Morgan:News:2010:Bronze Edition: February 2007

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2176

Here are two more moguls we ran into today:

PARTS OF 2010 GAMES TO BE RUN ON WINDOWS 2003

The Vancouver Games may be held in 2010, but Atos Origin, the information technology sponsor of the Vancouver/Whistler Winter Games, has decided to base a sizable proportion of its Games network on what will then be seven-year-old technology -- Microsoft Windows 2003 -- in addition to its use of the industrial operating system, Unix. Because software is updated so often, the rule of thumb in information technology is to multiply the calendar age of software or hardware by seven to get a sense of how old it is compared with something that's state-of-the-art. By that informal guideline, the technology on which a portions of the Games will be run will be the technology equivalent of about 20 years old. Games technology specialists have said in the past that the Olympics prefers not to have state-of-the-art technology, because it would rather use something that is known and as stable as possible, and then incorporate redundancy, so the effect is to considerably reduces the possibility of problems during the high-pressure timeframe when the Games are running. A known system is also much easier to troubleshoot, because technicians have had a chance to building up a lot of practical experience with it. Much of the software and hardware specifications will be "hardened" this year for the 2010 Games, so that error testing, security testing and integrating the systems with the myriad pieces of equipment necessary can begin. During this year, we've learned, the specifications and configurations for the Windows 2003 system will be decided, and how Windows will be integrated with the Unix sections of the systems, will also be settled. The whole process is under the oversight of a systems architect who is unifying five separate systems, such as games support, accreditation and the like, for the 2010 Games. Also during this year and next, the technology team will be creating documentation and tracking the operations of various standard processes, such such as server farm construction, setting up detailed procedures for disaster recovery scenarios and producing various other operational guides for the Games testing and run time. Atos Origin, a large international firm, is working in Vancouver with the Canadian section of another engineering firm, Ajilon Consulting.

HBC SPONSORS SPEED SKATING CANADA IN FIVE-YEAR DEAL

HBC, VANOC's major retailing sponsor, has done a five-year sponsorship deal with Speed Skating Canada, although the value of the arrangement was not released. Under the deal, HBC is to provide merchandise and money to support the organization and its athletes in training. The program includes a package of more than 20 pieces of clothing annually to athletes, coaches, staff and officials. Some of the items in the 2007 package include: podium shirts and pants, a jacket for winter and one for spring and fall, team sweaters, blazers, travel luggage and back packs. The money is to go directly to the athletes' program and training.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 28, 2007

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2175

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

VANOC CONTINUES TO EXPAND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

VANOC continues to inflate its division responsible for transportation planning. It is expected to hire a manager in a month or so to begin the detailed planning work for taking care of the transportation services for its clients -- and that's a wide range of people and organizations involved with the 2010 Games. They include athletes, media, VIPs connected with national Olympic committees from around the world, sponsors and, even spectators. The position and its support team is a go-between, connecting VANOC to a myriad of transportation methods -- trucks, trains, busses, helijets and more -- and the agencies and companies that supply them, and making sure both they and VANOC know the requirements and how schedules and equipment dovetail with those requirements. Internally, the manager is also responsible for recruiting, coaching and performance.

ALPINE CANADA STRATEGY FOR 2010 -- MORE COMPETITION

Alpine Canada's strategy for the 2010 Winter Olympics is to increase the number of skiers the national federation supports to 50 athletes, with the goal of taking the best 22 of them to the 2010 Games. The increased number of skiers in the support pool, according to Alpine Canada CEO Ken Read, is expected to place intense pressure on improved performance among them all. The effect, he suggests, is aimed at improve their time by hundreds of a second -- often all that separates the top finishers -- and put more athletes on the podium at World Cups, World Championships and the Olympic Winter Games in 2010. "Competition drives improved performance," said Read. "With extra funding from the private sector and Own the Podium, we will create a winning edge for our athletes." Read continues to build sponsorship support -- Northwest Mutual Funds, in a multi-year deal, just became the official mutual fund of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team.

VANOC NORDIC CHIEF FORESEES SPORT BECOMING MORE BUSINESS-LIKE

Quote without comment: "Many of us have been through the dramatic changes in our sport in the last six to eight years. The expansion of cross-country into sprint and mass-start formats has created new challenges for both athletes and event organizers. The pressure of providing perfect competition conditions has increased due to the demands of group skiing (as in mass-start), and the importance of this for the sprinters that are separated by 1/100 of a second sometimes. The world has also changed in terms of what the media and spectators want. Society today seems to want more and more immediate entertainment and 'action,' and having realized this, [the International Ski Federation] FIS is implementing changes to the events. We need to accept this if the sport wants to survive and to be supported by sponsors, media and TV viewers in a global sense. This reality will also soon require FIS and organizers to become even more professional in terms of media or TV services and in terms of standardization of safe, fair and suitable competition stadiums and courses." -- John Aalberg, Director, Nordic Sports, VANOC, talking to Riikka Rakic, editor of FIS Newsflash, a publication of the International Ski Federation. He was interviewed this week in Sapporo, Japan, where he's a technical delegate for the Cross-Country ski events at the Nordic World Ski Championships.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 28, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2174

VANCOUVER OKAYS EMPTY OLYMPIC FUND, AS WELL AS C$300,000 IN OLYMPIC-RELATED CULTURAL FUNDING

Vancouver City Council today finally approved creating a 2010 Olympic Legacy Reserve Fund that could potentially have a budget up to C$20 million, but didn't put any money in it. And just that took nearly 45 minutes of debate to accomplish.

On the other hand, Council agreed to a proposal to expand the city's contingency reserve by C$300,000 for "cultural tourism" initiatives, that include working with 2010 Legacies Now, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) and other organizations.

The approval of the empty Olympic Legacy Reserve Fund came during Council's discussion of budget items for approval during the City's upcoming fiscal year. The original proposal was to set aside C$5 million per budget year for the fund between now and 2010. But because the usage of the Fund has been nebulous so far, and public reaction has been that the Fund ought to be established but with "minimal" impact on city taxes, staff said if Council gave instructions to create the fund, it would see if the money for it could be generated in other ways and report back later on funding methods -- a process that opposition council members found just as nebulous as the possible uses for the money.

The councillor fronting the majority Non-Partisan Party's concept of the Fund, Peter Ladner, says, "We think it's important to have that money, but we would like to find it somewhere else [than from taxpayers], and also have a more detailed analysis of where it will be spent before it's finally approved."

Ladner notes that there will be thousands of media and potential business investors who come to the Games. "One of the reasons we are doing the Olympics is to take advantage of that and increase the business that's done in Vancouver... that would be a huge legacy of the Olympics, if we can deliver economic benefits."

Council, split 6-5 along party lines, also approved a motion, introduced by Ladner, that the "Vancouver Economic Development Commission continue working with the 2010 Winter Games Economic Opportunities Co-ordination Team, and partner with city staff, and the Beijing Advisory Committee on Vancouver's presence in Beijing [at the 2008 Olympic Summer Games], and on the City of Vancouver's Communications Plan in order to maximize benefits, co-ordination and to create synergies. Any extra funding required by the VEDC should be drawn by the Olympic Legacy Reserve... subject to a report back to Council on a business plan and the cost-benefit rationale prior to council's release of the funds."

One thing that became apparent was that the city staff charged with co-ordinating the City's responsibilities to the 2010 Olympics wasn't up to speed on the VEDC's involvement. Dave Rudberg, the General Manager of Olympic and Paralympic Operations, "I don't have a lot of details in terms of what the VEDC is proposing," he says. "My understanding is that they are linking this work into some activation in Beijing. If that, in fact, is the case, we'll work with them to ensure that there's a good product and a good value on this work, that we can report back to Council... It's important to work with the, our city Finance department and the business community that we've been meeting with downtown to ensure that it does work in that way."

On the expansion of the contingency reserve, which would increase taxes by 0.06%, Ladner said that arts and culture tourism strategies is one of the potential uses of the money, which staff suggest could be used along with budgets from VANOC, the federal and provincial governments, and others to help pay for city events related to the Olympics and beyond. The release of the contingency funds is subject to staff reporting back this year with a business plan, including funding requirements and opportunities for joint planning and funding "associated with the 2010 Games."

Ladner noted that, "There are clearly opportunities for working with the Olympic Legacy Fund, and with other funders and other levels of government, and other organizations such as Tourism Vancouver, to do some follow up and follow through on these initiatives, for which we should begin planning now.

Rudberg says money the Olympic Reserve Fund, once found, "could be used, for example in Beijing, to leverage some of our economic-development opportunities and linkages to China through what's called 'back-to-back Olympic cities.' I think there's an opportunity with other partners to improve accessibility in the city, upgrades to City infrastructure, to improve the public realm, using shared money to do with lighting, public art or even cleanliness. Hopefully, by having partnerships with some of the sponsors about clean-up activities, building capacity within the arts and cultural community."

Rudberg said another component of the funds would be to create community celebrations. "This is a way to not only engage our residents, but also the visitors and the athletes, to celebrate the Olympics and the Paralympics, to create some real energy and civic pride. We're talking about the downtown core Live Site, which is the beginning of our Cultural Precinct, the opportunity to create a place where citizens can gather and celebrate the Games. But we don't want to focus entirely on the downtown core. We want to bring the celebration out into the community." Rudberg says he has begun a series of meetings with community centre executives. "There is a great deal of enthusiasm there to bring the Games out into the community, and they've asked for some funding, which presumably would come from the Legacy Fund.

He says he's also met with school-board staff. "They see the Games as an opportunity to involve our children -- not just in the Games themselves -- but for the kind of learning opportunities that can result from the Games."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 27, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #2173

TRADEX IN ABBOTSFORD BC APPROACHED BY VANOC SPONSORS

Vali Marling, the director of Operations for the Abbotsford Tradex, a large exhibition hall adjacent to the Abbotsford airport, says some Olympic sponsors are contemplating using the Tradex during the 2010 Games.

One of the Tradex's selling points is that people can arrive at the airport and literally walk to the conference centre. That concept has attracted the attention of some of the Olympic sponsors, which she declines to identify, who are contemplating "bringing in large numbers of people" and using the Tradex to host Olympic-related events connected with the sponsor, and then busing participants to hotels in Vancouver in the evening for Olympic events.

One of the main challenges at the moment for the 11,000 square-metre (120,000 square foot) trade-and-conference centre is a lack of area hotel rooms, but three new hotels are now under construction in the area, and are expected to be ready for 2010. And, she adds, "We're planning for an expansion of about 70,000 square feet, which we're told will take place by 2009, but we're not holding our breath."

Marling says she and others connected to the Abbotsford Tradex spoke at length to facilities in the Salt Lake area that were similar to the Tradex, in part about their experience with Olympic-related cultural events, which are part of the 2010 Games.

She says that, in Salt Lake's case, quite a few of the cultural events occurred in the area that was about half an hour to an hour outside of the central area where the Games were taking place. She says, "One, because the rents were less, and, two, they were available, and they weren't downtown... my understanding, from the folks we've talked to, that at least 50% of the cultural events took place in that area outside of Salt Lake City, so we're assuming it's going to be similar [for 2010]."

Marling made the comments during a panel discussion of the Vancouver chapter of the International Special Events Society.

Vali Marling

Director of Operations

Tradex

1190 Cornell Street

Abbotsford, BC V2T 6H5

Phone: 1.866.853.1533

Fax: 604-850-7699

Web: www.FVTradex.com

Here is a zoomable map of the Tradex's location:

tinyurl.com/2azlf6

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 27, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |General| #2172

SCHEDULES, SHOWS AND BUDGETS PROVIDE PERPLEXING CHALLENGES A-PLENTY TO OPERATORS OF VANCOUVER VANOC VENUES

A distorted schedule for the Vancouver Canucks National Hockey League team, truncated major industry trade shows, PNE management worried about their budget -- these are just a few of the things challenging the operators of Vancouver-area venues of the 2010 Olympics these days.

There are just under three years left to go before the Opening Ceremonies are held for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, but managers of a number of facilities that are being used for 2010-related events are already trying to plan for the five or six months that the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) will be taking over their facilities' operations for the Games.

Tom Cornwall, the director of City Venue Operations for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC), says his department is responsible for providing operation services to all of the main venues in the Greater Vancouver area. The services are what he calls, "the four S's: service, set-up, staff and space" for each venue during the test events leading up to the Games, and during the Olympics and Paralympics in 2010. "For us, that Games time doesn't just encompass the two weeks of the Olympics or the Paralympics," he notes. "For us, it's a 60-day event that starts at the end of January when the Olympic Villages open until March 24, when the Games are over."

VANOC, Cornwall says, intends to take a varied approach to how each of the venues would normally be used, which means that operations will be considerably different for suppliers and people attending the events, and that traffic or pedestrian flows are also expected to be different from normal at each of them. The facilities that he's talking about include BC Place Stadium, General Motors Place arena, Hastings Park where the Coliseum, Agrodome, Forum and Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) are hosted, the long-track speedskating oval in Richmond, and the Trade and Convention Centre, part of which is now under construction. These are all -- or, in the case of the oval, will be -- operational businesses in 2010.

"We use the spaces in ways that are different," he says. "We're not all the way through our planning processes yet, but, a lot of times, we'll be bringing people in through, say, back doors or through loading bays, because of the mass of people and the quick-change times. We might move people out through the front doors. We may take locker rooms and turn them into lounges. We have a lot of additional spaces [nearby], such as support space for logistics or transport malls and all of our service areas. So not only will we be using the facility, but we'll be using the surrounding area as well."

The facilities are expected to be used much more intensely than they normally are, as well. For example, he says, General Motors Place, which will be the location for the men's hockey and medal tournaments, only hosts one National Hockey League game in a night, where VANOC will be supervising three or four hockey games with equivalent crowds in a day. He also notes that besides ticket holders for an event, everybody who works either as paid, temporary or volunteer staff will all have to be accredited when they're in the area of the facilities, for security reasons. "So there will be a process that [suppliers, for instance] will go through to get to the buildings."

The managers of these facilities all have their own issues, opportunities and challenges that they're currently working through. Let's have a look, venue by venue, at the highlights:

BC Place Stadium. About 10 minutes drive from the Olympic Village. It's to be used throughout almost the entire Games period, starting with the Opening ceremonies for the Olympics, nightly medal ceremonies and associated big entertainment groups, the Closing Ceremonies for the Olympics, and the Opening Ceremonies for the Paralympics. But it will be under VANOC's control longer than that.

Graham Ramsay, the director of the Stadium's Business Development for Pavilion Corporation, the BC government's agency that owns the facility, says he's been involved in discussions with a number of the Stadium's usual clientele about what will happen during the time the 2010 Games are underway.

"Our plans for 2010 are broken into two areas," he says. "The first area is what VANOC is going to require of us, such as accessibility to the building, during the Olympics. The other area is what we're going to do for our existing business development." On that side, he says there will be improvements to the concession areas and main-level large-scale washrooms leading up to the Games, and new carpeting. There will also be improvements to the food court and to the Stadium's scoring system, making it similar to that of GM Place.

VANOC, he says, will start working on the overlay of the building as soon as the last game of the Stadium's prime tenant, the BC Lions Canadian Football League team, is played. That could be as early as September if their games in 2009 end with the regular season, or it could be as late as November if, as currently expected, they are involved in a playoff run for the national Gray Cup.

The first part of the calendar year, when the Games will tie up the Stadium, is always busy with large trade shows, Ramsay notes. He says that many of them are important economic generators to the industries they cover, and their outright cancellation could have significant financial effects on the large number of small and medium-sized companies that do business during them. "All of them -- the Boat Show, the Gift Show, the Auto Show -- there is some concern their business will be affected. Each and every case, the decision was to go forward with a show that's slightly shortened, and getting right back on their feet after the Olympics.

The Stadium returns to its regular schedule immediately following VANOC's withdrawal of the overlay facilities, work that will begin right after the Opening Ceremonies March 12 of the Paralympics, but could take until late April or early May to complete. "We're in the planning stages for that right now," Ramsay says.

Ramsay says he feels the major influence of the Olympics will be on the development of Vancouver's downtown entertainment district, and the Stadium is on the edge of that. As an anchor facility for the district, he feels the Stadium and its 2010-upgrades will help enhance that district for years to come.

Sue Griffin, executive director of the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located inside the Stadium, says what will happen to the organization's exhibits and hall space during five months from November, 2009 to March, 2010 that VANOC is in charge of the building is still unknown. That fact is beginning to worry her and the organization's corporate sponsors, both existing and those with which she is now in negotiations. "We're very concerned," she says. "We're going to need a decision [from VANOC] within six to 10 months."

The organization has recently renewed its lease, which now runs an additional two years to 2012, but there have been discussions with VANOC that indicates its corporate sponsors probably want to use the Sports Hall's space, a use to which Cornwall says the size of the space lends itself. But, he adds, no decisions have yet been made by VANOC about the space, and, hence, the Hall of Fame. "It's too early to say what we'll use it for, and we may figure out a way to keep it open to the public, or at least open to ticket holders when all those thousands of people are coming here. It's still in process."

Griffin says she also hopes to make a presentation to VANOC officials in March to have them designate the Museum, which has a small Olympics section, as the organization that receives 2010 Olympic and Paralympic memorabilia after the Games. But, she says, she expects that if the organization must move temporarily, there will likely be spaces for it to operate while the Games are underway that are elsewhere in the Vancouver area. Whether VANOC will finance that move is another question.

The Vancouver Trade and Exhibition Centre, including its adjacent expansion building, which will be only just open when VANOC takes it over. VANOC thinks of this for the moment as two non-competition venues within one.

The existing 14,000 square-metre (150,000 square-foot) building, under the sail-styled roof, will be used for the operations centre for the main press centre, for written media from around the world. The expansion building that's now under construction will be used for the broadcast and electronic media -- it's called the International Broadcast Centre -- with the satellite antenna farms on the cruise-ship docking area of the complex. It will also be the main transportation hub for the estimated 10,000 media personnel who will be accredited to the Games, and who will be transported to all of the venues.

"There will be a lot of traffic in and out of there," comments Cornwall, thinking about the downtown business core that's right next to the huge complex.

There are also expected to be an additional 5,000 media personnel who will be doing stories related to the Games, fill-in material and the like, who won't be accredited to the Games. All of the accredited media will begin moving into the complex in phased steps under VANOC co-ordination, starting in September, 2009, according to Cornwall, while other parts of the complex will be taken over by VANOC starting in December 1, 2009 through to March 31, 2010.

All of that has to dovetail with about 200 events in various stages -- 50 confirmed -- between now and 2020 that the Centre is booking or has already booked. It's a busy conference centre that often hosts events that draw 10,000 to 15,000 people each, and each conference can bring in millions of dollars worth of business to city businesses. "We've already turned aside bookings because they would land in the time that VANOC will be using the space," notes Donna Hunter, the complex's director of Client & Event Operations, a department which includes 17 staff.

Hunter says she is now involved in monthly management meetings with VANOC -- including Overlay and Press Operations officials -- to work on a myriad of issues involving the two buildings. She has also been to Salt Lake City, where the 2002 Winter Games were held, to meet with colleagues of that city's Salt Palace about how events unfolded there. "These meetings really help us understand VANOC's operational requirements as well as the scope and magnitude of the Olympics... and, in hindsight, some of the lessons they learned."

The VANOC meetings have also included discussions about the technology infrastructure that VANOC needs to have installed to service the broadcasting satellite farms. They are also useful, she says, to let VANOC know what requirements the Exhibition Centre has. "In that respect, before and after the Games, for us it should be business as usual."

Hunter also says VANOC is also expected to take into consideration the number of businesses that operate in the Trade & Convention Centre. "One of their next steps is to talk to the tenants in the facility." Those discussions are to find out how the tenants might either be involved during VANOC's operations, or if they might temporarily use the space for VANOC sponsor activities.

