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The event business

Is Whistler organized enough for to take on the world? "Resorts were lined up like 747s at La Guardia for these events." — David Perry in 1995 after Whistler was awarded December World Cup downhills.

Is Whistler organized enough for to take on the world?

"Resorts were lined up like 747s at La Guardia for these events." — David Perry in 1995 after Whistler was awarded December World Cup downhills.

"It is our business and we all, in one way or another, count on it for our survival and for the lifestyle we have chosen." — Councillor Kristi Wells on Whistler being in the event-resort business, following council’s trip to Park City Utah last fall to discuss the pros and cons of bidding for the Olympics.

If Whistler "does" events, recent history suggests it could do a better job.

From the cancelled mountain bike World Cup, to the "near riot" on New Year’s Eve, to Dusty’s Last Stand, it’s been one event after another for Whistler, because that’s the business we’re in.

It may be that we’re hyper-sensitive to losing events lately, what with trying to get our ducks in a row for the 2010 Olympic bid and the loss of several events fresh in our minds. In Whistler, there’s the mountain bike World Cup, but also the three consecutive World Cup downhill ski races that were wiped out by blizzards and the failed bid for the 2003 snowboard world championships. In the Lower Mainland, the Symphony of Fire has been doused and the Indy car race is on tenuous grounds, as is the Vancouver Grizzlies basketball team.

Against this backdrop it’s important to remember the successes: last weekend’s FIS World Freestyle Ski Championships – where Canadian athletes won five medals in six events – comes immediately to mind. There is also the annual snowboard World Cup, the freestyle World Cup, next week’s Altitude 2001 Gay Ski Week, April’s World Ski and Snowboard Festival, WinterStart, First Night and any number of other festivals and events that may come to town on a periodic, rather than annual, basis.

And maybe that’s part of what needs to be examined. The mountain bike triple World Cup was a significant international sporting event; international television, competitors from more than a dozen countries, Olympic athletes, a sport which is growing by leaps and bounds, hotel rooms, exposure, spending… But there are so many events and festivals in Whistler today that it has become difficult to stay enthused for all of them. If you live here or are a frequent visitor, do you pay more attention to the World Freestyle Ski Championships – which had never been held in Canada prior to last week – or the lineup of street entertainers on the August long weekend? If you’re a visitor, do you come to see or be part of an event, or is the event a distraction or even a problem, perhaps closing a golf course or a part of the mountain?

The resort-event business is a big part of what Whistler is all about – with the Olympics perhaps the ultimate event. But maybe it’s time to examine why Whistler does these events, who brings them to town and who they are intended to benefit.

One of the arguments in favour of the 2010 Olympic bid is that Whistler is not as well known internationally as we like to think, at least not outside the world of winter sports. By hosting the winter Olympics, the argument goes, Whistler will be on the world map for all time. There are only a handful of towns that have ever hosted the Olympic Games, a distinction that is recognized even by non-sports fans. And greater recognition is the first step toward greater visitor numbers, both summer and winter. As well, the Olympics present an opportunity to be linked to a historic event, such as Jean Claude Killy’s sweep of the gold medals at Grenoble in 1968, Eric Heiden’s five-gold-medal performance at Lake Placid in 1980, or Ross’s gold at Nagano.

So is that the reason for all the events and festivals, to bring more people to town, fill hotel rooms and generate more spending, either during the event or following the event? In many instances, yes.

From the Bruce Portner-organized celebrity events in the 1980s to the Eco-challenge in 1996, creating awareness and exposure for Whistler has been one of the key reasons for hosting events. The 1997 Skins Game was one of the best at this, showcasing four of the best known golfers in the world on the Nicklaus North Golf Course on a brilliantly sunny day in Whistler.

These events helped increase Whistler’s profile, which is the first step to generating more visitors. They were also designed to make money for the people who organized them. It’s a somewhat different situation from Whistler’s early days.

When the Canadian alpine ski championships were held in Whistler in 1969 the event brought some exposure to the new ski area within the ski racing community – a rock slide which closed the highway for part of the week ensured there weren’t many spectators. But there was also an element of duty and responsibility involved. Not many Canadian ski areas had the resources to host a national championship downhill, and helping out the Canadian ski team was helping the Canadian ski industry.

There are still events in Whistler that don’t generate a great deal of publicity or exposure for the resort but are done, at least partly, for the sake of the sport or activity and the participants. The numerous club-level ski races, snowboard and freestyle events come immediately to mind. Bike races such as the Cheakamus Challenge and the junior golf tour also fall in to this category, as does the annual Children’s Art Festival.

