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Vancouver Olympic organizers say they’ve wiped out plans by local ticket brokers to resell prized tickets to the 2010 men’s gold-medal hockey game at inflated prices.

“We’ve tracked down somebody’s source of tickets and eliminated that source,” Vancouver Organizing Committee ticketing head Caley Denton disclosed yesterday.

The tickets, with a face value ranging from $350 to $775, were being promised in advance by the brokers, even though VANOC has yet to print a single ticket for the Olympics, said Mr. Denton, vice-president of sales and marketing.

“We thought something was going to happen and we acted pro-actively to prevent it. They were trying to sell Olympic tickets to different corporations in Canada, and someone alerted us.”

VANOC has vowed to crack down vigorously on ticket scalpers, who are anticipating huge dividends from the 2010 Games.

The problem is a perennial one at the Olympics, because about 30 per cent of all available tickets are allocated to members of the so-called “Olympic family,” including official corporate sponsors, national Olympic committees and other sporting organizations with Olympic ties.

Traditionally, large numbers of these specialty client tickets have found their way into the hands of brokers, particularly for premiere events.

Long-established Vancouver ticket broker Mario Livich said VANOC’s tough talk doesn’t bother him a bit.

“There’s nothing they can do,” said Mr. Livich, CEO of the city’s leading ticket operator, Show Time Tickets, which has its offices across the street from B.C. Place, site of the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies.

“Reselling tickets is not illegal. It’s wrong for anyone to interfere with that, and if anyone tries, we’ll fight it.”

Despite VANOC’s early success against one scalping operation, he said that Show Time expects to do a landslide business buying and selling Olympic tickets.

“Every major broker around is going to be involved in an event of that magnitude. My gut tells me that 30 per cent of Olympic tickets are going to be available for resale for the big individual events,” said Mr. Livich, who added that he is not the ticket agent that VANOC is targeting.

Mr. Livich added that he intends to post prices for the tickets “relatively soon,” although he would not say exactly when.

“We know we’re going to have tickets, and we are going to have very active buying and selling. I guarantee it.”

read more - http://www.theglobeandmail.com

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Tourism Vancouver has opened the first of 12 temporary “satellite visitor centres” expected to help hundreds of thousands of tourists in the 12 months surrounding the 2010 Olympic Games.

The 2.4-metre-by-3.7-metre structure in the Vancouver Art Gallery plaza on Robson Street provides travel information and is equipped to sell tourism products currently available at Tourism Vancouver’s permanent visitor centre at 200 Burrard Street.

The permanent centre normally serves about 300,000 tourists a year but the addition of the satellite centres is expected to boost that total to about one million visitors.

ourism BC is funding the $500,000 capital cost of the project - with each structure worth about $40,000 - while Tourism Vancouver will cover the operating costs.

Tourism Vancouver vice-president Janet Carson said the second satellite centre will open at the Pacific Coliseum for the ISU Four Continents figure skating championships in February 2009.

The others will open near Games venues like Hillcrest Arena, GM Place and the UBC sports centre between late 2009 and early 2010. Carson said tourism officials will also work with the City of Vancouver to identify any high-traffic pedestrian corridors that could benefit from a visitor centre during the Games.

The centres will be staffed by about 300 volunteers and 50 employees during the Games. About 30 staff members will be co-op students on paid internships from Capilano College’s tourism management program.

After the Games are over, the visitor centres will be redeployed to communities throughout B.C. for use as seasonal visitor centres.

The first satellite centre at the Vancouver Art Gallery will be open seven days a week - from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for most of the year and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in winter months. It is expected to remain at its current location at least until the end of October 2010.

from http://www.canada.com

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The latest sponsors of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games are Molson and Canwest Publishing Inc.

Molson has signed an agreement with the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee to become exclusive Official Supplier with sponsorship rights in the beer product/service category. The deal covers the 2010 Games, as well as the Canadian Olympic team for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

As Official Beer Supplier, Molson has the pouring rights at all competition and non-competition venues and associated events and is allowed to use 2010 Winter Games marks for promotional purposes.