General Motors Place. VANOC calls this "Hockey Venue 1" to distinguish it from several other facilities that will be used for Olympic hockey games or training locations (UBC's facilities, for instance, are known as "Hockey Venue 2". GM PLace is only about 10 minutes' drive from the Village, but VANOC operations shuttles, behind secured areas across False Creek, may cut that time further. There will be 16 days of competition at GM Place, with two or three hockey games per day.

Harvey Jones, the vice-president & general manager of Arena Operations for GM Place's owner, Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment, says that as a result of VANOC's ability to persuade the International Olympic Committee it wasn't necessary to play the 2010's major hockey games on international-sized ice, and thus no need to convert the NHL-sized ice sheet at GM Place -- "It would have made a real mess of the building" -- there won't be any permanent changes to the facility.

He says however there will be a lot of major overlay work done by VANOC, starting in the summer of 2009. "There will be a lot of work in the nine months leading up to the Olympic period." The work involves creating 14 dressing rooms as well as broadcast and other media facilities and the like. "A lot of the work will happen during the summer before (the Games)," he notes.

The National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks team, which uses GM Place as its home rink, normally plays a home-and-away schedule of about 80 games per season, starting in September and going through to March, with playoff games that may follow until June. VANOC will working on the venue during much of that time. As a result of negotiations so far, he says, it appears the Canucks will play a condensed form of the first half of their season until the end of January, 2010. "Then", says Jones, "the Canucks will go on an extended road trip. VANOC will then finalize its conversion of the building to stage the Olympics. The Olympics will occupy it for 15 days, then we'll have a week to get it back into NHL mode, and the Canucks will come back." All told, the NHL team's road trip will be for about five weeks, and finish their season.

The Coliseum on the grounds of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). It's to be used for the Olympic short-track speed skating and figure skating. That means it will be used for that purpose from January 4, 2010 to March 7, 2010. The surrounding area and the adjacent Agrodome are expected to be used for support of the competitions. VANOC's reconstruction program has already replaced the seating of the Coliseum, which was built in 1968, and last year the Coliseum's ice sheet was expanded. This year, says Mike MacSorley, vice president of the PNE's Operations department, a new ice plant and lighting will be installed, and a new scoreboard is expected to be added in May.

However, he says, "Our biggest concern is that we have buildings that we're not going to be able to use for two-and-a-half months, and how do we balance our [annual] budget. We're not a huge, money-making organization. We're not getting any rent or revenue from the buildings, so that becomes our biggest challenge." MacSorley points out that 2010 will be the PNE's 100th birthday, and there may be promotions around that which could be leveraged to increase the attendance at the annual PNE Fair that runs for the last two weeks of August. He adds that black-out dates for the Western Hockey League Giants hockey team, which plays out of the Coliseum, have already been negotiated.

MacSorley says that there will be other PNE areas that will be used by VANOC, such as the Forum, a large building a short distance from the Coliseum that is normally used by the PNE for a number of trade shows in the late winter and early spring -- operations that are normally there during the time that VANOC will be occupying the space. The Forum will be used for VANOC's main accreditation centre for the area, and for the Olympics volunteers who will be working in the area, and for distribution services. "Hastings Park will be home to [VANOC's] Volunteer Accreditation Centre, which starts in January, 2008. The Accreditation Centre runs right up to March 31, 2010."

Cornwall says the area poses a logistics challenge for VANOC because the schedule is set up so that the Coliseum ice will be used by speedskating and figure skating on alternating nights, but each day there will also be both figure skating and speedskating practices. The Coliseum will have about 15 days of competitions, and it will be a significant amount of spectator, volunteer and supplier turnover during that time, which in turn promises to make accreditation complicated at the PNE grounds.

MacSorley says that between now and 2010, the area will be used to host the short-track speed skating and figure-skating camps and hosting Skate Canada's championships next January. "The Olympics has given us a face lift, and the opportunity to host world-class events and athletes, which we did not have the opportunity before."

MacSorley also said that his organization is also currently exploring using another part of the PNE grounds, Playland, which is normally an area set aside for carnival rides such as roller coasters, as a place where the public can "engage" with the Olympics. "Vancouver doesn't have the great gathering places for festivities such as the plazas that, say, Torino used. One of the things that Vancouver will have to look at -- and not exclusively VANOC, but Vancouver, Richmond and cities surrounding venues -- is having active sites for people to gather and engage with the Olympics, such as those who can't afford the hockey tickets or figure skating tickets. We're looking at using Playland as one of those venues, not as Playland with its rides, but a gathering place where sponsors can come in and work with people who gather and, so people can engage with the Olympics."

The Richmond Speedskating Oval complex. It's a 35-minute drive from the Vancouver Olympic Village -- "in good traffic," smiles VANOC's Cornwall. There will be 12 days of competitions and three training days. The 33,000 square-metre (355,000 square-foot) building, VANOC's flagship legacy, will have a capacity of about 8,000 gross capacity in VANOC's planning. VANOC uses the phrase "gross capacity" to note the maximum number of people that can be seated at a facility, but that's not the same number of spectators to matches there. The number also includes people who are part of the Olympic family: sponsors, athletes, training staff, International Olympic Committee officials and the like.

Lee Malleau, the manager of Sponsorship, Partnership & Economic Development for the City of Richmond, says the huge project is due to be opened in September, 2008. The building will be effectively leased to VANOC for six months, starting in November, 2009, but will be the home of Speed Skate Canada, the national sports federation, for training purposes and test events leading up to the Games. When the Games are finished, the ice sheet for the speedskating oval will be drained away and overlain with other sports facilities for track-and-field, basketball and hockey, so that it won't normally compete with the speedskating track in Calgary.

Malleau says Richmond's general planning concept is to provide for places where the public can congregate during the Olympics, but to ensure that the regular day-to-day business of the city won't be disrupted by the Games. Richmond's focus, in part, when it sent a delegation to Torino to see how the 2006 Winter Games operated, was in community crowd control and how the activities surrounding the Games took place. "In Richmond, we'll be using that experience to make sure our planning for what we call the Olympic Experience so that... we will minimize this disruption as much as we can to regular daily activities, but also provide the crowds with attractions."

Malleau says that it's expected the oval complex will have its own governance system independent of Richmond following the Games, but that system has yet to be developed. Other reports have indicated that it is expected to be supervised by the legacy trust society, still to be established, that is expected to oversee other VANOC-related venues.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 27, 2007

Monday, February 26, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2171

RICHMOND SPENT C$1.43 MILLION IN SALARIES AND TRAVEL IN 2006 SUPERVISING WORK CONNECTED WITH 2010 OVAL COMPLEX

The City of Richmond reports that it spent about C$1.43 million in staff salaries and travel expenses during 2006 to supervise the construction of the sports complex, budgeted at C$178 million, that will house the 2010 speedskating oval.

Tom Anderson, the manager of Finance & Administration for the city's Olympic Business office, reports that most of that total -- almost C$1.3 million -- was for the equivalent of roughly 15 people, many of them senior staff, who were working on the project in various ways at any given time during the year. The balance of C$156,076 was spent on travel expenditures during the year by city staff for reasons connected with the project, or being involved with hosting the Games. None of the expenditures had implications for the City's taxpayers.

Anderson's report says that Olympic business-related travel outside of the Greater Vancouver area was "for various purposes including, technical inspections, best practices research, economic development, business negotiations, etc. Objectives for these trips have been to inform, educate and prepare City Council and staff to build an iconic post-Games, multi-purpose facility for sport and wellness, as well as to host and stage a successful Olympic speed skating venue in 2010."

Most of staff time was spent on two categories, Oval Project Design & Construction, and Olympic business and related opportunities [See BACKGROUND, below]. There are other categories, such as post-Olympics Oval and Oval site development. Work in these areas, suggests Anderson, "will be recouped through future revenue streams."

Anderson reports that "When comparing the allocated time and effort with some of the important initiatives, the equivalent value of staff time and travel expenses has been reasonable relative to the magnitude of the project and the return on the investment that the City and community will realize."

Meanwhile, it's reported that the Olympic Business Office will have a report within the next two months for Richmond city council on "possible" Olympic-related sponsorship opportunities.

BACKGROUND

Anderson reports that the work in the second and third categories, below, are to "leverage the Olympic opportunity, and ensure future financial returns that will far exceed any of these costs."

1. The Oval Project Design & Construction category includes work in the following areas:

Researching, designing the Oval and site

Constructing the Oval and site project management

2. The Olympic Business & Related Opportunities category includes:

Preparing the City to host the Speed Skating Venue for the 2010 Olympic games

Preparing legal agreements with companies and governments connected with the Games and the Oval

Developing the Richmond Olympics Strategic Plan

Informing the community and stakeholder groups on the progress of the Oval project

Leveraging "the Olympic opportunity"

Hosting meetings, liaising with or supporting various city committees

Developing the pre-Games programming of the Oval

3. Post-Olympics Oval, where it becomes a community facility - Anderson says "Staff time in this category has largely been related to maximizing the potential of post-Games operations of the Olympic oval and related

economic development for the City, and can thus be considered an investment in the future legacy of the project." That work includes:

Developing the post-Games programming of the Oval

Negotiating legacy funding

Exploring sponsorship opportunities

Exploring mutual benefit materials and products

Identifying technology trade-off sponsorship opportunities

Identifying and attracting tenants to the Oval, and

Preparing the Oval's post-Games business plan

4. The Oval Site Development Category, Anderson reports, is value-added expenses associated with the sale of the site's lands. He expects it to be "fully recouped through the land-sale transaction." Anderson says that work on this category has been completed, and is not likely to be reported this year. Staff work last year included:

Preparing the Oval gateway program

Preparing the precinct public art plan; and

Negotiating and analyzing Request for Proposal submissions.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 26, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2170

Here are two moguls we ran into today:

VANOC REISSUES CALL FOR HIGH-VOLTAGE TRANSFORMERS FOR CYPRESS VENUE

VANOC has taken the unusual move of re-issuing an Invitation to Quote for companies to supply five pad-mounted high-voltage electrical transformers for its Cypress Mountain venue in West Vancouver. Last month's call for proposals closed January 26 but the new one closes February 23. Also, under the former call, the transformers were to be delivered by the beginning of June; now VANOC says they don't need to show up until September 1. The transformers range in voltage from 1,000 to 2,000 KVA. Two are to be used to power the snow-making pump house and the snowmakers in the Eagle area. One is for the freestyle venue, and the other two are to power the Black Mountain chair lift and the Sunrise chair lift.

SQUAMISH, LIL'WAT TO IMPROVE ABORIGINAL TOURISM BETWEEN VANCOUVER, WHISTLER

The chief of the Squamish aboriginal tribe, Ian Campbell, says his group, working with the Lil'wat tribe near Whistler, hopes to increase aboriginal tourism visibility along the 140-kilometre highway that links the 2010 host cities of Vancouver and Whistler by working with the BC Ministry of Highways. Campbell would like to incorporate aboriginal stops of interest and aboriginal symbolism into highway signage, he explained to the Squamish Chamber of Commerce. The concepts are to be part of a formal plan to bring local aboriginal culture forward, called The Sea-to-Sky Cultural Journey, starting in October, to coincide with the opening of the new Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, a C$30-million building under construction in Whistler. The expectation is that it will continue to be built in the years leading up to 2010. Included would be interpretive stations at scenic, historic or cultural points of interest along the highway. Campbell says the group is hoping to work with foundations and companies, as well as individuals, to help fund the work. Squamish and Lil'wat chiefs are to launch a new logo and brand tomorrow to help market these activities.

RESOURCES

Here's the link for the PDF of the Invitation to Quote:

tinyurl.com/2zvp9j

Sea-to-Sky Cultural Journey information is available from:

Linda Calla

Project Manager

Phone: (1) 604-913-1810 (extension 222)

E-mail: <lcalla@spo7ez.ca>

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 26, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2169

Vancouver City Council will be asked tomorrow to approve a C$250,000 contribution from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to help pay for the studies, monitoring and some incremental costs to ensure one of the Olympic Village buildings produce as much energy as it requires.

The so-called Net Zero building is a 70-unit condo on the southern side of the Village, destined to become a senior's complex and part of the income-tested projects in the area after the 2010 Games are complete.

The planning for the energy-efficient building has been underway for a couple of years now, and the current agreement is part of the housekeeping to implement it. CMHC and the city plan to use the building as a demonstration pilot project for their own purposes to show how it is possible to construct an apartment complex so that, while its passive design might use energy from the power grid on occasion, it will also produce energy to add to the grid periodically as well, with the overall net energy use being zero.

Merrick Architecture of Vancouver, one of the architecture teams that has been contracted by the developer, Millennium Southeast False Creek Properties, to help build the Village. The overall cost of the monitoring work, reporting and various other aspects of the Net Zero part is C$284,000. The City will contribute the C$34,000 shortfall from is Property Endowment Fund, which is already developing the infrastructure of the Village and the surrounding area, and a city housing fund.

Merrick has completed the first of the three phases of the work -- the concept design -- which involved technical requirements, an energy analysis and costing. The second phase of the work is just about to start. This includes development of the conceptual design and detailed costing of the building envelope, heating system, lighting, energy generation options and energy efficient appliances. Grey- and black-water treatment are also expected to be investigated and costed.

The third phase -- actual construction -- is still to come.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 26, 2007

Friday, February 23, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |General| #2168

VANCOUVER BLOG WRITER ADVOCATES DESTROYING 2010 COUNTDOWN CLOCK AS A PROTEST AGAINST THE GAMES

An anti-Olympics blog writer in Vancouver, who says he lives a block from Vancouver Police headquarters, has advocated destroying the Vancouver 2010 Olympics countdown clock as a protest against the Olympics.

The clock's launch event, carefully scripted by VANOC and various governments, was marred by two protesters who leaped on the stage and briefly took over the microphone from VANOC vice-president of Communications Renee Smith-Valade last week before being arrested with five others, three of whom were charged in connection with protests. It was the first time that a 2010 Olympics event turned violent, if only briefly.

Matthew Good, in his self-named blog, who describes himself as an anti-war and human rights advocate, writes in a posting to his blog today, "...I am about to promote a criminal act... The physical destruction of the clock that has been erected in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery that is counting down to the commencement of the Winter Olympics, due to begin some three years from now."

Good, who says he's protesting the Olympics because he thinks it promotes inequality between rich and poor, outlines on the blog how the destruction ought to occur -- and how it ought not to happen: "I would," he writes, "were the location different, suggest explosives. But given the damage that could be done the [nearby Vancouver] art gallery, not to mention anyone that might be passing by or staying in the two hotels adjacent to the property, it's not an option -- as hurting anyone in the process is obviously out of the question. Thus, it would take some homework, such as finding out how deep the stone is set in the ground, its thickness, how fast a few jack hammers at its base might weaken it enough to allow a heavy truck to pull it over with the aid of cabling, and what times of night are the slowest in the downtown core (I'm going with Monday or Tuesday around 3:30 - 4 am). It would also require a large group of participants that would be willing to go to jail, because there's simply no way that the police wouldn't respond in time to catch those involved -- nor should trying to escape be an objective."

The countdown ceremony protests were foretold by other blogs a few days before they occurred.

RESOURCES

The link to the Matthew Good blog:

www.matthewgood.org/2007/02/destroying-the-countdown-clock/

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 23, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2167

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

ARCHITECT TO ASK VANCOUVER TO APPROVE OVERHEIGHT CONDO AT OLYMPIC VILLAGE

Vancouver City Council has set a tentative date of April 17 to hear a request from Nick Milkovich Architects, which wants to construct twin-tower condominium with 64 suites at the 2010 Olympic Village that is 2.3 metres over the maximum height, making it 32.3 metres tall (106 feet). The nine-storey building is at 1598 Columbia Street. Assuming council approves the over-height request on the condo, the development permit board is scheduled to hold its meeting on the building on April 23. Meanwhile, Millennium Southeast False Creek Properties, which is responsible for developing the Olympic Village lands now has approval for six excavation and shoring permits. Excavation by Millennium crews and site servicing by the City is underway, with construction of the first building due to start in June.

VANOC IN THE MARKET FOR DIGITAL, OFFSET COMMERCIAL PRINTERS

VANOC says it will need various types of digital and offset printing done on an ad hoc basis, so rather than issue a Request for Proposals and deal with a stampede of proponents from across Canada for this large, busy and competitive industry, it's asking for expressions of interest and credentials first, so it can sort the response accordingly. The organization needs the printers for such things as short-run, colour laser printing and large format digital imaging, catalogues, magazines, folders, brochures, posters, newsletters, post cards -- you name it. It also wants printers that can deal with standard finishing services such as stitching, trimming, folding, drilling, laminating, coil binding and other associated services. It says it may pick more than one firm to provide the services, even after going through the shortlisting and proposal stages, so it can ensure uninterrupted delivery schedules. Among other things VANOC wants to know at this stage is whether the print shop is unionized and, if so, which union and when does the contract expire. The EOI deadline is March 15.

WHISTLER-AREA SCHOOLS CONTEMPLATED FOR HOUSING VANOC VOLUNTEERS

The Vancouver Sun newspaper reports that VANOC officials and the Howe Sound School District are discussing the possibility of whether the gymnasiums of four schools in the Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton areas might be used to house volunteers during while the 2010 Winter Games are underway. The discussions came as part of several public meetings VANOC is holding in the area about such matters. At this point, no decisions have been made, and both VANOC and the school district are getting the public's feelings on the matter. The District, comments reporter Jeff Lee, says the possibility largely depends on whether the BC government decided whether the schools might be closed during the period of the Games. Lee quotes Dick Vollet, Vanoc's vice-president of Workforce, as saying he's not sure how many of the 3,000 volunteers expected to be needed in Whistler might be housed dormitory-style at the schools, but elementary schools are not involved in the concept. "The main focus is we want to work with the community and parents to make sure that the Games are a positive experience," Lee quotes Vollet as saying. "Whether or not schools close is a decision made by individual school districts and not by us."

RESOURCES

Here's the link to the PDF file of VANOC's EOI for printing services:

tinyurl.com/39c538

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 23, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #2166

VANOC'S NORTHERN MOU FOCUSED ON OPERATIONS, CULTURE AND TOURISM

A working group to implement the new memorandum of understanding signed by Canada's three territorial governments and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) is to be set up.

The three territories and VANOC say they will assign officials to the working group to develop specific agreements for each of the eight projects they've agreed to do, and the group will detail the roles and responsibilities, costs, and a timeline for implementation for the projects. Three of the projects are of a general cultural nature, two are tourism-related and also general, and the rest are specific projects designed to help the Games operationally.

Here are the projects that will be dealt with by the working group of the deal signed by VANOC CEO John Furlong and the three northern ministers responsible for Sport and Recreation -- Glenn Hart of the Yukon government, Michael McLeod from the Northwest Territories and the Louis Tapardjuk of Nunavut. We start with the operational projects for the Games:

"The potential for team training for Olympic / Paralympic teams in preparation for 2010 with an emphasis on early season training and acclimatization." At this stage, it appears this portion of the protocol is aimed at developing some unspecified places in the Territories as locations where national Olympic teams, from Canada and elsewhere that want to train for the Games in Canada, can do so. A number of BC communities have already laid claim to the concept and have been actively promoting it to other nations on their own.

A volunteer promotion and recruitment program throughout the territories, "which will culminate in a selected numbers of volunteers traveling to Vancouver to volunteer at the 2010 Games... specifically in areas that the local host jurisdiction" -- this could be Vancouver, Richmond or Whistler -- "does not have the required expertise or sufficient numbers to meet the demand."

Recruiting and developing sport-related officials in the territories that have the technical requirements to be selected as officials for test events leading up to the Games, and for the Games themselves.

