the western-Canadian telco, Telus Communications, will be held at the Kimberley Alpine Resort. About 100 ski racers from an estimated 12 countries are expected to attend. Through a rotation cycle, Canada receives the mandate to host a World Cup event in skiing every two years. There have been international events in 2003 and 2005 in Kimberley. Alpine Canada, which organizes the event, hopes to host a World Cup test event in 2009 for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Whistler.

IOC OPENS POSSIBLITY NEW-MEDIA RIGHTS MAY BE SEPARATED FROM NATIONAL BROADCASTER RIGHTS

The chair of the International Olympic Committee's Marketing Commission, Gerhard Heiberg, says the IOC sees television and new media as complimentary. "Together they will enrich the experience of the Olympic Games and widen their appeal to new audiences," he told the broadcast professionals gathered in Monaco for a five-day conference and forum called Sportel. The forum is held annually for business people involved with all aspects of international sports broadcasting, sports content and sports images. Heiberg told the group that the IOC aims to have the fullest coverage by the different media and the widest possible audience in the world for the Olympic Games. The Games in Athens in 2004 were seen by 4.3 billion unduplicated viewers in 220 countries while Olympic Winter Games in Torino earlier this year were seen, he says, by 3.2 billion unduplicated viewers in 220 countries. So far, the IOC's new-media rights have always been granted to its broadcast sponsors who act as broadcast gatekeepers for their territories. "However, times and opportunities change," he says, "and nobody should assume that this will automatically continue further into the future. The IOC television broadcast rights marketing strategy is based on a territory-by-territory approach and there is now no reason to believe that this territory-by-territory approach cannot be applied with equal success to include new media opportunities." He added that, "We are enthusiastically active in extending our understanding of the best way of offering these rights so as to fulfil our obligations and provide added value to our partners in every territory."

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

Morgan:News:2010 |Sports| #1929
ALPINE CANADA SPLITS TOP EXECUTIVE JOB, READ BECOMES CEO, ALLAN BECOMES PRESIDENT

The top executive position of Alpine Canada, the governing body for ski racing in Canada, has been split into two, as part of the effort to help the organization win at least two gold medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

President Ken Read has become the organizations' first full-time chief executive officer, while businessman Gary Allan has been named Alpine Canada's new president, Read's former job.

The executive appointments and restructuring of leadership positions are designed, says Read, to ensure athletes on the Canadian Alpine Ski Team (CAST) and the Canadian Disabled Alpine Ski Team (CDAST) are given the increased support necessary to reach the organization's goal of becoming a sustainable world-leading alpine-racing country by 2010.

Over the past four years of Read's presidency, Alpine Canada revenue has risen 150% through long-term commercial sponsorships, increased fundraising programs such as the Podium Club, Founders Club and Rising Stars projects which now direct nearly $1 million in funding towards athlete development, and through relationships with funding agencies including the federal government's Sport Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee and Own The Podium, for which the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) is helping to raise C$55 million by 2010.

However, to compete with other ski nations, Alpine Canada estimates it requires at least C$3 million more in funding each year as well as bolstering the Alpine Canada Foundation to its goal of at least C$20 million.

Effective Monday, Read will be responsible for the organization's strategic direction, for developing tactics and for fulfilling Alpine Canada's mission to deliver to athletes the resources -- human, technical and financial -- required to be the world's best.

Allan, a Calgary-based entrepreneur, is to focus on managing the day-to-day operations of the growing sports organization as it prepares to organize major alpine ski events in advance of the 2010 Winter Games. For the past four years, he served on the four-man executive committee of the Lake Louise Winterstart World Cups, and has been involved in bringing more races to Canada.

"Alpine ski racing in Canada has been growing with tremendous momentum," says Read, "and these changes focus resources where they can solidly impact our stated goal of being the best in the world in 2010 and beyond."

Alpine Canada athletes lat season recorded 36 World Cup medals, five Paralympic medals and a strong team performance at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games; it was the country's best performance in alpine skiing so far. Since 2002, the Canadian Alpine Ski Teams have moved from 12th to 6th in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Nations ranking and to fourth in the Disabled World Cup