John Furlong, VANOC Chief Executive Officer, said “Molson will be an ideal partner for an Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games that will give all Canadians a chance to celebrate”.

Molson was the original brewery sponsor for Vancouver 2010’s bid. Furlong said, “Molson helped us win the bid and we will be pleased to welcome them back to the family beginning in 2009. We look forward to their contributions in sharing the spirit of the 2010 Winter Games with all Canadians”.

Canwest Publishing Inc. announced Wednesday that it is partnering with Vancouver 2010 to help inform and engage communities across the country as the Official Regional Newspaper Publisher for the 2010 Games.

Canwest will receive exclusive rights in the regional newspaper publisher product/service category for the 2010 Games, the Canadian Olympic team for Beijing 2008, and the London 2012 Games.

Canwest will also produce a series of information guides designed to inform and educate the community about the 2010 Winter Games on programs such as transportation, ticketing, sports, and arts and culture.

Furlong said at the announcement, “this partnership provides VANOC with top-notch communications vehicles that will enable us to share and celebrate the spirit of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Canwest will continue with its excellence in objective editorial coverage of the Games. We are also very pleased to have their team on board to play a separate role in delivering important information about the Games to communities throughout our country”.

From http://www.gamesbids.com/cgi-bin/news/viewnews.cgi?category=1&id=1209052124

Squamish band members will likely protest at the 2010 Olympic Games despite the chief signing an agreement with the Vancouver Organizing Committee to support the event.

“There will be some level of protest, and I hope so, too,” Squamish First Nation Chief Bill Williams said Thursday.

“We are going to be working with VANOC, but we have 3,500 members and not all want to be part of the Olympics. They want to talk about the children and the hardships in the community and they have the full right to do that.”

Williams said natives across Canada have the highest ratings in all the worst quality-of-life scenarios.

“We have the highest rate of people incarcerated, the highest rate of children dropping out of schools, the highest rate of children in the child-care system and I could go on and on,” Williams said.

“I myself as an aboriginal male have the shortest lifespan.”

The Downtown Eastside’s Anti-Poverty Committee has also staged several anti-Olympic protests, including an attack on a podium outside the Vancouver Art Gallery during the launch of the Olympic clock. The clock has been defaced twice.

Read more http://www.canada.com

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VANOC yesterday, amidst great fanfare, announced that they were spending .001% of their projected ticket revenue on an emergency shelter for youth at Covenant House. This $250,000 is presumably to help Covenant House deal with an expected influx of young people to Vancouver during the Games who will have nowhere to stay.

On giving $2 for every $100,000 in sponsorship money received by VANOC (.0002%) to help homeless youth, VANOC Vice President for Celebrations and Partnerships (seriously) David Guscott told the Tyee that VANOC was doing its best for the youth: “We know from other Olympics that there is a concentration of shelter bed requirements, and we made a commitment to do our best to make sure we can meet that demand. Now we are doing it, with our partners.”

On VANOC spending .008% of the torch run budget on homeless youth, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said that he didn’t need the UN to tell him there was a homeless problem in the province, “I think all of us understand that there is work to be done.”

Can’t wait to see how the remaining $250,000 or .0018% of the venue budget is going to be spent to help the homeless around Games time. Wow!

From http://davideby.blogspot.com/2008/04/half-of-vanoc-shelter-money-gets-spent.html

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Premier Gordon Campbell announced millions of dollars yesterday for a Vancouver youth shelter to double its capacity, but it amounts to little more than a flash in the pan, advocates for the homeless say.

The province is pledging $4.75-million to Covenant House, while the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee is kicking in an additional $250,000.

“This will enable more at-risk youth to access shelter support before, during and after the Games,” said Dave Guscott, VANOC’s executive vice-president of celebration and partnerships.

He said VANOC wanted to respond to a potential increase in shelter demand during the Games and create a lasting legacy past 2010.

VANOC promised 250 units of social housing in the runup to the Games, far short of the 3,200 suggested by a consortium of government and community groups of which it is a member.

The new funding means Covenant House can add 32 new beds for people 16 to 23 years old, bringing its total number to 54.

Young people who stay at the crisis shelter are given medical care, food and rest before working with a counsellor to plan out an exit strategy from the streets.

