The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games released interim financial statements for the quarter ending April 30, 2006 Wednesday which shows that the organizing committee is on budget and on schedule.
Chief Executive Officer John Furlong said, “this first quarterly report is an important step in providing a greater degree of transparency, public accountability and awareness to the taxpayers of BC and Canada – particularly as it related to our venue construction budget. We have set the bar high to achieve excellence in management and the report speaks to not only what we are accomplishing but also how we are accomplishing it”.
Furlong said the financial statements demonstrate Vancouver 2010’s confidence that the venue program will be delivered within the $580 million venue development budget announced last February.
VANOC Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Rex Mclennan said that while Games organizing committees are not required to issue quarterly financial reports, the decision to do so speaks to VANOC’s core values, which include building and maintaining public trust.
VANOC’s operating expenses for the quarter ending April 30, 2006 were $25.1 million and now total $78.8 million since project inception.
The 2010 Games operating budget is to be funded through private revenue sources – including broadcast fees, sponsorship fees and ticket sales.
VANOC has formally asked the provincial and federal governments to share equally in funding an estimated $110 million increase in the 2010 Games venue program ($55 million each).
Furlong said, “while we await final confirmation from the federal and provincial governments on our venue development funding request, we are please to report that ongoing efforts to find efficiencies and manage venue costs are bearing fruit. With approximately two thirds of our venue development budget now committed, we remain on track to deliver the 2010 Games venue program for $580 million.
CP reports a spokesman for David Emerson, the federal minister responsible for the Games, saying the government is still reviewing VANOC’s request. The British Columbia government’s additional contribution is contingent on the federal payment.
Furlong said savings have been found in many areas to offset venue cost increases, including a redesign of the trail system at the Nordic competition venue and moving the broadcast centre from Richmond to downtown Vancouver.
Furlong acknowledged that some costs have risen well above what was expected in 2002 when the Olympic bid was made, such as the cost of building a sliding centre at Whistler.
He pointed out the recent agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation to stage men’s and women’s hockey on North American-size ice surfaces, saving $10 million in retrofit costs, as an example of creative approaches to cost savings.
VANOC’s operations vice-president Terry Wright said construction is on track to deliver one of the earliest venue completions in Olympic history.
VANOC’s next quarterly financial report will be issued in the fall in conjunction with its audited annual financial statements.
