[ravman]

West Vancouver families donate $1 million for Olympic buy-in

Jeff Lee
Vancouver Sun

Monday, June 16, 2008

METRO VANCOUVER - West Vancouver tapped six well-to-do families to come up with a $1 million donation to buy its way into being called a 2010 Winter Olympic venue city.

On Monday West Vancouver Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones said the six families agreed to put up the money - for which they will get tax-deductible receipts - in order to meet the minimum criteria by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the municipality to use the Olympic rings.

West Vancouver's Cypress Mountain is already hosting the snowboard and freestyle competitions in 2010, but until now the city was not considered an official "host venue city."

That lack of status stemmed from the fact that the Vancouver Organizing Committee expected a financial contribution from the municipality, but West Vancouver, which is already dealing with high property tax rates, refused to tap into its coffers.

"It was the view of this council and the community in general that property taxes shouldn't go to Vanoc. On the other hand there was tremendous support for fundraising, for other ways to work out partnerships and we believe in that," Goldsmith-Jones said.

"I think it is fair to say that Vanoc has an expectation that to achieve venue city or host city status there is a financial commitment and we had to figure out a way to make that work for us," she said. "This was sort of the price of entry."

Goldsmith-Jones said the city lobbied a number of families to help raise the donation, which will be turned over to Vanoc to help pay for two world cup events in snowboarding and freestyle skiing, and also to help underwrite the cost of the Cultural Olympiad program in the city.

She identified the families as the "Southcotts, Allards, Brodies, O'Neils, McLaughlins, Warks." She wouldn't say how much each family contributed, but said "it really was meant as a lump sum to get West Vancouver to the agreement."

The families won't get special access to tickets or other Olympic services, she said, although they will be able to write off their donations with a tax receipt.

"They really don't get anything. They care about West Vancouver, they care that everyone in West Vancouver has an opportunity to participate, and they are community-minded people," she said.

The mayor said the buy-in gives West Vancouver the right to use the Olympic rings, participation in the torch relay, the right to call itself a "venue city", and "one free visit by the mascots."

West Vancouver plans to raise another $1 million in donations from its residents in order to put on Olympic-related celebrations at the city's new community centre. The facility includes a new "Spirit Square atrium" that was funded in part with a $500,000 contribution from the province.

Vanoc CEO John Furlong said the $1 million fee wasn't a "cash grab" by the organizing committee.

"All of the communities that are involved with us who are venue communities have made contributions and we want our venue cities to be right in the middle it with us helping to defray the costs of staging the Games," he said.

"It isn't just the money, it is the contribution to the Games. This is about a partnership, about being part of it, about taking on some of the responsibility to deliver the project . . .What the community here is doing is taking on some of that responsibility."