Public being Shut Out of Olympics - Page 2

quobobo · #21 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 12:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdinVan

Why do people divulge these kinds of personal details? Couldn't your point have been made without referring to your comfortable financial situation?

Yeah, that post was hilarious.

Normal way to say it: "I could spend that money on other things which are much more worthwhile."

zivan56's way to say it. "I could spend that money on other things which are much more worthwhile, AND JUST SO THERE'S NO MISUNDERSTANDINGS I HAVE THE MONEY TO DO SO. Also I have a very nice HDTV."

Distill3d · #22 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 12:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

I view it as a once in a lifetime situation.

Twice in mine. However, I doubt we'll ever see the winter Olympics in this country again after this debacle.

In all honesty, there's too much bitching and complaining about the cost of the games. Not just monetary, but the toll it'll take on our transit network, our airports, our city, etc. In all honesty, for something we'll only ever really experience once, its worth it.

Yes, arena's like GM Place and the likes have seating capacity limits and not everyone is going to be able to purchase tickets to every game. That said, corporate sponsors like Visa and Coca Cola shouldn't have been to buy up blocks of tickets before the public was able to. Like really, watch footage from some of the events over the last few Olympics and you'll see thousands of empty seats in sections reserved for sponsors. These seats should be available to the public.

I think what the IOC needs is some new blood to come in and shake things up a bit. Someone who can remember that sports are about the athletes and the fans, not the big money sponsorships and the bottom line. Sadly, that'll never happen.

Yume-sama · #23 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 12:28 AM**

I remember reading that there were LESS corporate tickets, and in less prime places, for these Olympics than in any Olympics prior. But let's be honest, if you're going to spend 10's of millions of dollars, you're going to get special treatment. Heck, even if you are a wealthy individual you can still contact VANOC and buy packages that cost as much as $1.4 million, including tickets to every ceremony and hockey game... in a suite.

And yes, you are right, it will never be just about Sports. If it was, it wouldn't really have an audience... and nobody would be lining up to spend money to host it.

zivan56 · #24 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 12:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdinVan

Why do people divulge these kinds of personal details? Couldn't your point have been made without referring to your comfortable financial situation?

Wow, reading too much into things? I must be in a "comfortable financial situation" when I can afford to spend a grand...how do you know I'm not taking out a line of credit?

Besides, the point was to say price isn't the issues, its the principle. Spending so much on something so intangible (well I guess the ticket stub) is just wrong to me personally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

I view it as a once in a lifetime situation. Yes, you could buy several flat screen TV's, but in the end... you throw those away.

You can't throw away the memories of BEING there, and we're all quite lucky to have a chance

I guess we have different views on such things. When I think about buying tickets, I think about losing money, boss being pretty pissed that a took a day off, standing in line for hours to get security checked, being seated 1km away from the event/not seeing anything and taking hours to get back home due to the crowds. In the end, the close up HD experience is way better for me.

whatnext · #25 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 12:53 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

Well, aren't you special

There were tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people who felt differently and did plan ahead.

If they didn't the hotel rooms wouldn't have all sold out, over a year ago.

The early bird gets the worm.

Again, most of those rooms were taken by national teams, sponsors, workers and IOC hangers-on..NOT John Q. Public.

SpongeG · #26 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 12:58 AM**

plues who knew one or two years ago if they even wanted to come

maybe someone met their partner this past summer who is a hardcore cross country ski fan and to please/impress them say lets go to vancouver and check it out

anyway I am lucky enough to live here so I have no worries

GeeCee · #27 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 1:00 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WBC

I am being shut out of Coal Harbour gym from January to March due to Olympics. So, I will have to play pickup basketball in Burnaby...

I am strongly leaning towards forming some sort of anti-Olympics group to protest this injustice. How does "Coal Harbour Basketball Players Against Olympics" sound to you guys? Our demands are simple - Either Olympics people clear out of the Coal Harbour gym or we go to Lausanne, Switzerland and take over a gym there for 3 months when we see fit!!!

no olympics on stolen basketball courts!!!

BCPhil · #28 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 1:57 AM**

Ha, for a city that sells tourism, we have a shameful amount of hotel rooms even for regular crowds. Try getting a Hotel in CoV or Richmond or Burnaby on short notice any week in the summer. If you can, typically it will be in the hundreds a night for a room that hardly has space for a queen size bed and TV (except November, which is our low low season).

I forget the numbers, but we are right near the bottom when it comes to number of hotel rooms for cities in North America.

It sucks for the Olympic Visitors trying to stay here, but believe me, it sucks the rest of the year, every year, too.

quobobo · #29 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 2:27 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zivan56

Wow, reading too much into things? I must be in a "comfortable financial situation" when I can afford to spend a grand...how do you know I'm not taking out a line of credit?

Besides, the point was to say price isn't the issues, its the principle. Spending so much on something so intangible (well I guess the ticket stub) is just wrong to me personally.

It's not really what you said, it's the way you said it.

Also, what I've read about happiness research has indicated that buying experiences (like a ticket to an Olympic event) tends to result in greater happiness than buying possessions.

Distill3d · #30 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 9:09 AM**

Anyone see the bit about renting a car during the games on Global tonight? $150 - 250/day for a Hyundai Accent (or similar). My mom was in town last week and she rented the same car for $17/day.

mooks28 · #31 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 9:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Distill3d

Anyone see the bit about renting a car during the games on Global tonight? $150 - 250/day for a Hyundai Accent (or similar). My mom was in town last week and she rented the same car for $17/day.

