Not only was Vancouver the world’s winter sport capital in February, but it was also the battlefield in the moveable war against drug cheats in sports.
The World Anti-Doping Agency oversaw a temporary laboratory at the Richmond Olympic Oval, but it won’t be back in 2013. The Montreal-based spinoff of the International Olympic Committee wasn’t even invited to return for its World Conference on Doping in Sport.
On November 21, it named Johannesburg, South Africa, the 2013 host. Previous hosts include Copenhagen (2003) and Madrid (2007). Applications closed August 27. Unsuccessful bidders included Dallas, Texas; Kuwait City; Sochi, Russia; and Ljubljana, Slovenia. Vancouver wasn’t on the list.
“We did consider the WADA congress,” said Tourism Vancouver marketing vice-president Walt Judas. “However, as with many sporting conferences and events, the buy-in fee is beyond our means.”
The Vancouver Convention Centre would have met WADA’s requirement for conference facilities for up to 3,000 people and a United Nations-style congress. Delegates cover the cost of travel and accommodation, but bid guidelines say “WADA does not wish for conference fees to be charged to participants.”
Judas also said Tourism Vancouver’s sport committee “has been dormant for a time but will be reactivated in the near future, likely with a revised mandate.”
It’s called “Take Out the Trash Friday” and it will be one of VANOC’s last acts.
Governments and arms of government know they can’t keep secrets forever, so they tend to release unflattering information on a Friday when they think the media aren’t paying attention and the public doesn’t care.
That’s what’ll happen on December 17 when VANOC finally releases its first financial report in almost a year. If the post-Games numbers were something to be proud of, why would chief financial officer John McLaughlin have waited until the last effective business Friday of the calendar year?
The IOC gave us a hint in July when it disclosed 1.49 million Olympic tickets were sold for $257 million – 110,000 tickets and $3 million in revenue short of its forecast. That same report said 1.8 billion viewers (not 3.5 billion) tuned in to the Games.
Also expect the latest chapter in the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Olympic Effect economic impact report (paid for by the B.C. and federal governments). Maybe the Tories will also tell us how much more taxpayer dollars were spent on the Bailout Games.
Strike EA Sports off the list of potential naming rights sponsors for BC Place Stadium.
EA Sports vice-president Matt Bilbey said it’s “unlikely” his company name will be on the marquee. The November 29 marriage with the Vancouver Whitecaps is largely a content deal.
The company known for its “Get in the Game” slogan is getting in the stadium to use the building, players and fans in future editions of its FIFA-approved soccer video games. Since debuting in 1992, the line of games has recorded $3 billion in global sales.
EA already sponsors Chelsea, Arsenal and Real Madrid. The Burnaby studio, which even has a soccer pitch, is the workplace for 1,200 people. Bilbey said EA staff account for 5% to 10% of Whitecaps’ ticketholders.
The MLS-bound Whitecaps have one more sponsor to announce before Christmas. Chief executive Paul Barber won’t give any hints.
Could the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games harm India’s foreign trade?
Government agencies are probing the organizing committee and its executives for corruption. Foreign companies hired to help stage the games are having a nightmare.
Veteran ceremonies producer Ric Birch of Spectak charged organizers with unpaid bills and the Indian customs department with illegally holding lighting and sound equipment. He’s threatening to campaign against Delhi if it bids for the Olympics.
“It is extraordinary, because India claims to be a growing economy that’s interested in exporting to the world – but the inability of Indian government agencies to handle a straightforward import/export transaction makes it doubtful whether any international company can rely upon India’s ability to conduct business in a proper manner,” Birch wrote in an open letter. •