Sydney Olympic organizers (SOCOG) have "been ordered to
put aside any savings in the next two years to help pay for
budget blow-outs" after the cost of staging the 2000 Summer
Games reached A$2.5B, according to Michael Evans of the
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Organizers revealed that the cost of
staging the Games has increased by A$128M, or 5%, in the
past year to A$2.5B, almost A$1B more than budgeted in '96.
Organizers announced "revenue-raising measures to offset the
rise in costs," including lifting ticket sales by A$85M to
A$601M. Evans reported that SOCOG will now have to sell as
many tickets as Atlanta did in '96 -- 9.5 million -- "with a
fraction of the population" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 9/26).
NAME GAME: SOCOG will also try to sell companies the
right to put their names on "warm-up events" and Games
venues to make up the shortfall. Despite having secured
only 60% of budgeted sponsorship revenue, SOCOG plans to
approach sponsors for the naming rights to "more than 35
test events held in the lead-up to the Games as well as
naming rights to venues, with packages including advertising
signage" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 9/28).
