Vancouver View -- 2010 Lab More than Doubles Doping Budget

The lab in the Richmond Oval will be administered by the only WADA-accredited lab in Canada, Montreal's Institut Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique. (VANOC)"Economies" to Fund Lab Construction

The head of the Vancouver 2010 anti-doping laboratory believes Olympic history will be made when VANOC opens a temporary anti-doping laboratory inside a competition venue.

"As far as I know, the lab in Athens was relatively close to the track and field," said Prof. Christiane Ayotte.

"Most of the time it's not really on site. For us it's really exciting."

Ayotte and her staff from the Institut Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique in Montreal will outfit, equip and operate the 15,000 square foot lab at the Richmond Oval speedskating arena.

VANOC confirmed the choice of the oval as the site for the lab during its July 16 board meeting.

The use of the oval means VANOC will need to spend $5 million above its $4.12 million anti-doping budget. The city of Richmond is contributing $1.3 million, which it expects to recover from VANOC through leasehold improvements, according to Mayor Malcolm Brodie.

VANOC CEO John Furlong said funds would be found through "economies" in the operations budget, but was not specific.

"We clearly wanted one that gave us the best advantage financially, the best legacy, the most sustainable, the one that worked across a whole range of things we were concerned about," Furlong said.

"The Oval did it for us."

The anti-doping lab location was supposed to have been announced almost a year ago. VANOC had considered the B.C. Children’s Hospital campus and declined offers of free rent from Burnaby-based private drug-testing lab Cantest. In February, the International Olympic Committee rejected a proposal to airlift samples to Montreal during the Games.

"That would’ve been fine, but it’s just not as convenient in the context of an event that unfolds as rapidly as the Games," said VANOC director and former WADA chief Dick Pound. VANOC CEO John Furlong delivered an update on a range of Games operations after the July 16 board meeting. (ATR)

Setup begins in January 2009. VANOC will be seeking 500 volunteer doping control officers, blood collection officers and chaperones.

VANOC in Beijing

Furlong will update the IOC executive board on Aug. 3 via teleconference on the hour-by-hour Vancouver 2010 competition schedule, workforce uniform designs, accreditation procedures and the rate card program.

Furlong will be attending the Beijing Games, leading a group of 36 VANOC staffers who will observe BOCOG counterparts. VANOC is also sending 12 people to the Paralympics. The delegation is half the size of the Vancouver contingent at Torino 2006. VANOC is spending $600,000 on the Beijing mission.

Optimism on Two Sponsor Shake-Ups

VANOC hopes for a firm commitment when a new company takes over Hudson's Bay Company, Vancouver 2010’s official department store and clothing supplier.

"They're as committed and engaged as they've ever been," says VANOC EVP of revenue, marketing and communications Dave Cobb.

"They see the Olympics as a great opportunity for them and we hope that their new owners do as well," he adds.

The new owners are NRDC Equity Partners, based in Purchase, New York. The company announced that it will take over the Hudson Bay Company July 16.

NRDC owns upscale retailer Lord and Taylor and already had a 20 percent stake in HBC. The new governor of the company will oversee Hudson's Bay Company sells Olympic merchandise at its group stores including The Bay and Zellers. (HBC)the conversion of 10 to 15 of the flagship Bay stores into Lord and Taylor outlets.

Cobb also says he is hopeful General Motors July 15 reorganization plan will keep the once-mighty auto giant alive through the Games. GM pledged $67 million -- mostly in vehicles -- to VANOC in 2005.

"GM has been a great partner, they've been operating in a challenging environment for some time now," Cobb said.

"We've seen nothing but full support from them. They continue to fulfill all the responsibilities and obligations in our contracts."

Cobb said VANOC has yet to suffer the impacts of the economic downturn.

"We haven't seen yet any ramifications of the economic slowdown on our project either with our existing sponsors with additional activity they may do or in our pursuit of new sponsors," he said.

"We may see some of that; at this stage we seem to have avoided that."

Power Returns, Questions Remain

After a massive July 14 power outage in downtown Vancouver, John Furlong is delivering assurances that Olympic venues will have double and triple power backups.

In May, VANOC signed a $50 million deal with Scotland-based GE-spinoff Aggreko to provide diesel generators. BC Hydro, the provincial power company, is a VANOC sponsor.

"Our responsibilities are for Olympic venues and the Olympic theatre, and we provided adequately for that and we’re working with BC Hydro for that," said the VANOC CEO.

"Out of this exercise BC Hydro will be amply ready to deal with whatever might come their way."

It took almost three days for residents, retailers, restaurateurs, offices and hotels to regain power after an electrical fire near the underground Cathedral Square Substation. The blackout could cost businesses $36 million, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Vancouver Briefs…

The 22-year-old apprentice who was crushed to death in January when working on a key Olympic infrastructure project had insufficient training. The worker on the rapid transit line that links Vancouver International Airport and downtown Vancouver had received only 20 to 90 minutes of training and lacked supervision, according to safety experts.

Alpine Canada is looking for a new CEO after Canadian downhill skiing legend Ken Read quit July 16. Read made the decision because of Alpine Canada rules that prohibit the parent of a national team skier to work in the organization’s management. Read’s 17-year-old son Erik is expected to debut on the national junior team this winter. Read, one of Canada’s Crazy Canucks from the 1970s and 1980s, became Alpine Canada’s head in 2002 and turned the struggling organization into a sponsor-rich contender for medals at Vancouver 2010. He will continue to serve as Canada’s representative to the International Ski Federation.

With reporting from Bob Mackin in Vancouver.

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