Cultural:

Developing opportunities for aboriginal athletes and cultural performers "to demonstrate traditional activities at the 2010 Games." This specifically includes cultural performers "for the northern traditional aboriginal games of the Inuit and Dene "aboriginal tribes that live in these territories. (Those aren't organized games in the Olympic sense. They involve traditional Inuit and Dene pastimes, such as high kicks, arm pulls and kneeling jumps. Those jumps, for instance, are based on what a hunter has to do to get off an ice floe that's breaking up.)

Provide northern arts and culture at the 2010 Games to provide publicity for northern artists ,and to provide "Games participants" the chance to experience and appreciate northern Canadian culture.

Provide licensing and other commercial opportunities for northern artists and cultural industries through connections with VANOC.

Tourism:

"Increase networking, collaborations and touring opportunities between the territories and southern Canada."

"Ensure Canada's North is reflected and represented as a region of Canada."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 23, 2007

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #2165

MARKETING THE 2010 GAMES INVOLVES A LOT OF PUBLIC GROUNDBREAKING OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS

Two types of ground-preparation marketing for the 2010 Olympics are occurring this weekend. One is literally a sod-turning exercise. The other involves part of the committments of Canada's host broadcaster for the Games, which is now running five-second promotions for its role and the Games themselves.

This all comes as the marketing pulse of the Games quickens on the three-year-out anniversary before the start of the Games.

First, on the sod-turning side: The official ground-breaking ceremony of VANOC's Hillcrest curling venue and Vancouver's adjacent new aquatic centre, which is set for Friday morning at the site near Little Mountain, will include a host of dignitaries.

Jack Poole, VANOC's chairman, will represent the organization. Vancouver Park Board chairman Ian Robertson will host the event. Chief Leah George-Wilson of the Tsleil-Waututh tribe will be representing the Four Host First Nations that are working with VANOC; David Emerson, the minister in charge of the federal government's Olympic responsiblities and BC Premier Gordon Campbell will be there for the province, along with Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan. The federal, BC and municipal governments are all investing money in the capital construction of the projects.

The Hillcrest Curling Venue, built to LEED standards, will have 6,000 seats and four ice sheets. After the 2010 Winter Games, it will be converted into the a new Riley Park Community Centre, a home for the Vancouver Curling Club, an ice arena and it will eventually have a library.

Another event is one that starts this weekend on Canadian television, in an admittedly low-audience time slot.

The Sports Network cable channel (TSN), part of the successful CTV host broadcaster contract with the International Olympic Committee, gives its audience a behind-the-scenes look at the world of Canadian amateur sports.

A a six-part series called "Spirit of the Game", shot in high definition, which will be the main standard for the 2010 Games, begins its run on Sundays at 11 a.m.

The 30-minute episodes are hosted by Brian Williams, a Canadian broadcaster who was the voice and face of the Olympics with CTV's competitor CBC, the network that has had the Olympics broadcast contract for decades, but which will come to an end with the Beijing Summer Games next year. Williams, who left the CBC to follow the Games contract, will be talking with athletes, coaches and executives in the Olympics industry about various topics, some controversial, such as drug testing, the relationship between parents, coaches and athletes, and a story on how injured Canadian soldiers are recruited to become Paralympians.

The show is sponsored by VANOC's telecommunications sponsor, Bell Canada, on one of its broadcasting channels, so there isn't any negativity about the Vancouver Olympics.

Here, according to TSN, is a look at the summary of each episode:

Episode 1 - Sunday, February 25th

Williams discusses why Quebec's amateur-sports funding is larger than that of any other Canadian province, in total and per capita.

Episode 2 - Sunday, March 4th

The feature, called ‘Soldier On’, is about the Canadian Paralympic Committee working with the Canadian Armed Forces to recruit wounded soldiers for sports. Williams talks with soldiers and General Rick Hillier, the outspoken chief of Canada's Defence Staff.

Episode 3 - Sunday, March 11th

This episode is about doping in sports. The audience is shown how doping control at the Olympics works, and tours a lab to see how a urine sample is processed, and how officials determine if an athlete is clean or has cheated. Williams also talks with Dick Pound, the chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and a member of the 20-person Board of Directors of VANOC.

Episode 4 - Sunday, March 18th

This one is about skating, specifically about how the Canadian Olympic Committee and Skate Canada, the sports federation that supervises high-performance skating in this country, is planning to be competitive on the ice. Williams talks to skaters Brian Orser, Tracy Wilson and the new CEO of Skate Canada, William Thompson.

Episode 5 - Sunday, March 25th.

This episode takes a close look at the 'Own the Podium-2010', the C$110 million initiative of the federal government, the Canadian Olympic Committee and VANOC to win top spot in the medal standings for the Olympics at Vancouver 2010, and finish in the top three medal countries in the 2010 Paralympics.

Episode 6 - Sunday, April 1st

The last episode looks at the relationships between high-performance coaches and the athletes with which they work.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 22, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #2164

MOUS SIGNED WITH CANADA'S THREE NORTHERN TERRITORIES AND 2010

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) says it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada's three northern territorial governments. It's the first such protocol the organization has signed since approving a deal with Quebec two years ago.

It's also the first such agreement negotiated since VANOC's new executive vice-president of Corporate Strategy and Government Relations, David Guscott, was hired late last year to help relieve VANOC CEO John Furlong's workload. It was Furlong who supervised the Quebec protocol.

Today's deal was negotiated with the three ministers Responsible for Sport and Recreation: Glenn Hart of the Yukon government, Michael McLeod from the Northwest Territories and the Louis Tapardjuk of Nunavut. Although each have small populations, the territory they cover stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic across northern Canada.

Furlong says they have "identified a number of potential areas of collaboration with 2010 that will help VANOC" successfully deliver on its "mission and vision" for the Games "while benefiting the territories in the areas of sport development and culture."

Furlong adds, "The Games represent an opportunity for distinct regions of Canada to be showcased on the world stage through the power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The pan-northern approach the three territories have demonstrated in hosting the Canada Winter Games is an excellent example of how the country can come together, united by a passion for sport."

Yukon's Minister Hart noted the value of working collectively on projects of this scope. "Hosting the Canada Winter Games has afforded us the opportunity to develop expertise and familiarity with many of the organizational considerations related to an event of this magnitude. Many of the volunteers involved with the Canada Winter Games could fulfill similar roles during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games providing some value-added experience as well."

The NWT's McLeod says, "The appeal of Canada's northern culture is well recognized around the globe. From Inuit and Dene games -- which delight all audiences -- to throat singing and traditional dances, we are examining the development of a northern cultural delegation for the 2010 Winter Games."

Nunavut' Tapardjuk talks about the opportunities created by working together on national and international sporting events. "To have an opportunity for a small jurisdiction like Nunavut to participate in events like the Canada Winter Games and the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games adds benefits for not only our athletes and cultural performers, but it also helps us to foster so many positive outcomes for Nunavut as well."

Guscott has said there would be additional protocols negotiated with provincial governments.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 22, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #2163

NICHE OLYMPICS SERVICE COMPANY ADDED TO VANOC LICENSEE LIST

A Canadian company that has built a niche business on the Olympics since the Calgary Winter Games in 1988 has won a specialized licensee contract with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC).

Ian MacDonald, president of Moving Products Inc. of Calgary, which has a 370 square-metre (4,000 square-foot) showroom in east Vancouver not far from the city's major container terminal, which it opened last July "in preparation for Vancouver 2010," has built his business around the Olympics. The company of eight people has been providing customized clothing, accessories and logistics in order to outfit athletes, corporate sponsors and their guests. Since 1988, McDonald's company has outfitted more than 300,000 people during every set of Olympic Games with more than 2.5 million pieces of sponsor-branded merchandise -- such as sweaters, backpacks, watches -- even stadium cushions.

Before and during the Olympics, sponsors prepare dozens of different packages to welcome athletes, coaches, friends and customers to the Games. MPI, acting as a broker, works with the sponsors to prepare and distribute tailored hospitality packages. The company says it's done this sort of thing more than 150 times. The firm provides merchandise design, co-ordination, production supervision, quality control and deals with Olympic graphics approvals from VANOC, and also handles shipping logistics and distribution management. It has an alliance with Schenker to provide warehousing and logistics.

Dennis Kim, director, licensing and merchandising, VANOC, says MPI has become the Official Premium Fulfillment Licensee, adding that Olympic and Paralympic sponsors and partners will now have an additional option for finding and organizing corporate premiums, uniforms and gift items for their employees, officials and guests. "Over the next three years, VANOC's sponsor and partner requirements for custom-branded 2010 Winter Games merchandise licensed by VANOC will increase." MPI says it is working with Johnson & Johnson to produce a "fully stocked amenity kit for clients' use in Bejing and Vancouver." The provincial government is a major sponsor of VANOC; MPI has already set up a line of merchandise available to BC government employees, starting with hoodies, but expects to have jackets and other products available in the next few months.

Kim says the company will work with VANOC's major retail sponsors, HBC, through its fulfillment division, HBC Custom Solutions to connect "VANOC sponsors and partners to our wide variety of licensed merchandise." He added that the showroom, with an attached office, will allow VANOC sponsors and partners to shop for custom merchandise with Vancouver 2010 logos.

"Local organizing committees select the official licensees," MacDonald has said, adding that there are fees and/or royalties payable for the licence. As a service licensee, the company acts as a broker between corporate sponsors and product licensees."

The company is well-known to VANOC -- it was a featured success story for the Bid Corporation years ago.

BACKGROUND

VANOC's official licensees, in addition to MPI, include Aritzia LP, Artiss Aminco, Cajo Designs, Executive Promotions, Filmar Sportswear Canada Inc, HBC, Kootenay Knitting Company, Mustang Drinkware, New Era Cap Canada, Panabo Sales, Paris Glove of Canada, Please Mum, RC Products, Sundog Distributing Inc., Trimark Sportswear Group Inc., Vancouver Umbrella and Wilson International Products.

RESOURCES

Ian MacDonald,

President

Vancouver Showroom

Moving Products Inc.

495 Railway Street

Vancouver, BC, V6A 1A7

Phone: 778.785.2010

Fax: 778.785.2011

E-mail: ian@movingproducts.com

Web: www. MovingProducts.com

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 22, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #2162

TRADE CONTRACTORS FOR 2010'S HILLCREST CURLING VENUE AND SWIMMING POOL ASKED FOR RESUMES

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) is asking trade contractors to contact its project manager for the Hillcrest Curling venue and associated swimming pool if they're interested in working on the facility.

The refreshingly brief three-page expression of interest request was posted by Stuart Olson Constructors, a company based in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, which has taken over supervision of the project for VANOC, after the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Parks Board agreed to let VANOC take over the project to get it built in time for the 2010 Games.

Hillcrest will be the site of the 2010 curling competitions for both the Olympics and Paralympics. An adjacent aquatic centre, with a 50-metre lap pool and wave pool, destined to be one of the largest pools in the city upon completion, was to have been built by the City and Parks Board at the same time to save construction costs and share heating and cooling machinery.

Although it remains two adjacent structures with a common concourse, it's being treated as a single multi-purpose complex during construction. The total combined floor area is about 15,765 square metres (169,700 square feet). The structure itself will be primarily a combination of reinforced concrete and structural steel -- the kind of construction that has been the subject of significant cost inflation in the Greater Vancouver area in the last three years. The construction is expected to be to LEED Gold standards, according to VANOC.

The total budget for the complex is C$79.1 million, including post-Games conversion to its long-term use. VANOC is providing C$38 million for the curling-rink portion from its capital construction account, which is primarily funded by the Canadan and BC governments. The City of Vancouver is contributing an additional C$41.1 million, primarily for the aquatic centre.

Only those contractors who respond will be eligible for receiving future prequalification notices, requests for proposals or requests for tenders. The EOI deadline is March 7.

The EOI document lists the trade packages, which at this stage are primarily dealing with the shell of the complex. Specialty aspects, such as the heating/cooling system and the curling ice sheets and related facilities are not part of the packages listed. They were the subject of an RFP issued by VANOC in connection with its east Vancouver venues earlier.

BACKGROUND

The trade packages suggested so far include:

Architectural Woodwork

Asphalt Paving

Bulkheads & Adjacent Pool Floor

Ceramic Stone & Tile

Concrete Masonry

Concrete Paving

Curtain Wall/ Glazing

Damproofing / Waterproofing

Doors, Frames & Hardware

Elevators

Fencing

Fire Stopping / Smoke Seal

Glulam

Landscaping Soft / Site Furnishings

Lockers

Louvre & Vents

Membrane Roof / Flashings

Metal Roof & Wall Panels

Overhead Doors

Paintings & Coatings

Recreational Equipment

Resilient Flooring

Specific Purpose Rms (Teams/Sauna)

Steel Stud & Drywall

Swimming Pool Accessories

Toilet Partitions

Washroom Accessories

Water Features (Outdoor Pool)

Wave Pool

RESOURCES

Here's the link to the PDF file of the EOI document:

tinyurl.com/3by26h

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 22, 2007

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #2161

VANOC VENUE OWNER INTRAWEST REWORKS EXCUTIVE SUITE

The company that owns Whistler Blackcomb, one of the major skiing venues for the 2010 Games, continues to reorganize its executive suite.

Intrawest ULC has established two main components of its Intrawest Mountain Resorts Division into Canadian and American components, primarily. "The new executive structure will serve to better align the structure with the strategic direction and growth objectives," said a spokesman.

Dave Brownlie has been appointed as chief operating officer of Intrawest Mountain Resorts, Canada. Brownlie will be responsible for all of Intrawest's Canadian mountain resorts, including the company's flagship resort Whistler Blackcomb, and adds Blue Mountain and Tremblant to Brownlie's resort portfolio. He's also responsible for related companies, Whistler Heli-skiing,and Panorama. In addition, Brownlie will oversee the Central Sales and Marketing functions that support the operating divisions across the company.

David Barry, meanwhile, has been appointed as chief operating officer of Intrawest Mountain Resorts, United States and the company's helicopter operations. In this role, Barry will be responsible for all of Intrawest's mountain resorts in the United States. These include Copper Mountain, Winter Park, Stratton, Snowshoe and Mountain Creek.

Last December, Intrawest announced an agreement to acquire Steamboat Ski and Resort Corporation in Colorado. Upon the successful completion of the transaction, Intrawest's operations at Steamboat will be included in Barry's area of responsibility. In addition, Barry will continue to oversee Canadian Mountain Holidays and Alpine Helicopters.

They'll both report to Hugh Smythe, the president of Intrawest Mountain Resorts.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 21, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |General| #2160

BELL CANADA SHRINKS GRANT POTENTIAL TO ICE HOCKEY THIS YEAR

Bell Canada, a major sponsor of the 2010 Winter Olympics, is renewing its annual C$1 million fund for Canadian communities participating in high-participation team sports, but it's moved its focus to summer Olympic sports, considerably shrinking the amount available for ice hockey.

For the past two years, Bell Canada has donated C$1 million annually through its Bell Community Sport Fund to community groups that provided ice hockey and soccer, meaning that hockey development grants could total about C$500,000.

This year, the company will spend another C$1 million, but it says that grants will be available for baseball, basketball, cricket, curling, field hockey, football, lacrosse, ringette, softball and volleyball, in addition to hockey and soccer. That effectively shrinks the amount available this year from the fund for hockey development to about C$83,000.

Bell Canada officials were not immediately available for comment.

The fund provides its grants to sport organizations, community centres and schools, primarily.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 21, 2007

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2159

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

VANOC SPONSORS TO CONTROL DISTRIBUTION OF NEW COINS AND COIN CARDS

The new Canadian 25-cent VANOC curling coin -- the first of its kind -- will start to circulate on Friday, according to the Royal Canadian Mint, a VANOC supplier, but you'll only be able to get it initially at Royal Bank branches and Petro Canada gas stations across Canada -- both companies are major sponsors of VANOC. About 22 million of the coins will go into circulation, says the Mint. Petro-Canada stations will also begin selling a curling sports card, with a painted version of the coin at the same time. The sports card will sell for C$7.95. The mint is also producing a sterling silver collector version of the coin, which includes a hologram. The sterling silver coin was designed by Canadian artist Steve Hepburn and retails for C$69.95 via the Mint and its usual distribution network of coin dealers. Coin experts say that such sets are generally not valuable as investments, because of the number that are produced. They also expect that quite a few of the initial 25-cent coins marking the 2010 Games will be taken out of circulation by people for personal collections, but that the supply will quickly overwhelm that demand. Ian Bennett, president and CEO of the Mint, said this morning during the launch event in Calgary at a curling competition that: "This is the first coin in the most extensive circulation program in relation to the Olympic Games ever conceived by any mint worldwide. With these coins, every Canadian will have a chance to connect with the Games and hold on to a lasting reminder of what is sure to be a very special time in our history." A total of 17 coins, with values of 25 cents, C$1 and C$2, plus 36 limited-mintage collector coins and sets will also be produced by the Mint by 2010. VANOC gets a royalty on the sales of the speciality coins and sports cards. The Mint will also produce the athlete medals.

VANOC IN THE MARKET FOR KILOMETRES OF HIGH-VOLTAGE CABLE

VANOC has issued a Request for Proposals for 9.2 kilometres of 15,000-volt aluminum power cables, plus another 2.4 kilometres of system ground wire for the work being done in upgrading the electrical power systems at its Cypress Bowl venue this summer. Most of it, according to planning documents, will be running through ducts, but it's also asking for an optional price on 2.3 kilometres being directly buried. The venue, in the mountains of West Vancouver, will be used for the 2010 Games's skiing and snowboard competitions, including freestyle, aerials, slalom, snowboard and snowboard cross. VANOC is building two temporary stadiums, modifying existing runs, putting in a new in-ground halfpipe, adding a new snowmaking system and water reservoir, improving lighting, setting up a new freestyle site for aerials and moguls, and re-grading the parallel giant slalom course. The work is about half done and is expected to be completed in about nine months. The RFP closes next Tuesday, February 27, and the delivery of the cables on the mountain is due May 1. [For the link to the 50-page RFP, see RESOURCES, below.]

MARKETER'S HELP NEEDED TO EVOLVE FUTURE OF SKI COMPETITIONS

Quote without comment: "With an ever-increasing supply of leisure options, no form of entertainment can afford to stand still. Indeed, a sport like skiing must continuously develop, and its marketing re-invent itself. Several panelists pointed out their concern with the aging image of alpine skiing that made it less attractive to today's youth. Alpine skiing also tends to be followed mainly by fans that also ski, and the question remains, how to get the non-skiers interested in skiing. Several participants highlighted ski cross as a good example of an event with a younger image and great future. Some of the future development suggestions included the increasing importance of side events to complement sports competitions... The role of sponsors in activating their sponsorship engagement and the role of the media in promoting skiing through innovative advertising was also highlighted. The growing importance of authentic on-site experiences -- the feel and touch part of attendance -- was also noted. Future organizers are likely to be challenged to provide more interactive, experiential means of attending an event, be it through new spectator areas next to the starting hut or in critical parts of the course... but most of all, alpine skiing needs stars, real personalities that can help popularize the sport at home and beyond, as well as in new, emerging markets." -- Riikka Rakic, the editor of the International Skiing Federation's newsletter "NewsFlash", after attending a panel discussion in Sweden on the future of skiing.

RESOURCES

Here's the link to VANOC's power cable RFP, in PDF format:

tinyurl.com/2eg5jg

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 21, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2158

BC GOVERNMENT BUDGET GIVES 2010 GAMES SHORT SHRIFT

Finance minister Carole Taylor today tabled the BC government's budget for its coming fiscal year, which starts April 1, and outlined in comparison how it has been spending its funds during the current fiscal year.