Why on earth would you rent a car while here visiting during the Olympics? The roads are already going to be insane just with the people who *own* vehicles here. I know mine is getting left in its warm downtown parking spot for the 2 weeks they're on.

Vancity · #32 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 9:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mooks28

Why on earth would you rent a car while here visiting during the Olympics? The roads are already going to be insane just with the people who *own* vehicles here. I know mine is getting left in its warm downtown parking spot for the 2 weeks they're on.

Vancouver will be pretty packed, and the roads chaotic. That's part of the Olympic festivities - the city will be rockin' and the streets packed with people. I love that kind of atmosphere. It's better than deadness.

Either way, whether by skytrain, bus, or car, it's going to be packed anywhere you go for the 2 weeks that the Olympics are on. It's just the way it is. I don't know how packed it'll be in Richmond, but I highly doubt that we'll get the amount of congestion that Vancouver will get during the Olympics.

Enjoy the Olympic festivities, and atmosphere! It's a once in a lifetime chance to enjoy the Olympics at home.

Vancity · #33 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 9:52 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Distill3d

Anyone see the bit about renting a car during the games on Global tonight? $150 - 250/day for a Hyundai Accent (or similar). My mom was in town last week and she rented the same car for $17/day.

That's not surprising. I mean, with the world coming to Vancouver, I see businesses spiking up their prices, regardless of what they're selling. Tourists are coming to town, they are going to spend, spend, spend! Renting a Hyundai Accent from 17$/day to 150-250$/day. WOW.

Yume-sama · #34 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 6:44 PM**

It's not surprising because supply and demand comes in. Usually a rental company will have a huge supply left over each day, during the Olympics this won't be the case. With that said, you would have to be CRAZY to be a visitor to this city and expect that you'll actually be able to drive anywhere. You won't. You can't drive to Whistler on your own, you'll not want to bother driving to Stanley Park, Granville Island, etc.

LeftCoaster · #35 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 7:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdinVan

Why do people divulge these kinds of personal details? Couldn't your point have been made without referring to your comfortable financial situation?

$500 is a comfortable financial situation? What do you live in an alley or something??

SpongeG · #36 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 8:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Distill3d

Anyone see the bit about renting a car during the games on Global tonight? $150 - 250/day for a Hyundai Accent (or similar). My mom was in town last week and she rented the same car for $17/day.

I saw that - he only wanted to rent the car to go from Coquitlam to the airport! um he could easily take transit

but that shows joe public doesn't like transit

on the news also that cruise ship idea - they were suppossed to have a few anchored as accoms - but there hasn't been very much demand and only 1 cruise ship is going to be used $675 a night

Distill3d · #37 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 8:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vancity

That's not surprising. I mean, with the world coming to Vancouver, I see businesses spiking up their prices, regardless of what they're selling. Tourists are coming to town, they are going to spend, spend, spend! Renting a Hyundai Accent from 17$/day to 150-250$/day. WOW.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

It's not surprising because supply and demand comes in. Usually a rental company will have a huge supply left over each day, during the Olympics this won't be the case. With that said, you would have to be CRAZY to be a visitor to this city and expect that you'll actually be able to drive anywhere. You won't. You can't drive to Whistler on your own, you'll not want to bother driving to Stanley Park, Granville Island, etc.

I totally agree with a premium for the Olympics and with the old Supply v. Demand argument, but paying 10X regular price for something is ridiculous. I think the thing that companies and everyone else is forgetting and that we have to realize that this is still a functioning, breathing city, and that there are going to be people coming here that AREN'T coming for the Olympics. I mean realistically, there are going to be every day people coming for every day things during the games.

Its easy for us to sit here and say that traffic will be hell, and that really we shouldn't be driving. I won't say that I disagree with that. But what about John Doe from Salt Lake City coming for his uncles funeral in Hope? Or Bob Jones, the self employed consultant from Chicago who has a meeting with a client in Chilliwack? Hate to say it, but there's no transit or shuttles set up to get there. So, now you have two people who absolutely have to rent a car. I suppose they could fly in to Abbotsford, but who knows where he's coming from, and Vancouver IS a more prominent airport. So, because of the fact the Olympics are on, they have to fork over a serious premium for renting a car.

ckkelley · #38 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 8:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeeCee

no olympics on stolen basketball courts!!!

Yume-sama · #39 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 8:38 PM**

Well, even buses to Whistler are tacking on an extra $20 - $30 "Olympic convenience" fee. So your $30 ride becomes $50 - $60.

As for the business traveler, yeah, February is a REALLY bad time to come to town

BUT luckily, if you are traveling on business, you can write it off or have your employer pay

twoNeurons · #40 Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 10:54 PM**

Just came back from London and Paris...

I had forgotten how much money EVERYTHING costs. There are FEES EVERYWHERE for EVERYTHING.

Gatwick to London = 16 pounds.
Restaurants, fuel, attractions... all expensive.

I don't think visiting Europeans will have a problem.

As for renting a car... I'm pretty sure people want to rent a car because once they're here, they want to drive to other places. The Kootenays, Seattle, The Rockies... etc.

They will probably only be going to an event or two and want a car to get around while they're here.