Vancouver 2010 receives $110 million venue funding commitment from Government of Canada and Province of British Columbia

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) received confirmation that the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia have approved VANOC’s funding request of $110 million ($55 million each) for its venue construction program thereby ensuring sufficient funding is in place to complete its state of the art venues with lasting legacies for future generations.

“Today’s announcement is great news for the 2010 Winter Games and for all Canadians as we prepare as a province and country to host the best winter sport athletes in the world in 2010,” said Vancouver 2010 Chairman of the Board Jack Poole. “It is also excellent news for Canadian athletes dreaming of winning gold in 2010 as we can now confidently work towards providing them with the opportunity to train on Vancouver 2010 venues well before the Games in 2010.”

Poole continued: “Canadians stand to benefit from our government partners’ decision to invest further in the Games and towards lasting sport legacies for future generations. We appreciate the time and consideration our partners took in reviewing our venue program, and as we stated in February, we are fully committed to Canadian taxpayers to continue to look for every efficiency and be fiscally responsible so that our entire venue program is finished at or under the $580 million venue construction budget.”

“The venue budget of $580 million that was approved by the VANOC Board in November and confirmed today by our government partners is one of the smallest venue budgets in recent Winter Games history,” said Poole. “To complete these venues within 20 per cent of what they would have cost if they had been built in 2002 will be a monumental achievement. This speaks well of the commitment, the talent and the work ethic of our management team.”

“Our team is making excellent progress on our venue program and we are on schedule to have more than 55 percent of the construction completed by the end of the 2006 construction season,” said Vancouver 2010 Executive Vice President, Construction Dan Doyle. “In addition, our team has continued to work diligently to refine and improve the 2010 venue program and as a result, we currently have a contingency level of $66.8 million. With less than $200 million worth of construction projects remaining for 2007 and 2008, and a $66.8 million contingency, we’re confident that we can achieve our venue program on time and on budget.”

Background
VANOC formally asked the provincial and federal governments in October 2005 to share equally ($55 million each) in the funding of the estimated $110 million increase in capital costs. The $55 million request to each government included a contingency allowance of $26 million.

A March 2005 consultants’ report predicted that, due to the heated construction environment, VANOC’s capital costs could increase by more than 41 per cent or $195 million, for a total of $665 million, through to construction completion unless significant changes were made to its venue program. VANOC undertook a comprehensive project-by-project review of the venue program, including: work completed to date, the status of venue design, tendering schedules, partner agreements and the impact of rising costs on construction materials, labour and equipment. This review resulted in the identification of $85 million in cost efficiencies, which have been reflected in VANOC’s revised capital budget. The review also included a line by line assessment of the risk of costs exceeding projections. This assessment helped VANOC to form the basis of its request to senior governments for additional support.

Vancouver 2010’s $580 venue budget is 23 per cent more than the $470 million venue construction estimate contained in the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation’s 2002 submission to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). That initial capital estimate was prepared, according to IOC requirements and bid rules, in 2002 dollars with no adjustment for inflation and/or potential rising construction costs. The Bid Corporation acknowledged at the time of submission that its bid capital estimate would require adjustments for these unpredictable factors in the future.

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010.

Contact Information

VANOC Communications

Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Games

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