However, Taylor didn't mention the Olympics at all in the budget speech she gave in the Legislative building in Victoria today or in the background briefing for reporters and others who were in the briefing room lock-up just prior to the release of the budget, and there was little mention of the Games at all in the budget documents.

The highlights of the budget that affect the 2010 Winter Games, or observations about their environment:

Revenue this year is forecast to be C$38.3 billion and expenses to be about C$35 billion, while the government for the coming year expects to take in -- and spend -- less: revenues are forecast to be C37.3 billion and expenses about C$36.2 billion. That's slightly under what the government's five-year plan expected it to be.

According to the budget, "Following estimated [Gross Domestic Product] GDP growth of 3.9% in 2006, the BC economy is forecast to grow by 3.1% in 2007. Economic momentum is expected to continue through to 2011, with annual real GDP growth rates of 3.0% or higher, as the build-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics Games continues."

According to the minister in charge of BC's Olympic responsibilities, Colin Hansen, "With the upcoming 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, we have been actively promoting to B.C. business the ways they can take advantage of the opportunities generated by the 2010 Winter Games."

The budget says that the B.C. 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Secretariat is expected to spend about C$100.3 million in the upcoming year, compared with spending C$153.1 million by the time the current year wraps up. It expects add seven people to its staff, bringing to 29 full-time equivalent staff for the coming fiscal year. Last year, it spent C$2.2 million on capital expenditures, and this coming year it expects to spend only C$216,000. The Secretariat, a portion of the BC Economic Development budget, shows off British Columbia businesses and economic development internationally in Games-related opportunities; creates programs aimed at B.C. businesses that enable them to be prepared to take advantage of 2010-related business opportunities; does the oversight of the province's C$600-million-dollar investment -- most of it capital expenses -- in the Games. it also represents the province as a member partner in organizing of the Games. One of its strategies is to be the coordination hub for a range of provincial activities, projects and key relationships related to the 2010 Winter Games.

Instead of focusing on the Games, the government focused on two things that may peripherally help the perception of Vancouver by Games tourism: it is investing in low-income housing, and bolstering the housing component of the welfare rate. Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan applauded the investments in social housing, saying they will play a key role in helping Vancouver meet his council's Project Civil City target of reducing homelessness by more than 50% by 2010.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 20, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2157

Here are two moguls we ran into today:

OTP HIRES HIGH PERFORMANCE ADVISOR FOR TECHNICAL TEAM

Own the Podium - 2010 has hired a high-performance advisor, Teresa Schlachter, the former Canadian Olympic skeleton head coach. She'll be part of the technical team and work out of the organization's Calgary head office. She'll be responsible for providing technical help to a specific group of winter sports that will be confirmed by the end of February when OTP completes a formal review of its technical-team functions. Canadian winter-sport athletes and coaches will receive technical support and the additional financial resources through directed funding designed to turn Canada into the top medal finisher at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and place in the top three nations at the subsequent 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. Half of the C$110 million in funding for OTP comes from the Canadian government through its Sport Canada department. The other half comes from several VANOC sponsors: Bell Canada, General Motors of Canada, retailer HBC, McDonald's restaurants, Petro-Canada, renovations-materials sponsor Rona and the RBC Financial Group, as well as the BC government. The Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, and Vancouver 2010 also provide professional services and resources to Own the Podium. An equivalent program for the Olympic Summer Games, called Road to Excellence, has been established, but is still talking to the federal government's Secretary of State, Helena Guergis, about the level of funding in the coming fiscal year's national budget.

HELLER OFFERS ADVICE TO FURLONG

Quote without comment: "There's always the bread-not-circuses crowd that will continue to hound VANOC, like last week's protesters, who believe the Games are somehow responsible for provincial homelessness, hunger, poverty and any ferry sailing being late. It's probably a good thing George Heller, CEO and president of the 1994 Victoria Games [and CEO of HBC when it became a major sponsor of VANOC], met earlier this month with [VANOC CEO] Furlong. Heller has been there, done that. In an interview later, Heller told me he looked for signs of stress, even aging, on Furlong's face, and noted the VANOC chief seems to be holding up well under the pressure. 'I told John you can't be a hero in your hometown because the microscope is always more intensely focused locally,' said Heller. 'Locally, people make mountains out of molehills on issues that, in a national context, mean nothing. In the media back east, the Vancouver organization has not been taken to task at all. I told John they haven't laid a glove on you [nationally].' " -- Cleve Dheensaw, Victoria Times Colonist newspaper editorial, today. [For the full editorial, see the link under RESOURCES, below]

RESOURCES

Full Times Colonist editorial:

tinyurl.com/29v2gc

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 20, 2007

Monday, February 19, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2156

Here are three more moguls we ran into today:

SPORTS MARKETING PANEL URGES VANOC TO SATISFY APPEAL OF SMALLER CANADIAN BUSINESSES

A delayed overview report of a panel discussion on sports marketing in Canada has a word of advice for VANOC. "Vancouver 2010 holds strong appeal for small- and medium-sized businesses. The Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee needs to find a way of meeting this need or risk facing ambush marketing activities by the hundreds." The information was apparently a comment from a panel held on January 24 in Montreal that included Jean Gosselin, of National PR, Liette Guertin of Cossette Fusion, Alain Hotzau of SportDecision and Xavier Mouly, the CEO of HavasSport.com, however the report, on SportDecision.com, did not attribute the comment. Two more notes from the panel, also unattributed: "Women are more readily attracted to Olympic events, especially the emotional and human character of the amateur athletes portrayed in the media." and "Sports marketing in Canada is enjoying the benefits of the Olympic effect, but it will need to move forward and innovate, or risk seeing its investments decline in favour of other sectors, such as social causes, which companies are noticing more and more." To date, the only public activities that VANOC has taken has been to build in clauses to all of its contracts with retailers and licensees that they will do their best to help VANOC fight off ambush marketing in their areas. It has also asked the federal Canadian government to approve anti-ambush marketing legislation "during the period leading up to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Summer Games through to the end of the 2010 Games."

VANOC SUSTAINABILITY REPORT TO FOLLOW GRI GUIDELINES

VANOC's first sustainability report, expected to be published next month, is also expected to contain descriptions and stories covering sustainable actions since 2003 to last July 31. The information will be reported according to the Global Reporting Initiative's guidelines. VANOC says its "measurable sustainability indicator data will track selected and available performance data over our last fiscal year from August 1, 2005 to July 31 2006." The reason: To keep the data aligned with VANOC's financial reporting cycles.

ICE CONSULTANT PLEASED WITH HILLCREST VENUE FACILITIES

Hans Wuthrich, 49, the ice maker who worked as a consultant on the design of the new Hillcrest curling centre VANOC is building in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games, says the city's reputation for constant rain in the winter shouldn't have a significant effect on the centre's ice. "In Vancouver, in that facility that they're building, there shouldn't be any challenges," Wuthrich (pronounced WOOD-frich) is quoted in a Canadian Press article by reporter Donna Spencer, who is covering the Canadian Women's Curling Championship in Lethbridge, Alberta. "Everything will be so oversized and backed up. We'll have so much horsepower and dehumidification we should be able to make your nose bleed in there. It shouldn't matter if it's pouring rain outside." The ground-breaking ceremony for the arena is scheduled for Friday. Rain, he notes, increases humidity inside a building, which translates as frost on the curling ice. That, in turn, slows down the curling rocks as they slide, and thus the game. Curling ice is pebbled and then lightly scraped -- a process called clipping -- to help the rocks curl. Wuthrich, during the Championship, reports Spencer, works from 5 a.m. to midnight every day. He has a crew of 22 people working in shifts, and the ice is monitored 24 hours a day.

RESOURCES

Global Reporting Initiative framework:

www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/G3Online/

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 19, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2155

Here are three more moguls we ran into today:

HBC GIVES C$300,000 TO CANADIAN PARALYMPIC FUND

VANOC's retailing sponsor, Hudson's Bay Company has given the Canadian Paralympic Foundation a C$300,000 donation for the Foundation's Paralympic Legacy Fund. A spokesman says the grant, the largest single contribution made to the Paralympic Legacy Fund, is the first of seven annual donations and is part of HBC's C$2.9 million annual donation for high-performance Canadian athletes. The money is to help the organization reach a C$10 million fundraising target. The investment income from the fund is to provide an ongoing legacy help for Canadians with physical disabilities to participate in Paralympic sport. "HBC's contribution will be used to knock down the barriers to participation and enable more Canadians with disabilities to feel the rush of confidence, good health and empowerment that Paralympic sport provides," says Senator Joyce Fairbairn, Chair of the Canadian Paralympic Foundation. "From recreation to high performance excellence, Paralympic sport provides an exciting avenue of fulfillment for people with disabilities." Hbc has committed to raising C$20 million by the time its sponsorship ends on December 31, 2012 to support Canadian athletes. This includes Canada's sport organizations, such as the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Canadian Olympic Committee. The balance of the money will support 200 athletes and provide grants to Canada's national training centres. The contribution will be raised through a number of in-store promotions and national events such as the HBC Run for Canada, held each July 1st.

MINT TO LAUNCH FIRST 2010 QUARTER-DOLLAR AT CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP

The Royal Canadian Mint confirms it intends to launch the first of its dozen Vancouver 2010 Olympic quarter dollars, the one that displays curling, during the Canadian Women's Curling Championship, known as the Scottie's Tournament of Hearts, on February 21 in Lethbridge, Alberta. Among the dignitaries: Ian Bennett, president and CEO of the Mint; Donna Duffett, president of the Canadian Curling Association Board of Directors; Amy Nixon, Canada's 2006 Olympic Bronze medalist and who is also member of the Women's Curling Team, and who is also representing VANOC fuels sponsor, Petro-Canada.

AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY TO FOCUS ON 2010-RELATED SOCIAL ISSUES

An independent movie company based in Astoria, New York, called RagTag Productions, is in the process of finalizing a documentary, entitled "The Five Ring Circus, The Untold Story of the Vancouver 2010 Games", about the implications of making the 2010 Winter Olympics. The two-year-old company -- owned by Brian Amyot, Angel Acevedo and Steven Tsapelas, who are all in their mid-20s -- is now circulating a trailer for the film via left-wing blogs and websites. According to the promotional material, "This independent documentary promises to be controversial. The documentary features interviews with mayors Derek Corrigan, Richard Walton, and Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, University of Toronto Professor Helen Lenskyj, Christopher Shaw of 2010 Watch, Sara MacIntyre of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Kim Kerr of DERA, David Eby of Pivot Legal, Betty Krawczyk and many others." With one exception, the mayors noted do not have VANOC venues in their jurisdiction; the exception is West Vancouver mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones. The Cypress Bowl snowboarding venue is adjacent to her municipality. The rest of the people noted are outspoken opponents of the Games. The only location booked for the movie is an East Vancouver theatre, from March 2nd - March 8th. The trailer, which has a Keystone Kops feel about it, indicates it will focus on the negative issues of the Games and what the producers feel ought to be done by VANOC, as opposed to what it has actually done. [To see the movie trailer, see RESOURCES, below.]

RESOURCES

Five Ring Circus trailer:

www.thefiveringcircus.com/trailer.html

RagTag Productions:

Angel Acevedo

22-59 27th St. Apt. 3B

Astoria, NY 11105 US

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 19, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2154

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

STEEL WORKS RISE FROM MUD ON 2010'S NEW UBC HOCKEY ARENA

The steel structure for one of the walls of the new 7,500-seat arena to be used for 2010 Olympic hockey and sledge hockey games has begun rising from the concrete foundations and the sea of mud that marks the arena's construction site at the University of British Columbia. The new rink, expected to be finished by the end of this year, is one of three that will be used during the 2010 Games; the Bauer rink has upgraded with new dressing rooms and mechanical systems. It and a new practice rink adjacent to it are due to be finished in about three months. They will use the new ice plant that's now housed in a separate building to serve the new facility. The new arena can also be used for concerts, tennis tournaments, trade shows and other events after the 2010 Games are complete.

STILL NO DEAL BETWEEN VANOC AND GM PLACE

Just checking in: An operations contract has not yet been signed between VANOC and the owners of General Motors Place, the stadium where the medal ice hockey games will be played during the 2010 Winter Games. Negotiations have been underway for about a year on the last of the usage agreements between VANOC and its third-party venue owners.

ALPINE CANADA HOPING TO BOOST REVENUES FROM C$6 MILLION TO C$8 MILLION BY 2010

Alpine Canada CEO Ken Read says he hopes to expand his organization from grossing C$6 million per year to C$8 million annually between now and 2010 through increased sponsorships and, he hopes, more funds from the Own the Podium program. Alpine Canada represents high-performance ski teams that will be appearing as part of Canada's Olympic team at the 2010 Games.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 19, 2007

Friday, February 16, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2153

Here are two moguls we ran into today:

DOW CANADA SUPPLIER TO VANOC FRETS ABOUT OTHER CUSTOMERS DURING CN STRIKE

One of VANOC's official suppliers, Dow Canada, says the current Canadian National Railway strike is affecting its customers. Dow Chemical Canada president Jeff Johnston told Canadian Press today that, "This strike is already having a severe impact on our ability to ship products, which is affecting our customers across the value chain." About 2,800 of CN's United Transportation Union workers have been on strike since last Saturday. Dow is supplying insulation materials and heat transfer fluids to VANOC, among other things, for use in its venues that require industrial refrigeration. CN is one of two main railway lines that service Canada; the other is Canadian Pacific, which is also a sponsor of VANOC.

RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE "A WEEK" FROM DECIDING ON 2010 UNIFORM SUPPLIER

Last fall, we did a story about how a firm called Bondi, which belongs to fashion designer Pierre Cardin was in the process of forcing open a C$8 million uniform-supply contract for the Russian Olympic Committee that included rights to design the uniforms the Russian Olympic team will be wearing to the 2010 Winter Games. The contract had been held by the firm of Bosco di Ciliegi. The contract expired on December 31, but had an automatic renewal clause that Bosco hoped nobody would bother with -- until executives of Cardin's Bondi showed up and told the ROC it would like to bid. The ROC obligingly put the extension on hold to entertain bids. Cardin, however, was perhaps too successful. Two more firms joined the auction: a Chinese firm called Keene Company, and the Ukrainian vodka producer, Nemiroff. As we understand it, Keene's bid has been eliminated as it apparently wasn't competitive, but the other three are now awaiting a decision by the Russian Olympic Committee. That decision is said to be due in about a week, but the negotiations appear to be continuing among the bidders even so. Bondi is reportedly in talks with Nemiroff, according to Bondi's general director Galina Kuznetsova, who adds, "The Ukrainians may buy the license for sportswear production under Pierre Cardin brand." That may be true, or wishful thinking: the Nemiroff folks are saying anything publicly. However, it's noted that the Chief Executive Officers of Cardin and Nemiroff have always had a good working relationship. Nemiroff has said that if it wins the deal, it will get into the sportswear business.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 16, 2007

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #2152

HEADQUARTERS FOOD SERVICES CONTRACT OFFERED AGAIN AS FLAGSHIP SOCIAL-BUSINESS DEAL FAILS

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) is offering a contract to food-service operators to set up a staff cafeteria in the low-rise of its two buildings that comprise its headquarters in East Vancouver, which it calls Campus 2010. The offer closes March 1.

If you're thinking this sounds familiar, you're right. VANOC made almost the exact same request last summer, and awarded the contract to Cooks Studio, one of a number of subsidiaries of North Vancouver Food & Service Resource Group, a 16-year-old consulting company, run out of a downtown east-side Vancouver office. The downtown east side is one of the areas covered by VANOC's social policies reached in agreements with the City of Vancouver and other governments.

What VANOC hoped to achieve with the deal, what it thought of the organization and what ultimately happened to it within about six months may help you in working on your response to the contract offer.

First, here's how VANOC CEO John Furlong described the company in a speech he made last October to the Vancouver Board of Trade: "If you came out to our offices today and went down onto the first level, you'd find a little enterprise that's operated by an organization called Cook Studio, which is a little business from the Vancouver Downtown East Side. They've hired under-employed people, brought them in off the street, trained them how to be cooks and have developed this enterprise. We've entered into a contract with them to come out and provide food services to the hundreds and eventually thousands of people who will work out of our head offices and we're very proud of that."

VANOC comptroller John McLaughlin, who is on a break at the moment, told us last May that Cook Studio's win was determined by the kinds of services they would provide, and not by the size of the concession fee. "We weren't looking to make money at this, because if we did it [by, say, concession fee], it would effectively be added onto the prices the staff would have to pay. We just dealt with them on the basis of 'Will you sell good, healthy food to our staff at a reasonable price?' "

The company, he added, "will be hiring a lot of people from the Downtown East Side. They have a lot of training programs for people who have been underemployed. It's the sort of organization that really fits well with what we're trying to do. They also make great food. It's a win-win from our perspective: great food, great service, great people to work with, and their doing something great for the community."

There's no word on how many staff went through the operation, but there was about six or seven working with VANOC at any given time.

The company also knew its way around government programs. It was, for instance, paid $358,340 two years ago by the Canadian government's Human Resources and Skills Development Canada department, through its Skills Link program. The program, part of the government's Youth Employment Strategy, was designed to help young people "facing barriers to employment to acquire the skills, knowledge and work experience they need to participate in the job market." Another deal a year ago was for about $365,000.

In addition, it was also part of a pilot project to train culinary personnel run by the BC government's Ministry of Advanced Education.

That was then. Now, the Ministry doesn't want to talk about the pilot project, but says the company is "gone." The several phones of the NV Food & Service Resource Group, which included food workshops and consulting, commissary production and training programs, are no longer in service. Its website still works, but the contact information is no longer correct. One of its two main e-mail addresses no longer works; there has been no response from the other one. Messages left at its now closed Cooks Studio Cafe on Powell Street go unanswered. The BC Restaurant and Food Services Association has a record of the firm, with the contact person as James Kennedy, but with the out-of-service contact information. It was unaware its information was no longer correct, and it had no other contact data. Other customers and governments that did business with the firm say it has closed its doors. Bankruptcy documents filed with the courts offer a lengthy list of creditors, but VANOC isn't one of them.

VANOC, we understand, tried to help the Cook Studio staff find other work.

Now, let's see how VANOC has rearranged things in offering the new contract:

Last June, VANOC was only offering to contract out the cafeteria, on the second floor of the two-storey low-rise building. The 3,100 square feet cafeteria, with a kitchen, in an additional 462 square feet, built in to it, can seat a total of 138. VANOC is offering the use of the kitchen equipment, which it now owns. Now, VANOC has sweetened the offer, by adding into the deal what it calls its "food kiosk," an 811-square-foot coffee-shop type of operation which can seat 27, and which is tucked away in a room just behind the reception area in the adjacent high-rise tower, where most of the staff, which will number about 500 by the end of this year, are located. And, as well, it's now offering to allow the proponent to operate satellite coffee services in the building and elsewhere. The winning company will also be expected to provide a wide range of catering services, from office meetings to "large-scale catering events."

VANOC wants the new operator of the cafeteria and kiosk to provide design advice, as well as to implement, manage and operate the "non-branded" cafeteria in the low-rise building.

VANOC, again, wants a company with specific and significant experience providing cafeteria food services and catering operations, comparable to those in public institutions, privately run cafeterias and catering operations. Nobody at VANOC is is saying so specifically, but stability of the proponent is expected to get a closer look this time. "As no rent or utilities will be charged in the cafeteria or the kiosk operations," VANOC says, "the winning bidder will be required to furnish and maintain the working capital necessary to provide and carry a suitable and adequate inventory of food and other supplies, to pay the salaries and wages and benefits of its employees and other charges."

