The Games Operating Trust has released their audited financial statements for 2010, with slightly higher disbursements to the Richmond Oval and Whistler 2010 Sport Legacies (W2010SL) this year.
According to the press release, W2010SL will receive $2,691,482 and the Richmond Oval $2,739,398. Those disbursements include $1,180,698 from the Contingency Fund, which was split evenly between the two parties.
By comparison, Whistler's legacies received $2,196,893 in 2010, with 43 per cent of the money going towards the Vancouver Organizing Committee to manage the facilities through the Games and post-Games transition, and the remainder going to W2010SL. The Speed Skating Oval received $2,242,389. None of the money was from the contingency fund.
"The only significant difference from last year is the Trust was asked (and agreed) to make distributions from the contingency fund, as both venue owners had a deep rooted need for the extra funds," wrote James Bruce, chair of the Games Operating Trust, in response to email questions from Pique last week.
The money taken from the contingency fund didn't go into the principal value of the fund, but from the $2.3 million in interest on the fund's investment. Even with the $1.1 million disbursement it grew $23,780,817 to $24,933,256.
The total assets of the trust were $114.7 million on Dec. 31, 2010, or $5.7 million higher than reported on Dec. 31, 2009 - a good sign for a fund that was once valued at $131 million, then dropped to below $100 million in 2009 as a result of the financial crisis.
The trust itself was created with $110,000 million, with the province of B.C. and Government of Canada each contributing $55 million to support the 2010 Olympic legacies. The money can be spent on the Richmond Oval, Whistler Sliding Centre and Whistler Olympic Park, with the latter two facilities owned and operated by W2010SL.
While the original split was 40/40/20, both Richmond and W2010SL funds are separate, and the oval deferred a payment in 2008 and is slightly larger as a result.
The Games Operating Trust is a major funding source for W2010SL. Other sources include cross-country ski passes, concessions, athlete rental housing and facility rentals. However, W2010SL, a private not-for-profit organization, did receive some funding from stakeholders last year, a list of organizations that includes the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, the province of B.C., the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Squamish First Nation and Lil'wat First Nation.
As a private entity, W2010SL does not publish its financial statements.
Keith Bennett, spokesperson for the W2010SL, was out of town and unavailable to comment.
