Still little enthusiasm in Vancouver ahead of Olympics (News Feature)

By Frank Thomas Mar 12, 2009, 12:08 GMT

Vancouver, Canada - Workers were busy tending the green areas surrounding the Richmond Olympic Oval where the world speed-skating championships are currently being held.

The world's leading biathletes were enjoying a rest day Thursday at their World Cup races on the Olympic slopes in Whistler, but construction workers were installing relaxation pools at the curling venue.

The Olympic snowboarding piste on Cypress Mountain is already in use and full of young snowboarders with well over 300 days to go before the opening ceremony of the Vancouver on February 12, 2010.

However, there isn't a single Olympic banner at the airport in Richmond and there is little evidence in Vancouver itself to suggest that one of the world's great sporting events will be hosted here an just under a year's time.

'The atmosphere in Vancouver isn't bad. After all, a lot of tickets have already been sold,' said Greg Alexis, media relations officer for the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC).

The figure-skating events in the Pacific Coliseum have been sold out for months, he says, while tens of thousands of ice hockey tickets have been snapped up.

'For the top games, tickets were issued by lottery so some couldn't understand why they only got tickets for games involving Belarus and other less attractive teams,' explained Alexis.

Despite the current lack of enthusiasm, organizers remain confident of selling out all events, although to achieve this more than 100,000 of the 1.6 million tickets available will have to be sold at a reduced rate of 25 Canadian dollars (19 US dollars).

VANOC hope the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies as well as the daily evening medal ceremonies, which will take place in the 55,000-capacity BC Place, home of American football team BC Lions, will be the highlights of the 2010 Games for many spectators.

'We don't know yet how we will fill the stadium each night but it depends on which popstars are pencilled in,' said Alexis.

Opposite the stadium sits the 18,600-seater GM Place, where the Olympic ice hockey final will take place.

The venue will be renamed Canada Hockey Place for the duration of the Olympics but at the moment there is no sign to show that one of the highlights of the 2010 Winter Games will take place here.

Instead, all eyes remain on the Vancouver Canucks and their attempts to make it into the NHL play-offs.

Most of the concern in recent months has been financial, not least because Canada is currently experiencing a national budget deficit of 27.76 billion dollars, it's first in 12 years.

The potential collapse of major sponsor General Motors is also a worry for organizers, who still expect to bring the Olympics in on budget at a cost of 1.76 billion Canadian dollars.

VANOC is still in search of corporate sponsors to fill a sponsorship hole of around 30 million dollars while the completed competition venues, which cost 580 million Canadian dollars, have been paid for by the provincial and national governments.

Vancouver also recently received approval to borrow 374 million to complete its 800-million-dollar athletes' village after private- sector funding dried up in the wake of falling property prices.

Not surprisingly, this has led to claims by the event's critics that, just like the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal, it will take decades to pay back these sums.

To add insult to injury, Canada failed to win a gold medal in Montreal, or when it hosted the Winter Games 12 years later in Calgary.

'Of course we are placing our hopes on our ice hockey team but are also confident that something is possible in speed-skating, short- track or even curling,' said Alexis.