Vancouver 2010 is about half way in its target of securing about 3,000 high-quality rooms to house the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the National Olympic Committees from participating nations, and athletes’ families during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
The Whistler Question reports that Terry Wright, VANOC’s senior VP of service operations and ceremonies, says without adequate accommodations for these groups the success of the Games could be in jeopardy. Wright said, “VANOC is not speculating on the number of rooms required; the numbers that VANOC works with are historic numbers, therefore there is less chance of rooms being released”.
As of July 1, 2005 VANOC had secured 1,300 rooms in the Whistler area where some Olympic competitions and all the Paralympic competitions will be held. The rooms are not limited only to hotels and hotel-type properties that offer front-desk and housekeeping service. Wright said many more rooms are needed.
Meanwhile the Whistler Question reports that Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic organizers have received no requests to move some or all of the Paralympic sledge-hockey games to Vancouver from Whistler and are still fully committed to a “compact” Games with all events in Whistler, said Rex McLennan, VANOC’s senior vice-president and chief financial officer at last week’s Olympic/Paralympic flag raising ceremony in Whistler.
He said that although he has heard talk of moving some of the hockey games, it remains purely theoretical at this point.
McClennan said that if a request to move some or all of the games does come, it would likely come from the “federations” – in this case Hockey Canada.
Whistler residents are concerned that a planned $35 million Paralympic ice arena and other facilities – one of Whistler’s proposed Games “legacies” – might be in jeopardy.
