2010 Tickets Still Hot!

Todd Warnell already had a healthy selection of tickets for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, including men's and women's hockey, curling, and a medal ceremony.

But the 31-year-old Toronto resident still had some time to kill during his planned one-week stay in Vancouver for the Games, so he sat down at his computer over the weekend for the second round of ticket sales.

"We now have a minimum of two events each day - it worked out pretty well,'' Warnell said Sunday from his home in Toronto.

"I was shocked at how many events were available. We didn't think we'd be able to get all of our A-list, and we were able to get everything.''

Vancouver Olympic organizers offered up more than 200,000 tickets to every single Olympic event. Sales were strong, with more than 130,000 tickets sold in the first four hours alone.

That included 1,000 tickets for the gold-medal men's hockey game, which sold out in a few minutes.

Warnell, who will be travelling to Vancouver with his wife and two more relatives, landed tickets for three hockey games, including a Canada-U.S. match, and speed skating.

Overall, the group has spent $4,000 on Olympic tickets, but Warnell said its money well spent on an event that he's wanted to attend ever since he watched the 1988 Calgary Olympics on TV as a child.

"When Vancouver was awarded the Games, I just said, `I'm going to the Games no matter what I'm doing at that point in my life,''' said Warnell.

Tickets were selling on a first-come, first-served basis at the Olympic organizing committee's website at www.vancouver2010.com.

There were still tickets available late Sunday.

A third, smaller round of sales is expected later this year as organizers finalize seating plans at venues.

The first round of ticket sales began last year, with seats allocated through a lottery system because of high demand. In December, people who signed up for the lottery were given preferred access to leftover tickets on a first-come, first-served basis.

Some ticket-buyers complained at the time that the online ticket system had problems.

Warnell wrote a blog post in December saying the website appeared to be crashing as he spent hours trying to buy tickets.

But this time, organizers used a "virtual waiting room,'' keeping users away from the main ticket site on a separate page, and then letting them a little at a time so the system wouldn't be overloaded.

Warnell said things went far better this time.

"(Last December) the whole ticketing process was just overwhelmed, we just kept getting some server-maintenance error,'' he said.

"So I was kind of concerned going into yesterday, but it was surprisingly smooth. There were no hiccups.''

Altogether, 1.6 million tickets are available to the 2010 Olympics.

The first phase of ticket sales raised $94.7 million for the committee. Organizers are aiming to make up to another $50 million off ticket sales to the public.

In total, the organizing committee hopes to earn $260 million off ticket sales, although much of that revenue will come from sales to sponsors, national Olympic committees and other partners.

 

SOURCE: http://www.ctvolympics.ca/

 

This Place Will Be Pucking Awesome!

It won't quite be the Hockey Hall of Fame, but a large hockey-oriented facility being planned for next year's Winter Olympics could be close to providing that kind of allure to fans of Canada's national game.

With the world's top players, plus former stars and key hockey executives expected to be in Vancouver for the Games, an 80,000-square-foot gathering place for them all will be erected on Concord Pacific Place by Pacific Boulevard, within walking distance of the main Olympic hockey matches at GM Place.

While final details are still being polished ahead of an official announcement that could come as early as next week, at least part of the complex will be open to the public, sources said yesterday.

Official Olympic brewers Molson's, Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation have been confirmed as co-sponsors of the entertainment and hospitality complex, while the National Hockey League and NHL Players' Association may also be part of the star-studded mix.

In an interview earlier this year, Jordan Bitove, president and CEO of VisionCo that is handling marketing for the ambitious project, vowed the pavilion will be "absolutely the place to be at the 2010 Olympics. ... Hockey is the sport that unites us in Canada, so we're using hockey as the driving force behind it."

Mr. Bitove said the venue will be a prime gathering place for fans both before and after Olympic hockey matches.

While the hockey facility, capable of holding 4,000 people at any one time, may be the most popular, it is just one of many hospitality locations to be set up by official Olympic sponsors, individual countries and national Olympic committees in the vicinity of Games venues.

Most, if not all, will serve booze, prompting the provincial government to draw up special regulations to provide temporary liquor licences for organizations connected with the Olympics. One change from normal practice will permit children to be present in the sponsors' licensed hospitality pavilions.

The one-time arrangements are not available to those outside the so-called Olympic family, but few seem perturbed. "They're not going to be handing them out all over the place," said Ian Tostenson, CEO of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association. "I don't see it as an issue."

 

SOURCE: http://www.ctvolympics.ca/

 

 

GM Stands by Sponsorship

The restructuring of General Motors, including its filing for bankruptcy protection in the United States and billions of dollars in public financing, will have "no impact'' on its sponsorship of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, the company said Monday.

GM filed for bankruptcy protection as governments in Canada and the U.S. announced plans to keep the company afloat - including US$9.5 billion from Ottawa and Ontario.

The beleaguered automaker committed $67 million to the Games when it signed on as one of the top domestic sponsors in 2005. Most of that is in the form of in-kind contributions such as vehicles, but it also includes $14 million in cash.

The company and Vancouver Olympic organizers have faced questions in recent months about how GM's financial trouble might affect the sponsorship deal, but they have repeatedly insisted it won't.

"There will be no impact on our sponsorship of the Winter Games,'' company spokesman Stew Low said in an email Monday.”We are fully committed to our support.''

Low wouldn't say how much has already been handed over to Olympic organizers and how much is yet to come, but he did confirm that parts of the sponsorship, including some vehicles, are still on their way.

Olympic organizers again said they're confident GM will deliver on its sponsorship commitments.

"Over the past several days, our senior executives have been in regular communication with our partners at GM Canada Ltd. who have reaffirmed their support for the 2010 Winter Games,'' Renee Smith-Valade of the Olympic organizing committee said in an email statement.

"GM has been an exceptional partner and has met all of their commitments to date, both financial and value in kind.''

Other Olympic sponsors are also facing their own financial problems, including Air Canada and Nortel, but organizers have said they're not worried those deals could fall apart, either.

GM is one of the top domestic sponsors of the 2010 Games, although it is by no means the largest.

The company's contribution is dwarfed by companies like Bell Canada, whose sponsorship totals $200 million, and HBC, which signed a deal worth more than $100 million.

When GM signed on as an Olympic sponsor three-and-a-half years ago, the company said it was adding 60,000 employees, dealers and retailers to the Olympic team - but that team will likely be significantly smaller when the Games begin in February of next year.

The company plans to shed thousands of employees, cutting production jobs in Canada to just 6,000, down from 20,000 in 2005.

GM has already closed its truck plant in Oshawa, Ont., plans to close a transmission factory in Windsor next year, and will get rid of several brands and close a substantial number of dealerships.

 

SOURCE: http://www.ctvolympics.ca/