These might be categorized more as community events, as opposed to international events like the Freestyle World Ski Championships. But most event organizers say community involvement is important to the success of any international event. Indeed, community support is key to the Olympic bid.

Ensuring that community involvement can be difficult given the number of events Whistler now hosts and the broad range of interests of the Whistler community.

In the 1980s, when Whistler was struggling to survive, let alone establish itself, the World Cup downhill was a huge event – in Vancouver as well as Whistler. The races generated enormous crowds in Village Square for the awards ceremonies. And during the race, cars lined the highway from Lake Placid Road to the Cheakamus Inn. Nearly everyone wanted to be a part of the World Cup, as a volunteer or just to hang out in town during the race.

It’s been nearly six years since a World Cup ski race was last held in Whistler, but it’s hard to imagine the same degree of community excitement today as occurred in the ’80s. Certainly there are the hard-core volunteers – as there are for all sports – but frustration with three-straight cancellations between 1996 and 1998 and the so-so performance of the Canadian men’s team in recent years have not exactly sparked a rally to bring back the races.

On the other hand, World Cup-type events are much more complex entities than they were in the ’80s. National and international governing bodies of sports usually have a stake in television rights and sponsorship before the event even arrives in town. Add to those limitations the sponsorship agreements that Whistler’s W3 – Tourism Whistler, the municipality and Whistler-Blackcomb – already has in place and the parameters that an event organizer has to work in are significantly narrowed.

Mayor Hugh O’Reilly, noting that there are few major events that don’t involve Tourism Whistler, the municipality and Whistler-Blackcomb, said recently that some sort of formal organization involving the W3 that has the mandate to deal with events is probably needed.

"Each of us has our own sponsors, and none of these events can be organized without sponsorship," O’Reilly said. "We have to look at managing sponsorships to our best advantage."

Whistler has been going through a valuation process for the past year and a half to determine sponsorship and property values and to derive the best value to local businesses and the community. O’Reilly has also said there might be more value in having fewer events in Whistler.

The question, particularly in the wake of the mountain bike World Cup mess, is what events should Whistler go after? Do we need to compete with or keep pace with Vail and Aspen for events? Who or what body is going to take the lead in deciding that? Should it be the responsibility of a sub-committee of the 2010 Olympic Bid Corporation? Is One Whistler – which includes the W3 but also representation from small business and the chamber of commerce – more appropriate?

The model that the W5 was supposed to follow, before the World Cup downhills were cancelled and the W5 lost its mandate, was the Vail Valley Foundation. Founded in 1981, the non-profit Vail Valley Foundation is "committed to providing leadership in athletic, cultural, and educational endeavors to enhance and sustain the quality of life in the Vail Valley for its residents and guests."

Interestingly, the foundation talks about community spirit and lists both residents and guests as part of that community.

"The Vail Valley Foundation, by supporting what private business and public office cannot, nurtures the spirit that is vital to our community." The foundation defines "spirit" as a "life-giving force."

"A strong community must have an equally powerful spirit in order to develop, expand and endure. The people of the Vail Valley, both residents and visitors, are a vibrant source of this creative energy," the foundation’s Web site says.

"Our commitment to giving back is an offspring of this spirit as well, and our annual grant program distributes several hundred thousand dollars annually to encourage the worthy efforts of other non-profit organizations in the Valley."

The Vail Valley Foundation sounds like a combination of the W5, the Whistler Community Foundation and the former Whistler Centre for Business and the Arts. It is the umbrella organization for a number of annual events, including World Cup ski and mountain bike races, the 1999 World Alpine Ski Championships and this year’s world mountain bike championships, as well as a golf tournament. The VVF also organizes a series of summer concerts, a dance festival and an annual forum that brings together political and business leaders. A literacy program in local schools and annual academic scholarships are also part of the VVF’s programs.

The Vail Valley Foundation is supported by corporate and private donations. Of course, having former U.S. president Gerald Ford on the board of directors doesn’t hurt fund-raising efforts, and a VVF staff of 25 suggests they have found plenty of people ready to give.

The Vail model likely isn’t a perfect fit for Whistler. For one, Vail probably has a greater percentage of residents who can afford to be philanthropic than does Whistler. But the value of having one permanent organization that is equipped to deal with and make decisions about events in Whistler is priceless, not only in streamlining the process but in keeping egg off everyone’s face.

The VVF shows that such an organization can not only fulfill this duty but, in the long run, also take on some of financial responsibilities in the community. And from the new library/museum to day care to education, the housing authority… it’s not difficult to find projects that could use some funding.



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