VANOC Still Gaining Sponsorships, Total $365M Through January
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Furlong, VANOC Up To
$365M In Sponsorship Money |
VANOC received about $66M (all figures Canadian), "most of it in cash," from domestic and int'l sponsors during "three dark months of the financial crisis" in the quarter ended January 31, elevating VANOC's total sponsorship collection through the quarter to $365M, according to quarterly reports cited by David Ebner of the GLOBE & MAIL. VANOC "expects a total of about" $950M from sponsors, which accounts for "about half" of the organizing body's total $1.8B operating budget. About $500M of the sponsorships is "to be in cash," and $450M is "so-called value-in-kind, such as cars from General Motors Canada or telecommunications network equipment from Nortel." But with "ailing sponsors such as GM and Nortel, and major supporters suddenly in corporate flux, such as Petro-Canada facing a merger with Suncor Energy Inc., the big challenge and uncertainty for VANOC is collecting" about $200M from sponsors for FY '09, ending in July, and $400M for FY '10. One "persistent gap in the sponsors budget is an estimated $40[M] shortfall among" IOC TOP sponsors, as two slots are empty, though VANOC CEO John Furlong yesterday said the IOC is in "serious negotiations" to fill those slots. Ebner notes GM "has been a constant worry ... among financially stressed sponsors," as it is "one of VANOC's largest backers" at $71M. More than half of the GM commitment "has been delivered," including $14M in cash, and "most of the sponsorship is in vehicles, a deployed fleet of 200 currently set to spike to 4,629 next February." GM Canada Olympic Partnership Manager Tom Laurie: "We're going to fully deliver" (GLOBE & MAIL, 3/26).
TONE IT DOWN: The GLOBE & MAIL's Rod Mickleburgh reports the "sober-minded" IOC has told the city of Vancouver to "scale back its plans to party, party, party during" the '10 Games. VANOC Exec VP/Revenue, Marketing & Communications Dave Cobb: "They've made the observation that we may not need as much as is being planned, because there is a lot." Cobb said that the IOC was "concerned that the swath of live sites and celebration areas originally set aside for the 17-day event was more than at any previous Summer or Winter Olympics." Cobb said that VANOC, "spurred by the added impetus of the current economic downturn," has "taken IOC concerns to heart." Mickleburgh notes a "shortage of sponsorship money" prompted the Vancouver City Council this week to "slash Olympic spending on public entertainment" to $18M, down from the previous budget of $23M. The city is planning "two live sites downtown, featuring entertainment, large video screens to show Games events and other Olympic-related activity," but VANOC officials are "not ruling out consolidating everything to a single site, if money continues to be hard to come by" (GLOBE & MAIL, 3/26).
TICKET MASTERS: In Vancouver, Jeff Lee reports VANOC last year sold almost $95M worth of tickets for the '10 Games, and the "massive infusion of cash for VANOC came as the committee sold every single ticket now available for the Games." VANOC said that it "expects to make a 'significant' number of tickets available to the public in a second round of sales this summer" (VANCOUVER SUN, 3/26). Cobb: "It will be a brand-new process. It won't be tied to what happened in the first phase. We're working on those details now as to whether it will be a lottery or not, but there won't be any carryover." Cobb said that suites at the Pacific Coliseum, BC Place and GM Place are worth between $25-30M and that the "majority have been sold." Cobb noted the Olympic family, "made up mostly of officials and sponsors, may also return some unneeded tickets" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 3/26).
SWEATER QUEST: The GLOBE & MAIL's Allan Maki reports the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) has approved a "fifth version of a modified Hockey Canada logo and jersey," which now has been submitted to the IOC for "final consent." The jersey is "believed to be strikingly similar to the traditional sweater worn by Canadian hockey teams at the last three Winter Olympics." The jersey has a "Maple Leaf on the front but not a silhouetted hockey player framed inside," and there also is a COC logo "located on the lower back of the sweater." Maki notes the traditional Hockey Canada jersey was "considered a breach of IOC rules that restrict advertising and the use of national sports federation logos during the Games." The delay in "getting the jerseys onto the market is costing untold dollars per day" (GLOBE & MAIL, 3/26).
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