By the way, the RFP package, its documents and questionnaire for this little cafeteria and coffee shop runs a whopping 69 pages, large portions of it given over to VANOC's requirements dealing with aboriginal and sustainability social goals, and to answer detailed questionnaires about what it can and can't do on those fronts in fulfilling the deal, not to mention sample menus, prices and organizational details. The actual description of what it wants in the way of cafeteria services doesn't even start until page 24.

The contract for the winner will be good until March 31, 2010 -- by that time, there will be almost 1,600 employees working out of the Campus buildings -- but that's when the Games are over and VANOC all but shuts down.

RESOURCES

VANOC's new food services RFP documents (there are two of them) are here...

tinyurl.com/27ky55

... and here:

tinyurl.com/yw6rqc

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 15, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2151

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

VANOC TO BE PART OF WHISTLER-AREA SCHOOL MEETINGS

VANOC, Whistler and school board officials are planning public meetings over the next few weeks to talk over various possibilities about the effects the 2010 Games might have on schools and openings in the Whistler area when the Games occur. A panel that includes VANOC's Maureen Douglas, Jim Godfrey of Whistler's Olympic Games office and Whistler school board trustees Andrée Janyk and Chris Vernon-Jarvis will be involved. The Howe Sound School Board is still gathering information and research about what happened at the towns that have hosted other Winter Games, and is also talking to transportation planners. Meetings are to be held in Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton. The district is also said to be working on a survey of parents.

COC ATHLETE PROGRAMS MANAGER STEPS DOWN

The Canadian Olympic Committee's Manager of Athlete Programs, Sylvie Fréchette, 39 and herself an Olympian in swimming, is resigning to spend more time with her young family. She had been working for the past year on the COC's athlete funding programs, the Olympic Voice speakers' bureau program and the Olympians Canada athlete alumni program. Fréchette will continue to work part-time for the COC at least until the end of March to help with the transition to her successor, who has not yet been named.

CCES FOUND NINE VIOLATIONS OUT OF NEARLY 1800 DOPING CONTROL TESTS

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the Ontario-based organization which VANOC agreed last November to use for anti-doping education and testing leading up to and during the Games, conducted 1,792 doping control tests from July to December 2006. A spokesman said the majority were carried out under Canada's domestic doping control program, with nine anti-doping rule violations reported. VANOC's Director of Anti-Doping, Jeremy Luke, worked at the Centre before taking his VANOC job.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 15, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2150

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

RICHMOND COUNTDOWN CROWD ESTIMATED AT 15,000

Various sources estimate the crowd that took part in this year's Richmond Winter Festival, which was heavily focused on countdown events for the 2010 Winter Olympics, was about 15,000 on Granville Avenue, which was shut down for four hours for the events. Various sponsors reported lots of activity around their booths by people attracted to the family atmosphere by various entertainment, including sports, music, street theatre, speeches by various officials and, at the end, a fireworks display at City Hall. Richmond has been a strong public supporter of the 2010 Winter Games, and is in the process of construction a large sports complex that will host the long-track speed skating at the 2010 Games. The Winter Festival is expected to be held as part of the two-year-countdown events a year from now.

VANCOUVER COUNTDOWN PUBLIC EVENT SET FOR SATURDAY

Although only about 300 turned up for the noon-hour countdown event last Monday hosted by VANOC and its timekeeping sponsor, Omega, a much bigger turnout is expected for Vancouver this Saturday at VANOC's Coliseum venue in east Vancouver. Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan; James Moore, the federal government's parliamentary secretary to the Minister for the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics; Colin Hansen, the BC government's minister responsible for the Olympics; Tewanee Joseph, executive director of the Four Host First Nations; and Jack Poole, the chairman of VANOC's Board of Directors will welcome guests to the event. There's free public skating, and various entertainment, including figure skating and speed skating by Canadian Olympic athletes.

Bell Canada cell-phone network streams movies as 2010 prelude

Bell Canada, VANOC's telecommunications sponsor and owner of the host broadcast contract for the Games, continues to construct the infrastructure that will help it deliver the 2010 Games by cell phone as simply part of its commercial services. Today, it launched a service called Mobile Movies. These are full-length movies, which cost about C$6 each, streamed directly to customer phones using Bell's wireless high speed network. The interactive movie software application is also downloaded directly from the phone's menu, and customers can use it to browse movie information, including trailers and plot summaries, before they choose a title. The current business plan allows customers to watch a movie they've purchased as many times as they like within a specific period, the length of which ranges from 24 hours to a week, depending on the title. Wade Oosterman, President of Bell Mobility, says, "The list of technological developments in the last few years -- mobile movies and music, interactive games, streaming video and mobile TV clips and full Internet access on the go -- underlines that mobile data delivery is a major focus of wireless today."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 15, 2007

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2149

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

WOMEN'S SKI-JUMPING LOBBYING CONTINUES APACE

A report in the Salt Lake City Tribune newspaper indicates there's still lots of lobbying going on behind the scenes over attempts by women's ski-jumping enthusiasts to get themselves on the events list of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The newspaper, noting that a complaint has been filed with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal alleging unequal treatment of women by a federally funded organization -- VANOC, also quotes former Salt Lake City mayor Deedee Corradini, the president of Women's Ski Jumping USA, as saying, "We're all working together on this, so we and the Canadians have been communicating very closely. We're communicating almost daily in this effort. Our best hope is the Canadian strategy, because they're the host city. So our hope is we have some success there." Corradini is also told the paper that her Canadian counterparts are trying to interest Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in their effort. The paper quotes her as saying, "There's talk about putting in legislation in the Canadian Parliament about this... They know that this is urgent and the timing is critical. [The US federation's] strategy at this point is to wait and see what happens there."

VANOC REPS IN SWEDEN FOR FIS CONFERENCE

Representatives of VANOC are reportedly attending a conference this week in Åre, Sweden, along with several hundred other people, as part of a familiarization tour of the International Ski Federation's (FIS) extensive organization. "This program has evolved into an essential opportunity for future organizers to see all the action underway as well as learn from the organization behind the scenes," says an FIS spokesman. On Monday, a Future Organizers' Seminar featured presentations covering all the main areas of the organization, such as finances, accommodation, transportation, medical & anti-doping, marketing, accreditation, volunteers, sports organization, media & PR, infrastructure and side events. "Our Future Organizers' Seminar provided a great opportunity for us to consolidate some of the key information we wanted to share with the many observing groups and allow them to ask direct questions on any particular topic areas. We are quite pleased with the large number of participants in the Seminar as well as in the entire Study Group Program, and the future organizers will hopefully return home with many great experiences and some new ideas provided by us,” said Karin Halvarsson, the spokesman. FIS represents a number of the skiing events that are to be held by VANOC during the Games.

PARALYMPICS-ORIENTED RESEARCH BOOK PUBLISHED

It's a book called "Perspectives Volume 7, Sports for Persons with a Disability", published by the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) and it's backed by the International Paralympic Committee and the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace. The book is of various researched commentaries concerned with sport for people with a disability and the Paralympic movement. A spokesman says, "The articles selected for the publication were chosen for the range of topics, sports, regions and fields of study that they represent. Each research article highlights a current and topical issue in the world of sport for persons with a disability, allowing a number of voices to be heard and providing an opportunity to share top quality research on an international platform." These include how use various tools, approaches and perspectives. For example, one takes a look at Paralympic sport from a sport science perspective, using a variety of approaches such as physiology, classification and biomechanics. Another looks at the conduct of sport, athlete training and performance development.

RESOURCES

For more information on the Perspectives book:

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 14, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2148

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

OWN THE PODIUM TO BE TOUGHER IN HANDING OUT FUNDS FOR COMING YEAR

The head of Canada's Own the Podium program, which is the organization that's distributing about C$22 million per year of funds raised by VANOC sponsors and the Canadian government to winter sports organizations, says he'll start meeting with the federations next month to talk about how the coming year's funding will be focused. And, Roger Jackson indicates, the conditions of how it will be provided will be much more stringent than in the past year. The goal of the C$110 million, five-year plan, is to have Canada finish first in the medal standings at the Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler. "This is a very critical winter season for several sports," Jackson told The Canadian Press in his office at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta. "The mindset up until now has been one of trying to help everybody get going and giving them a helping hand. What we've told the sports is, starting this spring, with three years to go, they're going to see us focusing more on where they have come from in the last two years. The standard is absolutely clear, it's medals. We will make sure the funding we do have available is giving everything possible to those who do have a chance." Canadian Press notes that "Canada's hockey players, curlers and speedskaters are currently Canada's best bets for medals in 2010. Cross-country, alpine and freestyle skiers, bobsled and skeleton sliders and figure skaters have and are showing medal potential. In sports such as luge and ski jumping, athletes have yet to finish in the top five consistently." An aside: University of British Columbia researchers were in the Callahan Valley this winter studying the composition of the snow around the construction site of the Whistler Nordic centre, so that when 2010 arrives, the cross-country skiers will have wax and skis that fit the snow conditions."

BRITISH WORKING ON THEIR OWN SPORT-SUPPORT PLAN FOR OLYMPICS

The British Olympic Committee is making arrangements to have successful and large UK companies work with the national sports federations that supervise the country's winter and summer Olympics in an effort to improve medal standings. The arrangements with firms such as GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Wolseley PLC and eight others are contractual and mostly deal with sports that appear in Summer Games, but there are no commercial or advertising rights involved. However there is one signed so far for help with a winter sport: BG Group PLC, which will help the country's hockey federation with project management in customer relations. The BOC says its arrangements with 11 more companies are close to completion. The companies are to provide knowledge and skills instead of cash sponsorships. The deal involves firms that are all members of the Financial Times Stock Exchange index (FTSE). "If you look at the FTSE 100 companies, they all know about trying to win in what are increasingly competitive global markets, and the sports councils face the same challenge," FTSE Group chief executive Mark Makepeace says, "So there's a lot in common between business and these sports councils." The FTSE is a value-weighted index of 100 of the largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange; its nickname is "Footsie". The FTSE is owned by the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Times. All of the deals, which BOC is calling "partnerships", are expected to be completed by September.

ANARCHIST ABORIGINAL GROUPS OFFER HARD-LINE COMMENTS ABOUT 2010

An ad-hoc group calling itself the Native Youth Movement (NYM) issued a news release today on an "alternative news" blog called Infoshop that allegedly quotes one of the seven people arrested by Vancouver police during the three-year countdown ceremony on Monday. According to the news release, "NYM Warrior Tselletkwe made a statement upon her release, stating "Our land is not for sale, we are still at war with KKKanada, we have never surrendered our land. We want the whole World to know not to come to our country and to boycott KKKanada and the 2010 Olympic Games. Tourism is not welcome here." The news release identified Tselletkwe as being a member of the Secwepemc or Shuswap group of 17 bands occupying the south-central part of BC, as well as being a member, along with two others who were arrested, of another ad hoc group calling themselves the Indigenous Resistance Organizing Committee. Those three were released from custody without being charged, although other protestors were charged with mischief. VANOC has formal agreements with the four aboriginal bands involved with the construction of its venues, including the Squamish, and Squamish Chief Gibby Jacobs is on its 20-person Board of Directors. It and the BC government earlier this month helped finance a two-day conference of how aboriginal businesses could work with the 2010 Winter Games. Mainstream news organizations, particularly the Vancouver Sun and the Province newspapers, have published editorials and letters to the editor condeming Monday's disturbances. The news release claimed it was originating from "unsurrendered Squamish Territory (Vancouver)."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 14, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |IOC| #2147

CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE "ADJUSTS" MEDAL TARGETS FOR 2010 WINTER GAMES -- BY ABANDONING THEM

The Canadian Olympic Committee said today its latest goal is still to finish first in the overall medal count of the Olympics in 2010, and in the top three of the Paralympics, but it has abandoned its plans to reach a specific medal target, which in the case of the 2010 Olympics it earlier predicted would be at least 35 medals.

The comment came during the COC's third official site visit to Vancouver and Whistler. But Chris Rudge, the COC's CEO says that Canada remains on target to achieve its "ambitious" goals.

"As we build towards the 2010 Olympic Winter Games," says, Rudge, "the Canadian Olympic Committee is working closely with VANOC, Own The Podium 2010, our national sport federations and sport partners to provide Canada's athletes with as much financial and technical support as possible." He added that, "One year removed from our third-place finish in Turin and three years out from the opening ceremony in Vancouver, Canada's winter athletes continue to excel on the international stage. With three more years of support, we are confident that we will continue on an upward trajectory and ultimately achieve our goal of topping the podium in Vancouver."

From the start of the 2006-2007 season through to last weekend's competitions, Canadian winter athletes ranked fourth overall in total World Cup medals with 93. Germany currently leads all nations with 157 medals followed by South Korea with 99 and the US with 98. Austria rounds out the top-five with 83 podium results.

"Canada's World Cup results to date for the 2006-2007 season are encouraging given that this is a post-Olympic season and many of Canada's top winter athletes have taken extended time off to rest and recover," said Alex Gardiner, the COC senior director of Olympic Technical Programming. "Several of Canada's young athletes have achieved breakthrough results this year and the fact that we are currently ranked in the top five amongst all winter sport nations is a positive sign as we continue to build towards 2010."

As part of the COC's preparations for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the organization met with key staff members from the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) on Monday to get an update on a wide range of areas important to all national Olympic teams: the status of construction of the sport venues, other support facilities and Olympic village, National Olympic Committee services, accommodation, transportation, accreditation, medical services and support technology.

Yesterday, members of the COC's delegation toured several of the Olympic venue construction sites in Vancouver including Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver, which is partly finished, the Olympic Village construction site, the Richmond speedskating oval and the Main Press Centre in downtown Vancouver.

Caroline Assalian, the COC executive director of Olympic Games & Preparation, says she's satisfied overall with progress. "As has been the case since day one, VANOC continues to raise the bar regarding its organization of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. For the next three years, the Canadian Olympic Committee's primary focus will be working together with the winter national sport federations as performance partners in order to prepare the Canadian team for podium success in Vancouver. The information we have obtained on this site visit will help to provide Canada's athletes with home-field advantage in 2010."

The COC is completing its visit with a tour of the Whistler-area construction sites: the Nordic Centre, the Whistler Olympic Village and VANOC's Broadcast and Press Centre in Whistler this evening followed by meetings with individuals from the resort municipality of Whistler tomorrow to discuss what it calls "partnership possibilities" for the Olympic Winter Games. The names of those involved were not disclosed.

Following the site visit, the COC will share the information gathered this week with Canada's winter national sport federations that supervise the sports that will be competing in the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, particularly with the coaches and athletes, to help them work on their high-performance plans and strategies for the next three years.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 14, 2007

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2146

BC THRONE SPEECH MENTIONS OLYMPICS -- THREE YEARS FROM NOW

The throne speech of the BC Government, where the government sets out its general policy direction for the coming legislative session opened the latest session this afternoon, and the Olympics were mentioned -- but in an odd way.

Lieutenant-Governor Iona Camponolo, who read the speech on behalf of the BC Liberal government for the opening of the third session of the 38th Parliament, wound through a lengthy, 7,000 word speech before finally getting to the end.

"Three short years from today," she said, "British Columbians wi ll be living their Olympic dream. We will be one day past the opening ceremonies. Canadians across this land will be glued to their televisions and computers as Canadian athletes reach higher, dig deeper, and go faster — striving to be the best in the world... This is our time. This is British Columbia's time to lead. Let us strive to inspire others with our commitment and determination. Let us seize this moment of strength and optimism to embrace the Olympic spirit and capture the Pacific promise. The torch of hope is in our hands. Let us hold the torch high and act with speed and purpose, confident in our endeavour. Let us test our limits and give our grandchildren the gift of a better province, a better country, and a better world."

And that was it. There was no hint of any legislation attached to the concept. The next key legislative date is when the BC government will bring down its Budget for the fiscal year starting April 1, where it will detail its proposed spending on the Olympics for the coming year.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 13, 2007

Monday, February 12, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2145

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

VANCOUVER POLICE TO CHANGE SECURITY TACTICS AFTER VANOC PROTEST

Vancouver City Police were taken by surprise today and will change their tactics after two 2010 Olympic protesters, who up to now had been noisy but otherwise peaceful when they showed up at a number of previous Olympic events, jumped up onto the countdown clock stage today. One pushed VANOC's vice-president of Communications, Renee Smith-Valade, away from the microphone where she had been introducing the event, and began shouting obscenities at the crowd of about 300, mostly supporters, while other protesters chanted "Homes, not Olympics." Police, who arrested the man, say that his action was a "criminal act", and arrested seven of the most aggressive opponents during scuffles with them. They also confiscated a number of home-made weapons, including rocks wrapped to disguise them. After the disturbance, uniformed police stood in front of the stage on the ground below the podium facing the crowd and watching carefully.

WASHINGTON STATE REALTOR WANTS YOU TO BUY A CONDO FOR 2010

Although there was no media coverage in Washington State, the American state directly south of British Columbia, about the 2010 countdown prior to the event, one Washington State realtor is hoping to interest potential home buyers with the fact that his town of Blaine is closer to the Vancouver Games than people living in Whistler are. Mike Kent, who has launched a website designed to show the attractiveness of Blaine, which he calls "a quaint fishing resort", by saying, "The residents of Birch Bay and Blaine will actually be closer to many of the venues than the enthusiast who chose Whistler as home base. This would include the indoor venues such as figure skating, speed skating, curling and hockey as well as the snow boarding events to be held at Cypress Bowl. Additionally, accommodations are modestly priced across the line and there are no crowds and the appeal is obvious." He suggests that, "In a perfect world, folks can buy a condo [in the Blaine area] now, enjoy it through 2010, and then potentially sell it for enough profit to pay for the Olympic experience." A number of American media covered the countdown ceremony, but their stories focused on the protests.

RBC VALUES CASH CONTRIBUTION TO VANOC AT C$70 MILLION

RBC, the Canadian financial sponsor of the 2010 Winter Olympics says in a sustainability report that its sponsorship, valued at C$110 million by VANOC, includes a cash donation of C$70 million. The rest, it says, is "provision of banking services, athlete and amateur sport investments, support for the Paralympic Games, First Nations community development programs and marketing support through the RBC network." The network includes all of the Royal Bank branches in Canada.

RESOURCES

Mike Kent's Blaine web page:

www.undiscoveredwaterfront.com/

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 12, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2144

Here are three more moguls we ran into today:

VANOC OFFERING CONTRACT FOR SCOREBOARDS, TIMERS, COUNTDOWNS DISPLAYS

VANOC has issued a Request for Proposals for three modular scoreboards, plus five 10=digit timing displays and seven countdown displays, which have to use Swiss Timing protocols. Two of the scoreboards are to be installed in the Callaghan Valley at its biathlon and cross-country venues, and one is to be installed at the Whistler Sliding Centre. VANOC is still mulling over where to put the timing displays and countdown timers. These have the standard red light/green light displays, along with an audible start sound. The scoreboards have to be visible from different distances; one at 100 metres, another a 130m, and the third at 140m. They have to be designed, assembled, delivered to their sites, installed, tested, commissioned and in operation no later than October 1. The deadline for responding to the RFP is February 23. The link to the documentation is in RESOURCES, below.

VANOC TIMEKEEPING SPONSORSHIP AS INTRICATE AS A WATCH

For those of you keeping track on how the timekeeping sponsorship works with 2010 and with the timekeeping RFP, here's the rundown: Swatch owns Omega, which is its luxury watch subsidiary, and which has the sponsorship for, among other things, the 2010 Winter Games through a contract negotiated with the International Olympic Committee. Swiss Timing is another Swatch Group subsidiary. It provides the software, called Galactica, and the component hardware for timekeeping displays to Omega, so it can be used at the Olympics. So, when an RFP calls for timing and countdown displays with Swiss Timing protocols, it's not talking about a notional kind of timing system. Swiss Timing's factory is in Bienne, Switzerland. Intriguingly, it was the constantly updated technical requirements of the Olympics that forced the creation of Swiss Timing, after two Swiss companies, Longines and Omega, decided after the Mexican Summer Olympics in 1968 that the cost of keeping up was too heavy and decided to discontinue their sponsorship, particularly since at the time sponsor recognition wasn't allowed. The Federation of Swiss Watch Manufacturers, however, felt that if the two firms combined their resources on the Olympic projects while working on their own in other marketing areas, and included expertise and other resources from other Swiss firms, the R&D burden could be spread over larger bases, and Swiss Timing was formed in 1972. The company has been involved in timing the Olympic Games ever since. Swiss Timing also contacts with a number of international sports federations to time their world championships.

