What stories belonged on the 2010 sports business podium? The topper is no surprise, but you might debate the next two steps.
Quite simply the biggest sports business story that will ever happen in British Columbia and the natural gold medallist on this podium.
The $6 Billion Games of the Great Recession. The Bailout Games. Whatever you call them, they were fun while they lasted and drew an estimated 1.8 billion worldwide TV viewers. The costs and legacies could be debated for decades.
Hudson’s Bay Co. and Molson Coors were the star sponsors, as Vancouverites and visitors alike donned red mittens and opened cold ones during the balmy El Nińo February. When VANOC published its business plan May 8, 2007, CEO John Furlong emphatically stated: “The $1.63 billion Games operating budget is funded entirely by the private sector. It is not funded by the taxpayers.” On Dec. 17, 2010, Furlong and company broke a nearly year-long, self-imposed financial reporting moratorium to claim a $1.884 billion balanced operations budget. The elephant in the room was the $187.8 million in direct taxpayer funds that made it balance. The latest PricewaterhouseCoopers economic impacts report estimated the Games meant $2.3 billion over seven years to the B.C. economy – which is worth more than $190 billion in a year.
Telus was the heir apparent to replace General Motors on the rink marquee where the biggest hockey tournament in history ended with Sidney Crosby’s golden goal. “Government Motors” was under pressure to cut costs after driving on Bankruptcy Boulevard. Three-and-a-half weeks after June 12’s UFC 115 – the biggest event since the Olympic hockey final – the 1995-opened “Garage” became the “Call Centre”: Rogers Arena became the new corporate moniker. The Toronto telecom also made the Canucks a cornerstone of its new Sportsnet ONE national channel. It delayed (if not, scuttled) the Canucks TV channel that executive vice-president Jon Festinger was planning. Festinger, business development vice-president Gord Forbes and brand management director Paul Dal Monte were replaced before the club’s 40th anniversary season.
BC Place Stadium was deflated May 4 to make way for the $458 million, German-engineered retractable roof. The Lions returned to Empire Field where they played from 1954 to 1982. New president Dennis Skulsky declared it would be the hottest ticket of the summer. The Lions instead struggled to draw more than 22,000 fans per game at the $17 million temporary setup. Three sponsors and 1,000 ticket account holders cancelled but pledged to return when the Lions are back at BC Place. It took until September 11 for Casey Printers to lead the Leos to a home victory.
What stories will climb the podium in 2011? Here are three sure bets.
The biggest renovation of a public building in B.C. history was never debated by the legislature or put to the public. The business plan and financing formula have never been fully disclosed. Chances are it won’t reopen until the fourth quarter and it might not be declared substantially complete until November 1. It simply has to be ready for the November 25 Vanier Cup and November 27 Grey Cup, to which B.C. taxpayers paid the Canadian Football League $1.88 million for hosting. Formerly Bill Bennett’s Bubble, Campbell’s Crown will have a corporate name. It is also destined for the cover of international engineering and architectural magazines. Will the headlines say “mistake” or “marvel”?
The Vancouver Whitecaps are the key tenant for the new BC Place, which helped kill media-shy Caps’ co-owner Greg Kerfoot’s proposed field of dreams over Gastown railway tracks. The original North American Soccer League Whitecaps were the hottest ticket in town in the late ’70s and early ’80s. The Major League Soccer version will grab ticket and advertising market share from the Canucks and become the second-biggest sports draw in the city beginning March 19 at Empire Field.
Aquilini Investment Group will be the first developer to prove that the new BC Place is the catalyst for northeast False Creek. It’s poised to propose four office and residential towers around Rogers Arena plus a Canucks-anchored community rink and sports centre at the Plaza of Nations. The Aquilini brothers have also been kicking the tires across the water at the Olympic Village and could be candidates to bring it out of receivership.
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