Read more - http://www.theglobeandmail.com

Vanoc added at least $29 million in sponsorship revenue to its coffers in March, led by BC Hydro, which signed on as an official supporter of the 2010 Games with a pledge of $20 million worth of services to supply backup power.

Vanoc also signed up Purolator Courier Ltd., Vancouver International Airport and Millennium Development Corp. at the level of official suppliers.

Official suppliers are required to contribute a minimum $3 million to a maximum $15 million, while official supporters contribute $15 million to $50 million.

Not all sponsors have declared the value of their contributions.

Vanoc has now secured $710 million of the $760 million it initially set out to raise from domestic corporate sponsorship.

From http://www.canada.com

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VANOC is taking a tough stand when it comes to the standards of factories manufacturing 2010 Olympic merchandise. VANOC has banned six overseas factories from making 2010 products, for not meeting social standards.

A ’sustainability report’ released today shows the steps that have already been taken. Ann Duffy with VANOC says they’re working with those factories, to ensure the merchandise that people buy over the next two years is environmentally and socially accceptable. “One of the bid committments for VANOC in terms of hosting the Games was to use our influence to create social, economic and environmental benefits in our supply chain. That included developing the Buy Smart program since we’re going to be purchasing a lot of stuff and a lot of services, we’re looking at our work with our suppliers and our licensees as an opportunity to bring value there as well.”

The 27 page report released today also shows that of 80 audits VANOC demanded of its licensees, corrective action plans were issued for 74. Duffy says they are working with suppliers and licensees to ensure standards are met. “It might be things like their documentation system of how they’re tracking this needing to be improved , or how they’re communicating health and safety tips to employees.”

From http://www.news1130.com

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan is proposing the city dip into the $20 million Olympic Legacy Reserve Fund to establish a program that would allow local neighbourhoods to plan their own Olympic celebrations.

The $1 million Community Celebration Program would be spent in Vancouver neighbourhoods to create Olympic-related public events before and during the 2010 Games and Paralympic Winter Games. If approved, $200,000 would be spent this year, $300,000 next year and $500,000 in 2010.

Sullivan says the fund will facilitate partnerships with community centres, libraries, schools and business improvement associations. Council will vote on the idea this week.

From http://www.news1130.com

The two-year countdown has begun for the 2010 Paralympic Games at B.C. Place on Wednesday with activities in Vancouver and Whistler.

To kick off the festivities, members of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Games (VANOC), Paralympic ice sledge hockey gold medalist Todd Nicholson, and staff and students at Queen Victoria Annex school gathered at Trout Lake Community Centre.

Nicholson became a paraplegic in 1987 after a car accident on the night of his high school graduation dance in Ottawa. Since he was introduced to Paralympic sports in 1989, he has won four Paralympic Game medals.

“I can honestly say that I have done more with my life now after being hurt than I ever would have,” Nicholson told the crowd.

Max Newton, a fifth grade student who heard Nicholson speak, said he is amazed at Nicholson’s story.

“I think they’re better (athletes),” he said. “They’re injured and they’re still playing like sports … it’s amazing how they do that.”

Cathy Priestner Allinger, executive vice president of Sport and Games Operations told ctvbc.ca organizers are working to create greater awareness and exposure for the Paralympic Games.

“Part of our objective is creating greater awareness, of athletes and people with disabilities, not just in our games but across the country,” she said.

Carla Qualtrough, president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, told CTV British Columbia’s Mike Killeen the public’s awareness of the Paralympic Games is growing.

“Whistler and Vancouver have embraced the Paralympic games,” she said. “From an awareness point of view, it’s actually in our athletes’ interest to have sledge and curling in Vancouver because more people get to see it.”

The Own the Podium program, a plan for Canada’s Olympic athletes to win more medals, includes a goal to catapult Canada into the top three medal winners at the Paralympics.

The program includes $2.5 million in funding for the 2007-08 season to achieve that goal and has revolutionized performance sports for Paralympians.

The Canadian para-alpine team won 41 World Cup races this winter, more than any other country, and finished second to Austria in total points.

from http://www.ctvbc.ca