FURLONG POINTS TO POOLE AS MENTOR

Quote without comment: Vancouver Sun newspaper reporter Jeff Lee, in a three-years-to-go interview, asked VANOC CEO John Furlong at one point whom he talked to for help in doing his job. Furlong replied, "I rely heavily on [VANOC board chairman] Jack Poole. You could set your clock by the talk we have every Saturday. He has been a profoundly good mentor to me. He's an interesting man. He has taught me the art of taking extremely complicated things and uncomplicating them, and repackaging them so you can deal with them."

RESOURCES

The Scoreboard Clock RFP in PDF format is here on VANOC's website:

tinyurl.com/32hd6v

Swiss Timing's website:

www.swisstiming.com/

Omega's website:

www.swatchgroup.com/brands/prestige.php?clicked=omega

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 12, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #2143

POTENTIAL CONTRACTING FIRMS TOLD TO FOCUS ON VANOC SOCIAL GOALS, ALONG WITH PRICE AND DEADLINES

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) has made several structural changes in its latest Request for Proposals documentation that increases their stringency in supporting VANOC's social goals of aboriginal participation, sustainability, social inclusion and "healthy living."

Although it says VANOC's primary procurement goals are "to maximize the value of goods and services received for the money spent, while ensuring that schedule deadlines are met," quite a bit of the document is now taken up by seeing how much proponent firms can integrate VANOC'S social goals into the concept of selling a product to 2010 at a good price.

On the sustainability side, VANOC is now asking firms to detail how much electricity their products will consume per hour, and to offer suggestions, which VANOC says it will keep and may use even if a particular proposal is not accepted, to reduce the power footprint. The organization, as it reviews proposals, says, "we are interested in assessing potential life cycle costs and the total cost of ownership" of products supplied to it, so it wants to know the details of a product's maintenance schedule, the parts most likely to wear out, whether they have to be replaced or they can be reconditioned. They also want to know the pricing and suggestions for a "recommended minimum spare parts inventory."

VANOC also has a detailed questionnaire it wants filled out -- all questions must be answered -- about a firm's environmental policy, ranging from whether it follows stringent ISO requirements, to whether it recycles as a matter of course.

On the aboriginal side, the RFP wants to know if a company is aboriginally owned, whether it supports the aboriginal business community -- including how it does so -- and whether the proponent firm supports "aboriginal employment and progressive relations" and, exactly, how it does that.

On the inclusivity side, the RFP now wants to know if a firm supports VANOC's "target communities (i.e. people with disabilities and Inner-City residents – e.g., youth-at-risk, women, long-term unemployed, visible minorities)?" It wants to know how a firm goes about doing that, including notes about whether it hires from Vancouver's "three Inner-City communities."

And, on the "healthy living" side, it wants to know how a firm supports "sport and healthy and sustainable living?" By this it asks whether the firm does such things as "sponsor sports and recreational clubs for target communities."

VANOC is careful to note that it considered a response to its RFP to be a "legally binding offer" to provide the products and services in the manner listed.

Speaking of legalities, for the first time, VANOC has expanded the role played by the Vancouver law firm of Borden Ladner Gervais by giving it the legal work associated with the RFP. Ken Bagshaw, QC, is the Chief Legal Officer of VANOC and was a senior corporate and commercial partner for about 40 years with BLG before he took the VANOC role. BLG, so far as the public knew, was only used by VANOC until now for the periodic but growing legal work connected with filing the organization's various trademarks. The firm has been doing that for the past few years.

Bagshaw, according to VANOC, "Oversees VANOC's legal relationships, negotiates major revenue contracts and coordinates the strategy for protection of intellectual property and trademark issues associated with the Games. Ongoing liaison with International Olympic Committee counsel, senior government officials and VANOC's Board of Directors is also an integral part of his team's portfolio."

According to VANOC, proponents responding to the RFP can't ask BLG to help them formulate their proposal, but it also requires a proponent to waive any potential conflict of interest that comes from having the firm involved with the RFP on VANOC's side. "A proponent consents to BLG continuing to represent and advise VANOC in respect of this RFP and any contract resulting therefrom, including any dispute in, arising out of, or relating to the RFP or any such contract, notwithstanding that BLG may have a past, present or future solicitor-client relationship with the Proponent."

BACKGROUND

Here is the list of social-goal questions VANOC is asking in its latest Request for Proposals

A. MANAGEMENT, VERIFICATION & BUSINESS INTEGRITY

1. Does your organization have a management system that assesses and mitigates any negative socio-economic and environmental impacts of your operations and supports achieving positive sustainability results?

a) Registered and ISO 14000 certified environmental management system

b) Unregistered sustainability or environmental management system

c) Registered and ISO 18001 certified health and safety program or equivalent

d) Sustainability training, education and awareness program for employees

e) No system or approach

2. How does your organization publicly report on its sustainability performance?

a) Sustainability, social, environmental or accountability report (within past 2 yrs)

b) Independent verification of sustainability/environmental report (within past 2 yrs)

c) No report

3. Over the past four years, has your organization been fully compliant with public authorities and/or professional standards in all of the following areas? Check either yes, no or not applicable for each and provide explanation as appropriate.

-- Environmental Regulations

-- Human Rights

-- Workplace Health & Safety

-- Employment Standards

-- Organizational Conduct related to ethics, financial & accounting matters, or bribes or other inappropriate payments to public officials

-- Other regulatory or professional standards that could create a potential risk or vulnerability to VANOC (please specify)

If no, please provide details and specifics of non-compliance and remedial action that has been taken or is planned.

B. ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE & PRACTICES

4. How does your organization reduce waste and promote recycling?

a) Zero Waste Policy

b) Eco-efficiency to reduce material use

c) Take-back programs for products and packaging / product stewardship programs

d) Office recycling program

e) None

5. How does your organization reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions?

a) Carbon neutral commitment or carbon off-sets

b) Employee trip reduction program and/or fleet management program

c) Purchase of renewable and sustainable energy and/or alternative fuels

d) Energy efficiency retrofits and strategies

e) None

C. CONTRIBUTION TO A SUSTAINABILITY MARKETPLACE

6. Which purchasing tools or strategies does your organization have in place to support positive social, environmental and ethical impacts?

a) Sustainable, Environmental, Aboriginal, Social or Ethical Purchasing Policy

b) Ethical Code of Conduct for Suppliers

c) Informal preference for sustainable products and services

d) None

D. ABORIGINAL PARTICIPATION (FIRST NATION, INUIT, METIS

7. Is your organization Aboriginal-owned or does it strongly support the Aboriginal business community?

a) Majority Aboriginal ownership (51%)

b) Joint-venture or strategic alliances with Aboriginal businesses

c) Purchase at least 5% of all goods and services from Aboriginal businesses

d) Purchase from and/or joint venture with businesses that hire or support the Aboriginal community

8. How does your organization support Aboriginal employment and progressive relations?

a) Silver level status in the Progressive Aboriginal Relations program (PAR)

b) At least 5% of the workforce is aboriginal

c) Aboriginal recruitment and employment programs

d) Capacity development programs (e.g. internships, scholarships, training, etc.)

e) Aboriginal cultural awareness programs and training for employees

f) Aboriginal community relations programs

g) None

E. SOCIAL INCLUSION AND ACCESSIBILITY

9. How does your organization support target communities (i.e. people with disabilities and Inner-City residents – e.g., youth-at-risk, women, long-term unemployed, visible minorities)?

a) Programs to hire from Vancouver’s three Inner-City communities

b) Programs to hire from target communities outside Vancouver’s Inner-City communities

c) Purchase from/joint venture with organizations that hire/support target communities

d) Products and services designed for use by people with disabilities

e) Barrier-free workplace and facilities

f) Diversity/cultural awareness programs and training for employees

g) Employee volunteering programs to support target communities

h) None

F. SPORT AND SUSTAINABLE LIVING

10. How does your organization promote sport and healthy and sustainable living?

a) Sponsor sports and recreational clubs for target communities

b) Sponsorship of individual athletes

c) Health and Wellness / Active Living program for employees

d) Work-Life Balance program for employees

e) Caring Company Designation with Imagine Canada

f) Public and/or consumer awareness and action programs on sustainability

g) None

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 12, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2142

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

300, INCLUDING PROTESTORS, TAKE PART IN COUNTDOWN CEREMONY

About 300 people gathered on the front lawn of the Vancouver Art Gallery in Vancouver's business district to watch the unveiling ceremony of the 2010 Olympic countdown clock. The Games open three years from today. Vancouver City Police arrested about half a dozen aggressive protesters, while others chanted loudly in the background during the raster of one-to-two-minute speeches from representatives of the Canadian, BC and Vancouver governments, and from the aboriginal tribes in the VANOC venue areas as well as VANOC. The organizers alternated speeches with video-taped excerpts of Canadian gold-medal winning finishes at previous winter Olympics shown on giant screen. The clock, a tombstone-shaped stainless-steel and thick plexiglass structure standing next to a vertical, laminated western red cedar post carved with VANOC's bird/tree combination found on many of its banners, with a coloured version of the emblem of the Olympics near the top, and the emblem of the Paralympics on the other side. The time-keeping portions of the digital clock were donated by Swatch via its Omega brand -- Omega president Stephen Urquhart spoke briefly at the ceremony. However the clock sculpture was designed by James Bateman and Dan O'Leary of Karakters Design Group, a Vancouver-based company that won the contract to design the Paralympic Logo and the initial look of the Games about a year ago. They said it was conceived as a landmark where people could be photographed. The clock is a permanent fixture and will count upward from the Games once they start in 2010. The clock was built and assembled by EEC Industries, an architectural signage company, at its North Vancouver workshop.

IOC TO START AUSTRIAN DOPING HEARINGS IN APRIL

The IOC's hearings into alleged doping by several Austrian biathlon and cross-country skiing athletes during the 2006 Torino Winter Games are to begin in mid-April. The organization's disciplinary committee met Friday to discuss possible rule violations during the Games. IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau confirmed that the meeting examined documents turned over by Italian investigators following raids on the Austrian team quarters during the Games. The outcome of the hearings could decide which athletes will be able to compete in the 2010 Games. The commission could make recommendations as soon as the next IOC Executive Board meeting which is scheduled for the end of April in Beijing.

BIRKS TO GO FOR UPPER-END JEWELRY MARKET ON VANOC'S BEHALF

Under the VANOC deal with Birks & Mayors Jewelers (Amex: BMJ), the basement price cut-off is C$150. The company will only sell necklaces, earrings, pendants, rings and the like for more than that with 2010 or Canadian Olympic team brands at its 67 stores in Canada and the US, starting next January. The company operates 38 stores under the Birks banner across major cities in Canada and 29 stores under the Mayors banner in Florida and Georgia. Birks also has six corporate sales offices and provides both catalogue and on-line shopping from its websites. The six-year sponsorship, to December 31, 2012, allows it to market the fact that it will be supplying and supporting the 2010 Winter Games, a swell as sponsorship rights for the Canadian Olympic teams competing at the Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games. It will also have rights to participate VANOC-related gifting programs.

RESOURCES

EEC Industries' website:

www.eecind.com

Birks & Mayor's website:

www.Birks.com

Karacters Design Group

604.640.4327

1600-777 Hornby Street,

Vancouver, BC V6Z 2T3

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 12, 2007

Friday, February 09, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2141

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

PROTEST URGED AT VANCOUVER 2010 COUNTDOWN CEREMONY

An ad-hoc group calling itself the Anti-Olympic Coalition is urging supporters to protest the 2010 Olympic countdown ceremonies scheduled for noon in downtown Vancouver. The protest call appeared today on a blog called "The Christian Radical". It's said to be an offshoot of the "Vancouver Catholic Worker community", which is edited by activists Chris Rooney and Karl Germyn. The pair say on the blog that the protest's rally cry is "Let’s stand together and show the world there is no time for the Olympics!" They are calling upon members of various aboriginal groups, and other groups, such as the "Native Youth Movement, Anti-Poverty Committee, No One Is Illegal, [Downtown Eastside Resident's Association] DERA, Wild Earth... and others" to take part. There is expected to be a considerable amount of media covering the countdown event, a wide range of senior politicians including BC premier Gordon Campbell, a range of VANOC officials, along with a public crowd, for the heavily scripted event. The blog urges protest supporters to "Join us in standing together to protest against homelessness, ecological destruction, corporate invasion of native lands, huge profits for corporations, massive public debt, increased police repression and all other crimes brought about by the games."

RICHMOND AWARDS C$28 MILLION IN SPEEDSKATING OVAL CONTRACTS

Richmond has awarded major several contracts totaling about C$28 million for work on the sports complex that is to house VANOC's speed skating oval in Richmond. Georgia Mechanical Systems of Whistler has a C$9.8 million contract to provide mechanical services for the building, Status Electrical of Abbotsford has won a C$7.5 million contract to install the electrical systems, Flynn Canada, a national firm with offices in the Greater Vancouver suburb of Surrey, won a C$2.8 million agreement to construct and install polycarbonate wall systems as well as a separate C$3.1 million contract to install plastic membranes and roofing. Advanced Glazing Systems of another suburb, Burnaby, won a C$4.8 million deal to install framed glazing. All amounts include taxes. Reportedly, the building needs to be completed in time for the 2008 World Speed Skating Championships. The building is scheduled to be completed in the latter part of 2008.

FASEL PROVIDES BRIEF VANOC REPORT TO IOC EXECUTIVE

Although IOC staff told us that VANOC would not be on the agenda of this week's IOC Executive Board meeting, we've since learned the head of the IOC's commission that oversees its 2010 Winter Games franchise, Rene Faisel did provide a brief report. However, little was said about the Vancouver 2010 Games other than everything is going well. The Commission is due to be in Vancouver for a full briefing next month on progress, however, VANOC provides regular reports to Faisel on preparations status between Commission visits.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 9, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2140

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

VANOC-BRANDED WINES TO APPEAR IN JUNE

Vincor, VANOC's official wine sponsor, will release its first co-branded Olympic wines-- a Chardonnay and a Merlot -- in all of Canada's public and private liquor stores and a number of major restaurants in June. The wines, under the family name of "Esprit" on their front label, will carry a back label designed to incorporate a VANOC logo that rises from a band with a backdrop of colours that are the same as the blue and green graphics used by VANOC. They are expected to sell for about C$12, plus taxes. Nobody's saying so for publication, but the wines' family name -- which works in both of Canada's and VANOC's official languages, English and French -- stems from the BC government's "Spirit" theme that has resulted in about 90 communities in the province that have Olympic-related "Spirit of BC" committees under the organizational coordination of 2010 Legacies Now. The wines that will carry the VANOC emblem are supplied by Vincor subsidiary wineries Jackson-Triggs, Inniskillen, Sumac Ridge, Nk'Mip Cellars (it's aboriginal and pronounced "In-kah-MEEP"), Naked Grape, Sawmill Creek and See Ya Later Ranch. Vincor president Jay Wright tell us that the company's Canadian sponsorship activities, staged over the next six years and starting with the launch of the wines this year, will include strong point-of-purchase retail and restaurant promotions, visibility at Vancouver 2010 events, various hospitality programs, entertainment at Vincor Canada's wineries in BC's Okanagan Valley and the Niagara peninsula in Ontario, and corporate gifting programs. Every bottle of wine with the VANOC brand that is sold generates an undisclosed royalty to VANOC. VANOC and Vincor announced their sponsorship deal, which we first reported in December, in a Vancouver ceremony yesterday.

BIRKS, VINCOR DEALS DELINEATE SPREAD BETWEEN VANOC SUPPLIERS AND LICENSEES

VANOC and Birks Jewelers of Vancouver have also reached an official-supplier sponsorship deal, and you might be forgiven for wondering what the difference is between an official supplier, such as Birks and Vincor, and a licensee in these cases. Besides the dollar volume of C$3 million to C$15 million in the Official Supplier category, the difference is marketing rights. Official suppliers have the right to talk about they're sponsors of the 2010 Games, access to hospitality during the Games, access to logos for use in corporate branding, while licensees are allowed to use the 2010 brands, but only for putting on their products. Birks wanted to be seen as a supporter of the Olympics in Canada, and some global exposure as being part of the Olympic family. The total value of Birks' sponsorship is not being released, but the value-in-kind component is at least C$3 million, and there's an additional amount in cash payments to VANOC from the royalties generated by the sale of VANOC-themed jewelry. That amount depends on how much they sell.

VANOC BEHIND COUNTDOWN BUZZ

VANOC's marketing machine has been pumping out materials to generate buzz about the three-year-countdown ceremonies this month. The flow includes news releases, feature stories for media and posted on VANOC's website and fairly large newspaper ads that give the times, dates and locations of events over next four weeks. "The three-year countdown not only marks the passage of time, it's also a building up of momentum and excitement, as we head toward 2010," explains Maureen Douglas, the BC director of communications for VANOC. "It's an opportunity for people to start thinking about the Games, about what they'll be doing during Games time, what events they'll attend and how they'd like to be involved." The marketing moments will be repeated, with even more gusto, during the two-year-out ceremonies a year from now in February and March.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 9, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2139

Here are a whole bunch of moguls we ran into today:

ONE-LINERS ON ICBC, BC HYDRO, VENUE ART...

Here are a few one-liners:

-- The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), the province's vehicle-insurance monopoly, will become an official VANOC supply sponsor to help with the costs and arrangements of the fleet of 4,500 vans, buses, trucks and other vehicles that VANOC will use to move athletes, their team support staff, sponsors, other VIPs, equipment...

-- BC Hydro, the province's electrical utility, will become an official VANOC supply sponsor to help with the significant power requirements VANOC expects to encounter as it mounts test events and the actual games at all of its venues

-- Ken Veldman, manager of Business Connections with the 2010 Commerce Centre, reports that about C$50 million to C$60 million is expected to be spent on 2010-branded merchandise from VANOC licensees, and that it's also expected that about 80% of it will be spent in British Columbia.

-- The Vancouver 2010 Olympics countdown clock, donated by the International Olympic Committee's timekeeping sponsor, Swatch (under its Omega brand) and revealed during a ceremony in Vancouver on Monday at noon, is six metres high, three metres wide and weighs 1.2 megagrams (20 feet by 10 feet and 1.2 tons).

-- It's generally being kept under wraps, but there will be at least one significant piece of carved wooden aboriginal Musqueam art installed in two VANOC venues, the Richmond Olympic Oval and the new UBC hockey arena.

-- VANOC's negotiations with an airline sponsor, widely but unofficially believed to be Air Canada, continue.

-- The last two months have been the busiest ever for the VANOC communications department, because the staff have been heavily involved with arrangements connected to the introduction ceremonies of two corporate sponsors plus the Olympic countdown, which includes all of the three-year-out ceremonies taking place this month in the VANOC venue cities of Vancouver, Whistler and Richmond.

