Jack Poole attends his first VANOC board meeting since May. (B.Mackin/ATR)
Poole Making Comeback
Vancouver 2010 chairman Jack Poole made his first public appearance in months this week, leading the Nov. 21 board directors meeting. He dropped out of sight after the May board meeting to undergo treatment for pancreatic cancer.
Poole, 74, had surgery in Vancouver in July and spent six weeks this fall in a Seattle cancer clinic. He appeared leaner and spoke with a weak voice, occasionally coughing, at the beginning of a news conference following the board meeting held at the Richmond city hall.
Poole joined the July and September board meetings by teleconference, but did not vote. Provincial-appointed director Rusty Goepel was interim chairman during Poole’s absence.
“He’s not really ever been away,” said VANOC CEO John Furlong. “He’s been involved in almost everything that’s gone on since he went in for his medical treatments.”
Poole updated construction progress, noting the snow venues at the Callaghan Valley, Whistler and Cypress Mountain would be ready for test events this winter.
“Athletes are coming, they’ll be on those venues both training and competing next month,” Poole said.
The meeting was held in Richmond so directors could tour the $178 million long-track speedskating venue under construction by the middle arm of the Fraser River.
“That is going to be the icon of the Olympics, it’s going to stand alone in the world as a sports facility,” Poole said.
After the Games, the Richmond Oval will be converted to a multisport community centre.
Tickets.com Announcement Soon
VANOC expects to sign a deal with its ticketing provider in early December.
Sources tell Around the Rings that directors chose Tickets.com over Ticketmaster at the September board meeting. Tickets.com CEO Larry Witherspoon confirmed in a brief Nov. 20 phone interview that his company is negotiating with Vancouver 2010.
Dave Cobb, VANOC executive vice-president of revenue, marketing and communication, doesn’t deny Tickets.com was the successful bidder, but won’t refer to the company by name. He said VANOC skipped a standard memorandum of understanding and immediately began work on a 100-page-plus contract with the ticketing agency.
“We know we’re doing business with this company, we’ve made the commitment,” Cobb said. “We shook hands and we’re getting on with business and hopefully that contract will be signed in the next few weeks.”
On Oct. 11, VANOC announced prices and next fall’s sales procedure for 2010 tickets. Tickets.com, a Major League Baseball Advanced Media subsidiary, handled Salt Lake 2002 and partnered with a Milan, Italy company for Torino 2006.
TOP Tips
Cobb shot down rumors that DHL is negotiating to become a TOP sponsor in the courier and logistics category.
“The category has been released to us to sell domestically,” Cobb said.
Canadian-based insurance giant Manulife will not renew its TOP sponsorship. Cobb said VANOC may find another domestic sponsor in the life insurance industry.
Cobb said the IOC told VANOC that the current roster of eight TOP sponsors would be 11 by 2010.
“From a budgeting standpoint that’s what we need for the revenue to come in,” Cobb said. “With the exception of computers -- which they’re still working on -- all the categories that we really need to put the Games on, especially in the technology areas, are in place.”
On the Schedule: Mascot This Month, Two Years To-Go in February
The Vancouver 2010 mascots will be unveiled in Surrey, B.C. on Nov. 27. Two days later, plans for the 2008 phase of the Cultural Olympiad will be released at the historic Commodore Ballroom in Vancover
VANOC will release its latest quarterly financial report in early December.
Two-year countdown events planned for February will be held nationwide in Vancouver, Whistler, Ottawa and Quebec City.
The IOC 2010 Coordination Commission will meet with VANOC and IOC President Jacques Rogge will make his first appearance in the Olympic city since 2005. A sponsor conference will also be convened in February.
In Whistler, the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup will serve as the first official test event for Vancouver 2010.
VANOC CEO John Furlong said February symbolizes the transition from planning to operations.
“February marks the start of this VANOC CEO John Furlong says February will be a big month for Vancouver. (B.Mackin/ATR)new era in earnest in that we have literally almost an event a day for a month,” he said.
Vancouver 2010 Helps Power a Casino
Executive vice-president of construction Dan Doyle admitted at this week’s post-board meeting news conference that VANOC contributed $600,000 to replace the power supply to Hastings Racecourse and Slots, adjacent to the Pacific Coliseum, site of figure skating in 2010.
Great Canadian Gaming, which opened a 150-slot machine casino at the city-owned track on Nov. 10, paid the other half of the $1.2 million project.
The work happened at the same time as a power supply upgrade to the adjacent Coliseum.
News of the spending drew the attention of politician and Olympics critic Harry Bains.
“This is typical of VANOC, they don’t give you full details on how they arrive at those numbers and why taxpayer dollars are being used to upgrade a private facility,” said Bains.
“Why has (Great Canadian Gaming) not paid the full price?”
Taser Inquiry Set
The British Columbia government will hold a public inquiry in the new year into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport.
The 40-year-old spent 10 hours on Oct. 13-14 in the airport’s customs hall after arriving from Europe on what was apparently the first flight of his life.
A video made by an eyewitness shows Dziekanski throwing furniture and a laptop computer near the international arrivals exit. Less than 30-seconds after four RCMP officers arrived, he was shocked by a Taser. Officers tackled him, but he died before paramedics arrived.
Five weeks after Dziekanski’s death, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell apologized and ordered the inquiry. The B.C. Coroner Service will hold a separate inquest into Dziekanski’s death May 5-16, 2008. The incident sparked a wave of public criticism and even complaints from Poland’s ambassador to Canada, Piotr Ogrodzinski.
VANOC CEO John Furlong said there has been no reaction from the International Olympic Committee or Polish sports officials.
“This is really an unfortunate, regrettable event, but it’s not going to impact on the 2010 Games,” said VANOC chairman Jack Poole.
With reporting from Vancouver by Bob Mackin.
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