VANOC breaks even, to be dissolved 4 years after 2010 Winter Games

Dec 19 2017, 7:08 pm

More than four years after the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the board and organization that was responsible for planning and delivering the event will be dissolved.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) has released its final financial report, stating that it has no lingering liabilities and that there are no funds owing to any creditors.

At its peak, the non-profit organization had a workforce of 50,000 paid employees, contractors and volunteers.

While many may have assumed that the organization had ceased all operations in 2010, that is not the case. Over its dissolution period, beginning on August 1, 2010 and ending on June 27, 2014, VANOC was still a formal organization with staff and a working budget to settle outstanding legal, insurance, and financial matters:

  • 2011: $1.5 million, 60 full and part-time staff
  • 2012: $414,000, approximately 12 part-time staff
  • 2013: $120,000, approximately 8 part-time staff
  • 2014: $95,000, approximately 5 part-time staff

Throughout this period, there were also other costs of $700,000 for audit, legal and administrative costs. The formal address of the 2003-formed organization was relocated from its large City-owned office building near Boundary Road (now the new headquarters of the Vancouver Police Department) to its original pre-2006 office space at The Landing in Gastown – within the space of the TwentyTen Group, a marketing agency created by former VANOC senior staff.

But when it comes to the big picture of the financial report, VANOC says it has broken even with $1.895 billion in revenues and expenditures. There is neither a surplus or deficit as expenditures are matched by revenues.

“Eleven years ago British Columbians and Canadians from coast to coast to coast celebrated the news that the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games were awarded to Vancouver and Whistler. Today we sign off on the final chapter of that story with a positive financial outcome and the successful dissolution of our Board and the project as a whole,” said Ken Dobell, Chairman of the Board.

“VANOC achieved their goal of delivering outstanding Games with debt-free lasting legacies including state of the art sport facilities, knowledge and capacity for organizing major events and nation-wide shared pride and unity.”

Over 2,700 expenditure contracts and over 250 revenue contracts were settled and closed during the dissolution period. It was also involved in an 18 month long BC Coroner ordered safety audit process for the Whistler Sliding Centre, which led to the creation of a 1,700 page report that has become a ‘benchmark’ for Sliding Centre safety and allows for the venue to continue to host international competitions.

VANOC has also disposed of all its assets and fulfilled its responsibilities of restoring and remediating all sports venues and sites used by its operations.

VANOC’s financial responsibilities revolved exclusively around the construction of new sporting venues and the much larger budget of operating the event.

The following encompasses the final finances of VANOC’s operating budget and does not include sports venue construction costs as it was already detailed in the 2010 report. The venue portion of VANOC’s budget has already been accounted for.

  • OPERATING REVENUES
    • IOC contribution: $484,959,000
    • IOC international sponsorship: $173,948,000
    • Domestic sponsorship: $730,989,000
    • Marketing rights royalties: ($186,759,000)
    • Ticketing: $269,500,000
    • Licensing and merchandising: $58,179,000
    • Government of Canada: $74,401,000
    • Government of British Columbia: $113,395,000
    • Other revenues: $176,106,000
    • Total operating revenues: $1,894,718
  •  OPERATING EXPENSES
    • Revenue, marketing and communications: $167,919,000
    • Sports and games operations: $287,972,000
    • Service operations: $730,623,000
    • Technology: $452,425,000
    • Workforce and sustainability: $132,073,000
    • Finance: $115,799,000
    • Subtotal: $1,886,811
    • Foreign exchange loss, net: $7,957,000
    • Transfer from venue fund: ($50,000)
    • Total operating expenses: $1,894,718

 

Featured Image: s.yume via Flickr

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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