VANOC TICKETING SYSTEM POSSIBLES BEING SHORTLISTED FOR RFP

VANOC's marketing department is currently analyzing the expressions of interest from an undisclosed number of firms -- international, international with Canadian divisions and Canadian -- who want to get to the next stage in a process to provide the software and systems for VANOC's crucial ticketing structure. The analysis is to shortlist the firms who had replied by February 5 and who want to receive a detailed Request for Proposals. VANOC's executive vice-president of Revenue, Marketing and Communications, Dave Cobb, says he expects that 90% of the of the 1.8 million tickets available will be sold on line starting from when sales are launched in late 2008. And he expects there will be hundreds of thousands will be sold within the first few days of the launch. He's well aware of issues with Torino's ticketing system which didn't have effective policies in place at first to deal with reselling tickets that sponsors had bought but were unable to distribute -- leaving large gaps of empty seats within TV camera range of competitions. He is also well aware there needs to be a system in place to deal with sudden changes in ticket demand caused when a favoured team doesn't make it to a medal round, and that country's supporters are abruptly no longer interested in attending, but are still holding tickets that supporters of the teams that do make it into the medal rounds could use. Cobb, who is a former executive of the National Hockey League team, the Vancouver Canucks, says these issues were well known to the back office staff and software existed to deal with them. However, he notes, Olympic demand will be of Olympic proportions and any software or hardware components that expects to deal with VANOC ticketing will have to be robust.

EPCOR ABOARD VANOC WITH GOLD PLATES PROGRAM

Epcor, officially VANOC's water equipment supplier, seemed like an odd player in the roles of the 2010 sponsorship pantheon. It turns out that it is primarily on board because the Edmonton-based firm is a strong supporter of a national fund-raising initiative called Gold Medal Pates, a C$250-per-person promotional dinner set. The program was developed a few years ago with the Canadian Olympic Committee and sponsored by EPCOR. The initiative is about elite fund-raising dinners held in various cities across Canada. There are competitions by a number of main restaurant chefs in cities across the country. For instance, the Vancouver dinner usually has about 10 chefs involved, along with Olympic and Paralympic athletes, and it becomes "a culinary competition featuring the best in Canadian food, wine and entertainment." Similar dinners are held Ottawa, Winnipeg, Montreal, Halifax, Calgary and Edmonton, where Epcor's headquarters is located. Proceeds from Gold Medal Plates goes to the Canadian Olympic Committee's Excellence Fund, which is used to help Canadian athletes achieve podium success in Olympic competition. Epcor wanted to use the program and some of its services in support of the Games, and get marketing rights in return, which is why it's listed where it is in the sponsorship hierarchy.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 9, 2007

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2138

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

ALPINE CANADA URGES ATHLETES TO PREPARE FOR SOCIAL PRESSURES OF 2010 GAMES

Alpine Canada chairman Ken Read says athletes need to prepare themselves now for the demands that will be placed on them in Vancouver and Whistler in the 2010 Olympics. "There are going to be lots of sponsor demands, there is going to be family and friends, there is going to be a media frenzy," Read, who is a former Olympic athlete and who runs an organization that represents high-performance athletes, told Donna Spencer, a reporter for Canadian Press, today. "Now is the time to start devising the strategies and learning to deal with it because at the end of the day, it makes you a better athlete and a champion." The Canadian Olympic Committee has been holding a series of workshops for athletes for the last year. The workshops provide advice from former Olympians. The COC is asking the national sport organizations that represent athletes expected to attend the 2010 Games as part of the Canadian contingent to include in their plans for 2010 that strategies that will help their athletes deal with the pressure of increased attention and expectations across the country as interest in the Games grows during the next three years. Spencer quotes VANOC CEO John Furlong as saying, "We have to support them and make it easy for them to play, perform and train. Make sure they don't have to worry about having food to eat, or worry about coaches and therapists and sport science and medicine and all those things." That's the aim of a program developed for the Canadian Olympic Committee by VANOC executive vice-president of sports Cathy Priestner shortly before she was hired, now called "Own the Podium-2010". VANOC and the federal government are providing a total of C$110 million for it.

IOC'S NEW STATEMENT ON SEXUAL HARRASSMENT URGES POLICIES AND PUBLICITY

The IOC today published a "Consensus Statement on Sexual Harassment", the result of a workshop last fall and a committee it formed as part of its Medical Commission to study the issues. The statement makes recommendations that national Olympic Committees develop sexual harassment policies, if they haven't already, and widely publicize them among their national sports federations. That's because, the Statement says, "Research indicates that sexual harassment and abuse happen in all sports and at all levels. Prevalence appears to be higher in elite sport. Members of the athlete's entourage who are in positions of power and authority appear to be the primary perpetrators. Peer athletes have also been identified as perpetrators. Males are more often reported as perpetrators than females... Research identifies risk situations as the locker-room, the playing field, trips away, the coach's home or car, and social events, especially where alcohol is involved. Team initiations or end-of-season celebrations can also involve sexually abusive behaviour against individuals or groups."

IOC RECONSIDERS BLOGGING BY ATHLETES AT OLYMPIC GAMES

* The IOC is said to be rethinking the concept of banning blogs by athletes during the Olympic Winter Games. The IOC did so during the Torino Winter Games, held a year ago, although blogging was much more informal then that it is now. Coaches and other team officials were -- and still are -- also barred from functioning as a "journalist or in any other media capacity" during the Games, according to IOC rules, which are also designed to help protect the IOC's lucrative broadcast contracts. The topic came up during the IOC's executive meeting in Switzerland today, after a committee of its Press Commission said blogging should be allowed under revised IOC rules. It proposed that athletes be allowed to blog if they aren't paid to do it, if they only post their entries as a personal "diary or journal" and don't use photos, video or audio obtained at the Games, since these are reserved to broadcasters. The IOC is concerned that athlete blogs might end up to be a "free-for-all", according to IOC spokesman Giselle Davies, since they could be used by athletes to challenge their competitors before a competition. "How do you find the best balance between the principle of fair speech and turning the athletes' village into a Big Brother scenario?" she asked rhetorically. The Executive Committee said it agreed with the idea of blogging during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, but only in principle at this point, since there's still no solid consensus. National Olympic committees are also studying the issue. Any recommendations will need to be submitted to the Executive Board for approval. If a formal change in the Olympic Charter or rules is required, that would have to go to the full IOC assembly for approval. Tim Dahlberg, a reporter for Associated Press, who wrote a tongue-in-cheek column about the potentials of athlete blogging during an Olympic Games, says he has a jaundiced view of the web diaries: "I've always thought blogs were a lot like cell phones. Everyone seems to have one, but no one seems to have anything meaningful to say."

RESOURCES

The link to the IOC's seven-page Consensus Statement on Sexual Harassment:

multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_1125.pdf

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 8, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2137

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

IOC PREDICTS BROADCAST REVENUE FOR 2010 AND 2012 GAMES UP 40%

The IOC's chief broadcast negotiator, Richard Carrion, says he now expects the revenue generated by the broadcast rights package of the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games will be nearly 40% higher than the value generated by the 2004 and 2006 Olympics package. The IOC negotiates broadcasting rights with national broadcasters on a package of a winter and summer Olympics. A set of winter games is about a third the size of a set of summer Games; bundling them has strategic value to the IOC, which uses about half the funds for supporting more than 200 national Olympic Committees around the world and a number of international sports federations, as well as its own administrative costs. It divides up the other half between the specific winter and summer games. VANOC is currently negotiating the split it's to receive from the rights packages the IOC is in the process of selling. Carrion, who is in New Zealand to work out arrangements with that country's broadcasters for the 2010 and 2012 Games, says he expects the total 2010/2012 package to generate "well over" C$3.5 billion (our own estimate so far is about C$3.9 billion, with talks covering Australia, China, Japan, the rest of Asia, Italy, Latin America and Africa yet to be resolved. The US, Canada, 51 countries in Europe except for Italy, Korea and the Arab countries have been finalized so far. We estimate VANOC's cut so far to be about C$250 million. IOC Marketing Director Timo Lumme, who is with Carrion, says about 15% of revenue for the 2010-2012 package will come from new media, such as Internet and cell-phone broadcasting.

TORINO OLYMPICS FORECASTS 2% DEFICIT WHEN ACCOUNTING COMPLETED IN MARCH

The Torino Winter Olympics organizing committee says that by the time final figures are in, in March, it will be posting the first loss for a set of Olympic Games in decades. The deficit is expected to be C$37.9 million on their operating budget of C$1.87 billion, about 2%. That's down from the January prediction it would be about C$63 million. The deficit, because of the way the Torino Games were structured, is to be covered by the city government. VANOC's structure is such that any losses would be covered by the BC government. The Torino and VANOC Games, however, cannot be directly compared because their structures and programs are quite different. IOC president Jacques Rogge downplayed the deficit, saying the Olympics had left an "enormous legacy" for Turin, the Piedmont region and Italy as a whole. The news came following a report by Torino to an executive committee meeting of the IOC in Lausanne, Switzerland, which is also discussing the London Summer Games. VANOC is not on the committee's agenda. VANOC is not expected to post its C$1.7 billion business plan for a few weeks yet, is expected to project a relatively small surplus, but the Torino news will provide considerable fuel to the opponents of the 2010 Winter Games.

VANCOUVER COUNCIL ASKED TO LIFT LIMITS ON "GREEN" OLYMPIC VILLAGE RATIOS

The city council of Vancouver is expected to approve a bylaw at its meeting Tuesday that allows developers in the Olympic Village to exceed limits to so-called passive design elements when calculating floor-space ratios in the condos that will start construction this year. The elements involve aspects of the buildings that are designed to reduce its environmental impact; the bylaw change essentially encourages their use. They include such items as larger ventilation shafts, corridors or similar things that provide better-than-normal ventilation and natural light inside the buildings, or things like solar panels to help reduce power demand. The discussion has focused on ensuring that there is still a limit to how much of that will be allowed, since the calculations help bulk up a building. The limit is currently expected to be set at 2% of the total floor area over all of the buildings combined. At the moment, five of eight development permit applications for the Olympic Village have been processed by city staff. The passive design elements use up all of the 2%, implying that the limit will be exceeded by the rest of the buildings. Staff see council's choice as either holding the 2% limit, or removing it at the discretion of the city's direct of planning. And removal is the staff recommendation, to ensure the construction of the Village, which is now on a really tight timetable, isn't delayed. Planning staff say their relationship with Millennium, the developer, is sufficient that Council need not fear the situation will be misused.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 8, 2007

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #2185

COMPANIES ASKED TO PROVIDE VANOC WITH COMPREHENSIVE E-MAIL FILTERING AND PROTECTION SYSTEM

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) intends to have one of the most comprehensive systems in place to ensure the deluge of spam doesn't get through its two firewalls to waste the time of its employees.

VANOC is asking companies to provide it with ideas on how to accomplish that, while at the same time relying on methods that can deal with the tools its set as its standards for operations: Windows 2003 and Exchange 2003. It also wants to ensure that the system it eventually takes on will be robust enough to ensure that hackers can't get at the legitimate message traffic, particularly between it and what it calls its "trusted" organizations with which it communicates.

It also wants to ensure the system is sturdy enough to rebuff directory-harvest attacks, denial-of-service attacks, spam attacks and virus outbreaks, as well as self-sufficient enough to monitor the volume of spam and attacks, to identify their sources, to figure out exactly where in a message there's a problem, and even to let management know if a particular VANOC e-mail address is getting more than its share of spam heading its way.

Its e-mail will all be encrypted automatically as it moves between VANOC and the e-mail computers of other organizations, and if there's trouble, there will be people available around the clock to ensure it gets quickly resolved.

And, even though VANOC's "core office hours" are Monday to Friday, from 7 am to 6 pm, e-mail will be required to flow around the clock.

The one thing that VANOC's technicians don't want is any significant delay by the e-mail checking system in getting the message, if it's legitimate, to where it needs to go. If it has to travel regionally, the delay should be no more than five seconds. However, "In the event that VANOC decides to scale its adoption of the proponent’s product to all VANOC facilities worldwide..." the delay can't be more than 15 seconds.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on March 7, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2184

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

MILITARY CHIEF TRANSFERS TROOPS TO NEW 2010 OLYMPIC TASK FORCE

General Rick Hillier, chief of Canada's Defence staff, told the Ottawa Citizen newspaper today that plans for establishing a quick-response, amphibious unit within the Canadian military have been shelved for at least three years, so that the officers working on what he calls "the standing contingency force" can be transferred to the newly created Olympic Task Force. Hillier expects that the military will be asked to provide a significant number of soldiers for securities duties during the lead-up to the 2010 Winter Games and during their operation, although the numbers and details of their roles are not yet available. The Canadian Navy, during routine drills off the west coast over the last two years in which it conducts various types of training, have run scenarios involving a terrorist attack on Vancouver during the 2010 Games, but have not yet been integrated into the operational planning of the Vancouver Olympics security team, which is led by the RCMP.

PROTESTORS VOW TO DISRUPT VANCOUVER OLYMPIC FLAG-LIGHTING CEREMONY

A member of the ad-hoc Anti-Poverty Committee, which organized a strong protest that became rowdy when the Olympic countdown clock was unveiled says she and the others in the group will do their best to prevent the lighting of the Olympic flags ceremony on March 12 at Vancouver City Hall to proceed. Spokeswoman Mary Claremont said the group didn't steal the copy of the big Olympic flag at City Hall yesterday, which the City says it will replace with a spare in time for the event, but wishes it had. "In fact, this upcoming March 12, we will do whatever it takes to shut down the city's Olympic event being held at city hall," added Claremont.

VANCOUVER BEGINS POLLUTION PERMIT PROCESS FOR 2010 OLYMPIC VILLAGE

As it said last December that it would, the City of Vancouver has applied to the Greater Vancouver Regional District for permission to switch the main heat source for the city's Olympic Village from sewer heat conversion to burning truck loads of sawdust pellets per week. There will be public information sessions held on March 13 from 4-8 pm in the business district of Vancouver, and on March 15 at the Science Centre not far from the Olympic Village grounds, also from 4-8 pm, regarding the application. The City doesn't have much time to get the permit, because of the timelines involved in building the Village. It's giving itself until the end of March to make the decision about which heat source it would use, and public protests or objections during the process for the emissions permit application may delay the issue sufficiently that it would have to revert to its original plan of using sewer heat from lines that pass underground next to the Village. The City-controlled neighbourhood energy utility would switch to burning natural gas as a back-up if either heat source was insufficient, so a smokestack taller than the Village's highest building would be required near the Village either way.

BACKGROUND

Backgrounder stories we've done on the pollution permit issue so far:

Vancouver City Council asked to set up its own energy utility to heat Olympic Village buildings'

[Morgan:News:2010:Number:2035; Published on Thursday, December 7, 2006]

'2010 Olympic Village might be heated by burning sawdust, unless the public objects'

[Morgan:News:2010:Number:2047; Published on Thursday, December 14, 2006]

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on March 7, 2007

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2183

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

OLYMPIC FLAG COPY RIPPED OFF VANCOUVER CITY HALL POLE

The copy of the Olympic flag that was raised next to Vancouver City Hall during a ceremony last year was stolen early this morning after the cable holding it was cut, allowing the 16 x 25-foot flag to collapse onto the ground, damaging the pole. The flag, worth about C$1,600 was then ripped from the cable, leaving only a few shreds, according to police, who feel there was probably more than one person involved, due to the weight of the flag. The adjacent Paralympic flag was untouched. If the pole needs to be replaced, the repair could be as much as C$6,000. City hall staff say they should be able to replace the flag by the next event, March 24.

SCHOOLS, PORTABLES REMAIN POSSIBILITIES FOR OLYMPIC HOUSING IN WHISTLER

VANOC continues to consider housing some of its Olympic family -- likely some media -- in schools or portable accommodation in the Whistler area. Talks with IOC commission representatives are underway this week in Vancouver, and housing is on the agenda. The IOC had told VANOC early last year that it should expect about 700 more arrivals that originally noted in the information VANOC used for the Bid Book, after getting information from Torino about its experiences.

CURLING GROUP BLAMES VANCOUVER FOR CANCELLING TRIALS AT OLYMPIC VENUE

The Canadian Curling Association is blaming City of Vancouver planners for the Association's decision to walk away from negotiations to host the 2009 trials at what will be the then brand-new Olympic curling venue. Vancouver is not going to be a possibility," said Warren Hansen, the Association's director of Event Management, from Hamilton, Ontario. "It's not going to be an option. One of the main things is the Olympic venue itself is right in the middle of a residential area by Nat Bailey Stadium. We were going to have to put in a 50,000-square-foot tent next to the venue to be able to handle our bar requirements. And that has turned out to be not feasible. It's been a complication with the City of Vancouver and just a lot of difficulties." Edmonton is now said to be a leading possibility for holding the trials, which determine which men's and women's curling teams will be representing Canada at the Olympics. It would also allow the arena to undergo a test for how it might operate during the Olympics. The Canadian Curling Association plans to hold further discussions in June about the host venue, Hansen said.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on March 6, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2133

Here are three more moguls we ran into today:

SKI JUMPER'S MOM FILES HUMAN RIGHTS COMPLAINT AGAINST CANADIAN GOVERNMENT

That complaint over the IOC's decision to exclude women's ski jumping from the 2010 Winter Olympics has been officially filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The gist of the complaint is alleged discrimination. In a pushing things with a string concept, the complainant, Jan Willis of Calgary, the mother of Katie, a 15-year-old Canadian ski-jump hopeful, in turn hopes to convince the Commission to rule in its favour, thus putting pressure on the federal government to pressure its "partner", VANOC, which supported including the women's ski jumping events in the first place, to pressure the IOC in Lausanne Switzerland to change its mind. "The facility constructed with financial support from the federal government essentially bears a 'Men Only' sign and we assert that such discrimination is contrary to the Canadian Human Rights Act," Willis says in the complaint.

BRITAIN'S OLYMPIC EXECUTIVES TOUR VANOC

Senior executives of the British Olympic Association (BOA) took two days to completed their first visit to Vancouver, reviewing the status of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games facilities and touring areas where they might set up camp. Following site visits and meetings with the organising committee, including CEO John Furlong, the BOA’s Chief Executive and Chef de Mission Simon Clegg, said: “There is no doubt that Vancouver will stage a stunning Olympic Games; the setting is spectacular and the venues are inspirational. The quality of the people we met and the information available lead me to believe that Vancouver has the potential to set new standards for the Olympic Winter Games." The BOA focussed on specific arrangements for the visit in Vancouver and the challenges associated with the split Olympic village concept in Vancouver Before the group arrived in Vancouver, it visited Calgary to "explore pre-games preparation camp opportunities" for the Great Britain Winter Olympic team. It used those facilities for practice prior to the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Utah. Meanwhile, BOA's director of Elite Performance, Clive Woodward, visited Salt Lake City to met with representatives of the US Alpine Elite Performance Program. It also met with the Canadian Olympic Committee. The BOA also provided support to a UK trade and investment delegation that has arrived in Vancouver. It's exploring business opportunities for British industry around the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

CONSTELLATION HQ SHUFFLE BYPASSES VANOC'S VINCOR SPONSOR

There's been some rearranging at the headquarters of Contellation International, but it hasn't affected Jay Wright, the president of VANOC sponsor Vincor International, a wines merchant. Wright, who is in Vancouver today to take part in a ceremony at VANOC headquarters tomorrow morning that features his company's official-supplier status to the 2010 Games, will not be reporting to Jon Moramarco, appointed to the newly created position of chief executive officer for Constellation International. Wright will continue to report to Rob Sands, Constellation Brands president and chief operating office, and so will Moramarco.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 6, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2132

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

FIGURE-SKATING ORGANIZATION RESISTING MOVE FROM AGRODOME VENUE

A Vancouver Sun newspaper story about the negotiations underway between VANOC, the IOC and the figure-skating organizations over VANOC's request to move skating practice from the Agrodome venue on the PNE grounds to one of two redeveloped arenas reveals that Skate Canada's first choice was to hold figure-skating competitions at the prestigious GM Place arena. That, however, would have conflicted with using GM Place for 2010 hockey. Ted Barton, executive director of Skate Canada's B.C. section, told Sun reporter Jeff Lee, "After the 2001 Worlds, we were all set to go back to GM Place for the Olympic figure skating event, but we gave that up in order to move to the PNE because it made a lot of sense to have a practice rink beside the main rink. That was one of the reasons why we said we wouldn't fight the battle of who gets in GM Place." The 2010 figure skating events are to be held in a refurbished Coliseum, which is adjacent to the Agrodome, but VANOC is interested in moving the practice sessions from the Agrodome to a new Trout Lake arena, or possibly a new Killarney arena, to do away with the necessity of installing temporary international-sized ice. Trout Lake's facility will be closer to the Coliseum, but both are within 20 to 30 minute commuting times for athletes. VANOC's plan, if it didn't have to put in ice, involves using the Agrodome, but for back-of-house activities to support the Coliseum events. The issue, reports Lee, is expected to be discussed further when the IOC's Commission which supervises its 2010 franchise comes to Vancouver next month for a detailed briefing from VANOC.

