Inside Sochi Revenues; Russia Topples U.S. on Ice

Sochi 2014 head of marketing Dmitry Manevich advises that revenues for the Olympics and Paralympics total $1.3 billion.

Revenues relating to the Paralympic Games are $97 million, more than doubling the number from Vancouver 2010.

The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games revenues break down as follows: $87 million from basic corporate packages, $7.9 million for incremental packages and $2.1 million from broadcast rights.

Twenty-eight Russian and international corporations have partnered with Sochi 2014, many of whom have benefited from a long-term structure of five years.

"It was very important for us to prepare in the right way and explain to new partners what they could gain from this new and novel product," Manevich said.

More than 70 countries have been viewing the Games. Manevich said the broadcast package sold by the IPC combined rights for both the Sochi and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Paralympics.

"We had to educate a lot of people about Paralympic value and the Paralympic Games," Manevich said. "We achieved a lot through our Ambassador program, promoting the values of the Paralymic Games."

Ticket sales for the Sochi Paralympics have also been record-setting.

Nearly 300,000 tickets have been sold to date, up from 230,000 at Vancouver 2010. Average ticket prices are approximately 30% lower than in Vancouver.

According to Sochi 2014 ticketing director Dmitry Perlin, the highest demand has been for ice sledge hockey and the debut of para-snowboarding, which takes place Friday morning at Rosa Khutor.

Perlin advised that Sunday’s closing ceremony is nearly sold out and they are optimistic that they will sell all tickets for all events at the four competition venues by the end of the Games.

"These Games have totally exceeded our expectations in every aspect," said IPC spokesperson Craig Spence. "They are on course to become the greatest Paralympic Games ever."

Russia Defeats United States 2-1 in Sledge Hockey

In a thrilling, hard-fought, and highly physical contest, Russia beat the United States 2-1 in front of a near capacity crowd of 5,765 at Shayba Arena.

Russian goalie Vladimir Kamantsev stopped 22 of 23 U.S. shots, while Ilia Volkov and Konstantin Shikhov tallied goals against U.S. netminder Steve Cash.

The game marked the first time Russia defeated the United States in Paralympic ice sledge hockey.

"There is just this great feeling of happiness that we were able to beat them on our land," Kamantsev said after the victory.

"The whole country supports us," said defenseman Vadim Selyukin. "We have a poster [with signatures] in our changing room. There are letters everywhere from all cities of Russia. People are writing to the boys that the whole country is behind them."

Even American veteran Taylor Chace admitted pro-Russian crowd was outstanding.

"The crowd was amazing," said U.S. defenseman Taylor Chace of the vociferous Russian fans. "We knew it was going to be super loud, but there were times when you couldn't hear anything at all."

Adam Page of the U.S. trimmed the Russian lead to 2-1 with 10:10 remaining in the contest, but the Americans couldn't get the equalizer. However, the U.S. had a goal disallowed in the third period that would have tied the affair.

Russia improved their record to 2-1 while leaping over the U.S. to win Group B and advance to Thursday’s semifinals. Despite the loss, the United States (2-1) also advances to the medal round.

If Canada wins their evening contest over the Czech Republic, they will battle the U.S. in the semifinals, while Russia would meet Norway. Should the Czechs pull an upset in regulation, they would eliminate Norway and move on to play the Americans, while Russia and Canada would tango.

The United States is seeking to become the first nation in Paralympic ice sledge hockey since the sport’s debut in Lillehammer 1994 to defend a gold medal.

Written by Brian Pinelli

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.