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Creekside to get temporary chair for 2010 Games

Olympic annual report show some venue costs are up
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Speedwagon More safety features are on the way for the Sliding Centre after testing produced speeds of 150 km/h. Photo courtesy of VANOC

Whistler Mountain’s Creekside operations will get a new temporary chairlift and an upgrade to the Orange Chair as part of the outfitting to get ready for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

It’s not the only finished competition venue where work is continuing.

Whistler Olympic Park in the Callaghan Valley, the site of the Nordic events and ski jumping, has had work on the day lodge, the ski jump refrigeration systems, the recreational trail bridge railings, as well as some safety improvements.

At Cypress Mountain near Vancouver, the site of the freestyle and snowboarding events, work has been done on the tower snow guns, the access route and the handle tow.

Venues costs continue to creep up as the 2010 Games get closer. But Olympic organizers say that construction costs will not go above the government funded $580 million budget and they will not be asking for more money.

“We have said all along that our budget is $580 million and it is still going to be completed for $580 million,” said the Vancouver Organizing Committee’s CFO John McLaughlin at the release of the organization’s annual report recently.

“It really is no more money. We are not asking for any more money. We won’t ask for any more money, so again, from our perspective we are going to complete (the venues) on-time and on-budget.”

Dan Doyle, VANOC’s executive vice president construction, explained that costing and building Olympic venues is unique in that you have to plan and budget for changes you don’t know about.

“I kept the cost in the actual projects tight and kept a large central contingency… to bring efficiency to it,” he explained.

“The thing that is different about the Olympic venues is that they have to be homologated and that means the international sport federations come in, try out the facilities and they say they are good but you have to do this, that, or the other thing.

“The contingency at the end will be zero and we will certainly not overspend the budget, but we will be right on it.”

Doyle said VANOC never expected there to be money in the contingency at the end and that is standard in the management of mega projects.

The spectators at test events are also part of the mix.

At last year’s World Cup downhill at Creekside many people struggled to get up on foot to the Timing Flats so VANOC has decided to put in a temporary chairlift. It will be open to all users. There will be also be a trail for those who want to walk and some shuttle bus services will run too.

“That has been an issue for us from day one,” said Doyle.

“We have worried about how we get people from the Creekside village up to the Timing Flats.

“…We ended up thinking a fixed-grip chair was the way to go, and if the prices still come in as we are anticipating they will, we will put one in next summer.”

The exact location is still being worked on.

The Sliding Centre has also had some changes made. After testing last season international sport federations asked for some more safety features as it is likely the speeds will reach 150 km/h in competition.

But VANOC officials also noticed that rain and sun on the track’s start and finish were problems not originally anticipated, so now those areas will have covers or shade walls built.

“We had not anticipated rain in February,” said Doyle. “It made it very difficult for us to maintain the top and similarly at the outrun at the bottom.

“These are things you can’t predict.”

At Whistler Olympic Park the day lodge is now close to completion and even sports a unique piece of aboriginal art.

“It is spectacular and it is going to be open very soon,” said Doyle.

“It has change-rooms, and showers, and a cafeteria style restaurant. It is going to be a phenomenal amenity.”

The additional venue work is being paid for out of the construction contingency fund, which now stands at $13.7 million, down from $139 million.

That’s a concern, said NDP Olympic critic Harry Bains.

“I think it is a concern that the (contingency) of $13 million may not be enough considering that some of the major projects are still underway,” he said.

He also questioned why VANOC did not include an explanation about why the venues costs have gone up in the report.

According to the report the contribution cost of the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre (Hillcrest/Nat Bailey) has risen from $31.7 million to $40.2 million this year. Originally it was slated to cost $28.3 million.

VANOC’s contribution to the UBC ice rinks has also gone up from $35.8 million in 2005, to $37.6 million in 2007, to its current total of $38.4 million.

The Richmond Skating Oval has also faced rising costs. The whole project has gone from $155 million in 2004 to $178 million currently. VANOC's contribution to the oval has gone from $62.4 million in 2007 to $63.7 million currently. However, costs associated with the upgrade of the Pacific Coliseum have now gone down to $19.7 million from the original estimate of $23 million. VANOC will also now contribute $3.8 million to the upgrading of BC Place, host of the opening and closing ceremonies.

Whistler’s Olympic Park, the Nordic venue, has risen to $122.4 million from $114.6 million earlier this year. That’s up from the original estimate of $102 million.

Whistler’s Sliding Centre, the venue most notorious for cost increases, is now at $106.3 million, up from $100.3 million earlier this year. It went from $55 million in the bid phase to $99 million in 2006.

All of the increases have been outlined in VANOC’s quarterly reports.

Games organizers are expecting to weather the current global financial crisis well as much of the revenues are already committed by sponsors and others.

“The situation we are finding ourselves in right now is unparalleled, so trying to predict what is going to come out of it is hugely challenging,” said McLaughlin.

“But if we look at our financial position about 79 per cent of revenues are committed to us so far and if you add in what we expect to get from the ticketing program that number jumps up quite significantly.”

Sponsorship revenue is expected to be $768 million.

When asked what would happen if people did not follow through on ticket purchases due to drops in discretionary spending common in a recession McLaughlin said there was a contingency in place to deal with such events, though he expects tickets sales to be high.

“We do have a contingency in the budget and that is what it is meant to be dealing with,” he said.

VANOC is also confident in assurances given them by the City of Vancouver on the over-budget athletes’ village centre. It is expected to be up to $65 million.

“Our biggest concern here is that the village be there and be ready at the time when the athletes need to move in and we are hearing that it will be so,” said McLaughlin.

“That makes us feel comfortable with it. But the economy is in turbulent times so we watch it like everybody else does.”

The annual report also showed a $48.1 million deficit as was predicted by VANOC earlier this year. It is due mainly, said McLaughlin, to the timing of cash flows.

“It is not indicative of the financial performance of the organization,” he said.