BAYLY WARNS OF "SOFT" WHISTLER RESIDENT RENTAL MARKET AFTER 2010 VILLAGE ADDED TO MIX

One of the founding directors and first manager of the Whistler Housing Authority, local developer Steve Bayly, has resigned from the WHA's board to work with the Whistler Athlete's Village development where, he says, "I can make a more significant contribution." The WHA develops rent-and-price-controlled housing for employees of the resort community, a requirement due to the shortage of housing land in the Whistler valley and the heavy investment in expensive condos. The WHA's portfolio is 145 units in four properties, worth about C$30 million. Bayly, who has been with the WHA for a decade, warns in a letter to Whistler Council confirming his resignation that he believes the rental housing market following the 2010 Winter Games "will be quite soft." As he puts it, "After a long period of insufficient supply of resident housing, we are approaching a situation in post-Olympic 2010 of achieving, or over-achieving, resident housing supply." He says that during the next three years, until the Olympic Village housing that's now under construction is turned over to the municipality primarily for employee housing, "the rental market will probably be severely undersupplied." The WHA, he says, "should be cognizant of the post-Games over supply when considering building and owning their own units."

2010-RELATED SOCIAL SNOWBOARDING PROGRAM RESUMES IN PRINCE GEORGE

Chill, a snowboarding program aimed at helping "at-risk youth" between 12 and 14 years of age, is resuming in Prince George, in BC's central interior, for the second consecutive year. Its core funding is from 2010 Legacies Now, Bell Canada, the Province of BC and Tabor Mountain, where the snowboarding takes place. This year, the program is expected to involve 50 young people, compared with 75 during last year's initial initiative, but some of those who went through the season last year are returning to help teach newcomers. The program, which is also run in Vancouver with the same core sponsors, provides equipment, transportation, clothing, lift tickets and instruction. ”When young people are active in their communities, they help build stronger communities,” said Bob Killops, a spokesman for Bell in western Canada. "We know that our C$150,000 funding commitment helps to ensure that local youth have access to program resources and community mentors...". The program runs each weekend for six weeks. Other sponsoring organizations include Burton, which provides the snowboarding equipment, Tabor Mountain, which supplies lift passes, instructors and access to the mountain’s facilities, Schenker, which helps with shipping and customs clearance, and Diversified Transportation provides transports the participants, and the City of Prince George provides "program support."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 6, 2007

Monday, February 05, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2131

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

VANOC, IOC REVENUE-SHARING NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE

VANOC CEO John Furlong says they've met three times so far with officials of the International Olympic Committee to discuss revenue sharing from the broadcast and sponsorship deals the IOC has reached in the last few years that cover the 2010 Winter and 2012 Summer Olympics. He says the complex talks are progressing, but not yet resolved. Furlong didn't say so, but we estimate the IOC has negotiated broadcast auctions with the US, Europe, Canada, South Korea and the Arab states with gross revenues of C$3.8 billion, but VANOC's estimated share of that is expected to be roughly C$112 million. The IOC has also raised roughly C$240 million cash and VIK so far through international sponsorships that affect 2010, with VANOC's share roughly C$40 million of that. Furlong has has said that the negotiations over the potential share involve, in part, the extent of VANOC's business plan. He now says, "We're still not finished all of the analysis on our proposed budget and business plans. There's still work that we're doing. It's back and forth, but it's doing well." Furlong says that the agreement depends on "things we are going to do and not going to do, so it's not all just about revenue, it's also about what's in our plan and in the program." And when will the business plan -- officially, VANOC's second, but the first one, given to the BC and federal governments in the spring of 2005 and never made public -- be published? He's confident it will be available in the "first half of this year", but not so confident it will be in the first quarter. "It has to be right. It has to be finished and in great shape," he says. "We see the business plan as the lock on the door for the project." The estimated operational revenue required is still roughly C$1.7 billion, "maybe a little bit more, maybe a little bit less." Furlong notes that the plan will have two major components: the functions that VANOC will carry out, and the program it will implement.

LAST NEW DATABASE AVAILABLE AT 2010 COMMERCE CENTRE IN APRIL

The last major component of the BC government's 2010 Commerce website is expected to be added in April, once the government's new budget year starts. The manager of the 2010 Commerce Centre, Brian Kreiger, says that a database that will allow companies to register as being interested in becoming a supplier to VANOC, or to anybody else, for that matter, will be brought on line. The Centre is a division of the Ministry of Economic Development. The "2010 Business Network", as he's calling the database, will post a form that companies can use to profile themselves. There will also be areas where they can note if they can indicate they conform to some of VANOC's social goals, such as being an aboriginal firm, encourage "sustainability", if they're a "social enterprise" or the like. The database is open to any company in the world to list themselves, and for anybody in the world to search it. Will it get you an automatic deal with VANOC? Nope. But VANOC, like anybody else in the world, could search it if they chose to do so. Kreiger says, though, that "As 2010 buyers come to Vancouver, as VANOC sponsors come in, as 80 national Olympic teams come, media from around the world come, they'll be looking for suppliers of goods and services, we'll have those relationships. We'll be the place where they go to find those companies," says Kreiger. He also say that companies from outside of Vancouver and Whistler will also want to do business around the 2010 Games, and will be looking for a relationship with a local firm so they can have a presence. Kreiger says Commerce Centre staff will help make those types of matches. The database can be used for that as well. By the way, Kreiger says the "Business Opportunities" workshops that the 2010 Commerce Centre, 2010 Legacies Now and the Royal Bank have been co-hosting around the province -- any place that can have a gathering of 20 or more business people -- will continue, and there will be some additional workshops added to the schedule later this calendar year. The 100th such workshop will be held in February. Do they guarantee you a contract will VANOC? Nope, but you'll learn how to respond to an Request for Proposals. As Kreiger puts it, the government's use of the 2010 Games to hold a general how-to-do-business workshop works quite well. "It's really beautiful the way people have come together around 2010. It captures their interest. It gets them in a room."

ROAD LINK BETWEEN VANCOUVER AND WHISTLER CLOSED TWICE IN TWO DAYS

The lack of redundancy embodied in the single highway between Vancouver and Whistler was brought to everybody's attention yesterday and today. Yesterday, Highway 99, also known as the Sea to Sky highway, was closed for nine hours as road crews cleared a small landslide that covered the road just north of West Vancouver. Nobody was hurt, but traffic was lined up for kilometres on either side. There is debate whether the landslide was a natural event, or caused when rock became unstable as a result of blasting in the area by highway crews over the last few weeks as they work on expanding the highway in time for the 2010 Games. And this morning, an accident between an empty bus and a logging truck closed the road for an hour just south of Whistler, near the entrances to VANOC's Olympic Village and Callaghan Valley venues, until one-lane alternating traffic could be arranged.

RESOURCES

The website for the 2010 Commerce Centre:

www.2010commercecentre.gov.bc.ca

A Canada.com news photo of the landslide is here:

tinyurl.com/yptfuc

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 5, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #2130

NEGOTIATIONS WITH IOC, VANCOUVER UNDERWAY TO MOVE FIGURE SKATING PRACTICE FROM AGRODOME

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) is quietly negotiating with the International Olympic Committee, the City of Vancouver and others about moving its figure-skating practice events out of the Agrodome.

The Agrodome, a building on the PNE grounds adjacent to the Coliseum, was to be upgraded by VANOC as it installed an international-sized ice sheet so figure skaters, one of the most popular teams at a Winter Olympics, could rehearse for their main events. The City's venues web page still lists the Agrodome for that purpose.

But we've now learned that VANOC is negotiating with a number of its stakeholders about the concept that figure-skating practice be moved to the new Trout Lake arena, according to VANOC sources on Friday, or possibly the new Killarney arena. Those are both venues the City of Vancouver is to provide VANOC after demolishing the aging existing complexes and rebuilding them. The Killarney project is to start in March; Trout Lake in December.

VANOC's negotiations include discussions with the IOC and the international sports federation that supervises figure skating around the world, the ISU. Both the IOC and the ISU have to sign off on any changes to VANOC's bid documentation, and they have to approve any new facility proposed for figure skating. However, not proceeding with ice installation at the Agrodome may affect VANOC's capital construction costs.

The man in charge of the Vancouver City Olympic Operations department, Dave Rudberg, declined to specifically discuss the stage of the current negotiations, other than the fact they're underway. As he puts it: "There are on-going discussions on the amount of work which will be undertaken at the Coliseum and the Agrodome. The City's interest is to maximize the legacies which can be achieved. Until these discussions are concluded, we are unable to establish a work schedule." VANOC's web site makes no mention of the Agrodome as part of the competition venues, although it goes into some detail about the use of the Coliseum.

As we understand the situation, VANOC still plans to use the Agrodome, but for back-of-the-house purposes under the department supervised by VANOC's Services and Ceremonies executive vice-president Terry Wright.

RESOURCES

An image of the Agrodome:

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Pne-agrodome.jpg/180px-Pne-agrodome.jpg

A satellite view and scalable map of the Coliseum and Agrodome area of Hastings Park.

tinyurl.com/2jlc8z

(The Agrodome is the white-roofed building in the lower centre of the view; the Coliseum is the larger, grey domed building in the upper area.)

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 5, 2007

Friday, February 02, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2129

Here are three moguls we ran into today:

SKI CROSS NOT YET A PART OF THE 2010 GAMES

The final step in integrating the new events of ski cross into the 2010 Winter Olympics has still not yet been taken. The VANOC Board of Directors was expected to have signed off on the introduction of the events by their meeting in January, but VANOC CEO John Furlong says VANOC staff are still studying the issue. The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Executive Board decided November 28 in Kuwait City that it approved adding the discipline, providing VANOC agreed. However, Furlong said today there were a number of "logistical and cost issues" to be analyzed, "and we're still not finished that work." But, he adds, "My sense is that we will come to agree to include it." Furlong now says he expects that it will be resolved by the time the IOC's 2010 Co-ordination Commission finishes its next visit to Vancouver, which is March 6-8.

WHERE'S THE FHFN TRADEMARK?

You won't find the new Four Host First Nations logo registered with the Canadian Intellectual Properties Office yet. Although the four-face logo was first revealed to huge television audience at VANOC's portion of the Torino Winter Olympics a year ago, was shown to more than 400 business executives in Vancouver yesterday and will be on 8,000 minted coins in a year, the emblem is still working its way through CIPO's system. Part of the process requires the FHFN Society, which owns the logo, to provide a list of product categories on which it will be used. Legal experts note that though the brand isn't yet trademarked, once its used, some rights attach to it in any event. The emblem's trademark process is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.

LENOVO STILL UNDECIDED ABOUT BACKING 2010

VANOC has not yet heard whether computer-make Lenovo has decided to extend the arrangement through 2010. Lenovo has an agreement with the International Olympic Committee to supply the thousands of portable computers required by Olympic organizing committees until the end of the Beijing Games in 2008. Lenovo, which is owned by the Chinese government, makes its computers from a former IBC Thinkpad division in New York State. It originally said it would make a decision within six months after the 2006 Winter Games, after analyzing the results from its fairly significance marketing presence there, and late last year VANOC CEO John Furlong expected the decision was imminent, but he confirms it's still not yet been resolved. IOC policy is to favour existing suppliers if they prefer to renew.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 2, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |General| #2128

FOUR HOST FIRST NATIONS SOCIETY WORKING ON BRAND-LICENSING AGREEMENTS WITH VANOC, AS NEW C$75 GOLD COIN LAUNCHED

The Four Host First Nations Society (FHFN) is still working on brand-licensing agreements with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC), even though its year-old brand is now being publicized and will appear next year on a C$75 gold collectors coin.

FHFN executive director and CEO Tewanee Joseph says his organization owns the rights to the logo and is hopeful that it will be one of the marks that can be applied by licensees on 2010-related products. It's a two-step process, he says, "The first step is work out a non-commercial licensing agreement with VANOC, which all the partners are doing. The IOC will register and designate "Host First Nations", and "Host First Nation", singular. From there, we will work with VANOC to develop a commercial licensing agreement that will be for revenue-generation purposes."

He says that once the agreements are concluded, the flow of cash generated by the brand's royalties will flow to the FHFN, and will then be distributed in equal share to the four aboriginal tribes that are helping VANOC host the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics; the Musqueam, the Tsleil-Watuth, the Lil'Wat and the Squamish.

"The proceeds from [the commercial agreement] will go to sport and sport development, as well as art and culture, language and language programs, entrepreneur programs, all at the community level in each of the communities," Joseph says. He says he's hoping that the two agreements will be finished "in the next several months."

Interestingly, Joseph says his organization has no estimate of the revenues that might be generated by their branding program, in part because it's the first time aboriginal groups have been fully integrated into hosting an Olympics, and partly because of the unusual system he's contemplating setting up.

"The IOC brand is so important, and it's world-known. The VANOC brand is being built around that. Then what you're looking at are the secondary brands. We don't know what the estimates are. But what I do know is that our focus in building the brand is the distribution channels: How many units can we get out, and where can we get those units out to. There are so many considerations that we don't know what [revenues] they'd bring in. We're not expecting big revenue generation, but we are expecting is distribution and multiple unit sales."

VANOC's licensing agreements, in essence, require a licensee to provide details of how much its willing to pay up front and what the level of cash it's prepared to guarantee, and then let the licensee decide how best to make money and, as long as quality standards are maintained, what distribution channels to use, since most of them have their own methods of doing business and existing manufacturing and distribution relationships.

Joseph says the Four Host First Nations approach is "help VANOC build their brand and incorporate aboriginal art into it. Part of that is to work so closely with VANOC that we also have to be considered VANOC's brand and the IOC's brand. That means we're looking for the best and the brightest of the opportunities. It's similar to the VANOC licensee arrangement, but it's so brand new and never been done before that we're still working out the details. We'll also be looking to the sponsors and the license holders to see if there are opportunities with them as well."

Joseph says FHFN also hopes to develop a gifting program. "Part of it will be to co-brand with VANOC -- perhaps, it's not in concrete yet -- but also it's to enhance our own First Nations brand, and look to other aboriginal peoples as well to help with the gifting program to corporations, to sponsors and even to the athletes. To provide some gifts to the athletes, we'll educate them and showcase aboriginal art-and-culture business."

One use of the FHFN logo that won't apparently be generating revenues is from the sale to collectors of the C$75, 14-karat gold coin that is being publicly released by the Royal Canadian Mint, a VANOC supplier, on February 20, 2008. The coin, on the reverse, is entirely taken up by the emblem, with the words "Vancouver 2010" along the top. The Mint says it intends to limit production of the coin to 8,000 sets.

BACKGROUND

Including the FHFN coin, there are nine commemorative coins in the C$75 2010 Olympic series that are to be released by the Mint as part of its agreements with VANOC, which worked out the release dates with the Mint. All of the coins will have the phrase "Vancouver 2010" on them, and on the front side show a picture of Queen Elizabeth with the VANOC logo on the left side. They'll be sold in a black display case with an insert that houses the coin and comes with an authentication certificate. It'll be protected by Vancouver 2010 Games theme sleeve.

In 2007, the series themes and their release dates are:

Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which are heading up the VANOC security aspects, to be released on February 23. It features an image of an officer in red serge mounted on a dark-brown horse, the colours painted on the coin. The image was designed by Cecily Mok;

"Athletes Pride", with an image of a woman athlete next to a male athlete who is waving a large Canadian flag with the red portions of the flag painted on the coin, designed by Shelagh Armstrong. It is expected to be released for sale July 11.

An image of two Canadian geese in the foreground, with brown and black highlights, flying above a farmhouse in the distance, designed by Kerri Burnett. It's expected to be released on October 24.

In 2008, after the FHFN coin release, which is timed for the two-year-out VANOC celebrations, will be:

"Home of the 2010 Games", an image of Canada Place, its roof painted white with blue water below it, designed by Shelagh Armstrong, will be released on July 23 that year;

"Inukshuk", an image of a standing Inuit stone sculpture with a dark blue Inuit scene set against a white backdrop that is to be painted on the coins. Designed by Catherine Deer, it's to be released October 29, 2008.

In 2009:

A brown, loping wolf image, designed by Arnold Nogy, is to be released February 18 in conjunction with the one-year-out celebrations;

"Olympic Spirit", a group of winter athletes encompassed by an orange-coloured flame emerging from a blue cauldron, is to be released June 17 of that year. It was designed by Shelagh Armstrong; and

A brown moose, set against a gold woodland, is to be released September 9. It was designed by Kerri Burnett.

RESOURCES

RCM2007@ftp.mint.ca>

Once the site opens, open the folder/directory marked:

"FHFN $75 Gold"

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 2, 2007

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #2127

NEGOTIATIONS RESUME ON NEW "FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS" WITH PROVINCES

The construction of protocols between the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) and provincial governments has resumed.

David Guscott, the new executive vice-president of Corporate Strategy and Government Relations for VANOC, says that one of his jobs is to resume the process begun by CEO John Furlong two years ago when a detailed "Framework Agreement" was negotiated between VANOC and the Quebec government. Furlong began to work on others, but the process came to a halt when other matters pressed.

Guscott says, "We have got some [protocol agreements] under active discussions now. There is more than one province that we're having discussions with. They're still going through their political-approval process on them, so we're well underway."

Guscott declined to identify the provinces involved saying it wouldn't be fair to their approvals, but he adds, "They're not ready to talk about it, but I think that maybe in the next month or six weeks, we should have some more. As soon as we can, we'll be able to talk about it." Other sources have indicated Ontario and perhaps Nova Scotia may be in discussions on the matter.

Guscott says Quebec, because of its language and cultural differences, had some unique requirements built into its protocols, such as language about making Requests for Proposals and Expressions of Interest for contracting with VANOC in French.

But Guscott says the agreements underway with other provinces are more general, and are "more about showcasing", but that they will have some common themes. "These are all about making them more of Canada's Games. They're all about making the pie of the Olympic benefit bigger. Every one of them then provides a framework on which you can then hang different, specific initiatives on, and track them and make sure things are happening. That's why they are there: they help us make sure that we meet the needs and expectations of a lot of different folks."

Guscott says it's too early yet to tell where there will be agreements in place with all 10 of the provinces and the three territories. He says, though, the hard work is in developing the protocol documents for the first few jurisdictions. "After we've done four or five provinces, it'll set a pattern that will make the others very easy to do. And it's my hope they'll all be enthusiastic enough that they'll all want to do them."

RESOURCES

Our story about the details of the Quebec / VANOC protocol:

www.morgan-news.com/2010/archives/2005_10_01_Bronze.htm

When you arrive at the page, use your browser's Find function to locate the phrase: Quebec Framework

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on February 2, 2007

Morgan:News:2010:Bronze Edition

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