The Year Ahead -- Vancouver Venues Get Approval, Shifting Economy Looms

(ATR) Olympic venues get favorable report from Rogge, but VANOC faces a struggling economy, legal challenges and possible political upsets in 2009 as the Games rapidly approach.

The biggest VANOC triumphs of 2008 were online. Both volunteer recruitment and online ticket sales exceeded expectations. However, in the coming months, the organizers could face building and legal challenges.

Workopolis.com activated the volunteer recruitment campaign on the Feb. 12 two-year countdown. More than 52,000 applied. In the new year, they’ll be whittled down to 25,000 and trained for 2010.

An estimated $79 million of tickets were sold in the first phase. VANOC received $284 million worth of requests from Canadian residents alone. Another phase is expected by mid-2009. Sponsorship is $12.3 million shy of the $625 million goal.

In 2009, the closely-guarded designs for the Bombardier Olympic torch and cauldron and the Royal Canadian Mint athletes' medals will be unveiled. British Columbia capital Victoria is the Oct. 30, 2009 start of the Olympic record 106-day, 27,900 mile domestic torch relay.

IOC president Jacques Rogge gave Vancouver 2010 his stamp of approval when he visited with Coordination Commission in late February.

Although two test events have already been held at some venues, Whistler will be hosting Nordic test events in January and February. Figure skating, curling, snowboarding, freestyle skiing, and speedskating venues get tested in February and March.

There will also be renovations and additions in the coming year. The expanded $726 million Vancouver Convention Centre -- 2010's international broadcast center -- will open in April. The anti-doping laboratory will be built at the Oval in 2009. Britannia Rink is expected to become the hockey practice venue, despite neighborhood opposition.

Legal Issues Clouding Future?

Vancouver 2010 has also seen its share of legal problems, two which may be resolved in 2009. One of CEO John Furlong's last acts of 2008 was undergoing examination for discovery by a lawyer acting for 10 female ski jumpers. A May 21 lawsuit charged VANOC with violating the Canadian constitution, but VANOC responded that it was the IOC that decided in 2006 against adding a women's division. The B.C. Supreme Court trial is set for April 20.

New ownership of 2010 hockey venue General Motors Place is still possible before the Games. Francesco Aquilini remained owner following a Jan. 10 B.C. Supreme Court verdict. Eleven months later, lawyers for jilted suitors Tom Gaglardi and Ryan Beedie appeared before the Court of Appeal.

Transportation Issues Arise

A July 29 rockslide delayed the $493 million Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion and exposed major transport planning problems. VANOC's blueprint was due by the end of 2007, but the IOC set March 2009 as the new, hard deadline. Both the highway and $1.5 billion airport-to-downtown Canada Line rapid transit system are supposed to be open in fall 2009.

The year ended with VANOC sponsors Air Canada and Vancouver International Airport Authority bickering over operations. Travelers on Air Canada were stranded for hours on Christmas Eve due to snowstorms in the Vancouver area. The airport's deicing and snowplowing was also taxed to capacity. Because of these problems, the Consumers' Association of Canada wondered whether 2010's official airport or airline would be Games-ready.

Economic Climate Taking its Toll

Both organizers and sponsors are waiting to see if 2009 will mean improvements to the global economy.

The Nov. 19 board meeting was delayed to Dec. 9 to deal with impacts of the global economic crisis with a revised budget expected to be released after the pivotal Jan. 21 board meeting. Some possibilities for the chopping block include nightly medals ceremonies and concerts in Whistler.

Skiing and sliding venue Whistler Blackcomb remained open after embattled parent Fortress Investment Group scrambled to refinance the resort’s debt-laden owner Intrawest. General Motors got a pre-Christmas lifeline from U.S. and Canadian governments, but it may not last through 2009. VANOC got a $71.6 million cash advance from the IOC in mid-November, a week before media executives suffered sticker shock at the World Press Briefing. Associated Press Director of Special Events Bud Weydert said high prices for accommodation and space rentals could force budget-conscious media companies to send fewer employees to Vancouver in 2010.

The Games' security budget estimate skyrocketed from $144 million to somewhere between $329 million and $820 million. The only visible security threat is from anti-Olympic protests by radical students and natives who disrupted the Canadian Pacific Spirit Train throughout its national tour. Meanwhile, anonymous vandalism against sponsors RBC, Bell and McDonald’s escalated across Canada. No arrests were reported.

Political Changes Across Canada

While VANOC kept one eye on the economy, the other was focused on political upheaval near and far.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government returned with another minority in the Oct. 14 election, but opposition parties threatened a coalition to seize power in early December.

Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean recessed Parliament so the Conservatives can present a recessionary budget on Jan. 27. The obligatory confidence vote could still force a change in government with new Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff becoming the Olympic PM.

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan lost his Non-Partisan Association nomination to Coun. Peter Ladner. Former B.C. NDP legislature member Gregor Robertson steamrolled to victory Nov. 15 by exploiting the Sullivan-led council's secret $82 million bailout for troubled Olympic Village developer Millennium. After his December swearing-in, Robertson fired city manager Judy Rogers, hired ex-deputy minister of health Penny Ballem and appointed KPMG to audit the village project.

With reporting from Bob Mackin in Vancouver.Your best source of news about the Olympics www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only.