This comes from the Antiolympic's Coalitinon of Vancouver against the 2010 "winter games".
Thanks Chris.

OLYMPICS: FANTASIES AND FACTS 

DO THE OLYMPICS GENERATE MONEY FOR THE ECONOMY? 
FANTASY: Olympic boosters portray the Games as huge money making events that benefit 
all of society. Gordon Campbell and the Vancouver-Whistler OlympicBid Corporation 
say the Games will cost only $600 million and will generate $10 billion in profits. 
FACTS: No modern Games have made money when all costs, including public money and land 
transfers, infrastructure costs, and security are factored in. The source of most of 
these numbers for the Vancouver Games is the provincial government's own documents 
(reported by Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun 

Bid process: $34 million (ends July, 2003) Convention centre: $500 million 
Sea to Sky highway: $1.7 billion Staging the Games: $1.3 billion Rapid transit 
line plus buses, etc.. $2 billion Security: (not included in current bid) - cost for 
Salt Lake City: $560 million. Total: > $6 billion, not including other hidden 
costs (see below) 

This is a best estimate, given that land giveaways and other deals are kept off the 
books. Provincial and federal tax contributions earmarked so far: $620 million. 
Bid-boosters have excluded a number of projects (e.g., Sea-to-Sky) from estimates of 
cost but included them in estimates of profits. Other hidden costs: compensation 
for Whistler ski resort (est. millions, due to disruption of tourism!), the cost to 
B.C. taxpayers of providing a blanket indemnity against legal and financial risks 
associated with the Games, land giveaways (including the $90 million Callaghan 
Valley. Excluding such expenditures from the bottom line is nothing more than 
Enron-style accounting that hides the true cost of hosting the Olympics. 

Some numbers from past 
Games: 
MONTREAL, 1976: Debt: $1 billion (globe and mail; abcnews.com) 
LAKE PLACID, 1980: Debt: $11 million CALGARY, 1988: Debt: $910 million 
BARCELONA, 1992: Debt: US$1.4 billion 
SYDNEY, 2000: Games billed as self-financing by politicians were a 
$2.3-billion loss (Auditor General New South Wales Report on Sydney (2000 Olympics) 
EXPO 86: Debt: $311 million (paid by provincial lottery) 
True costs for L.A., ATLANTA and SALT LAKE CITY are difficult to obtain, as local and 
state funds and giveaways of property have been omitted (see US General Accounting 
Office analysis at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/gg00183.pdf.) 

Officially, Atlanta made US$10 million, but that excludes the US$1 billion taxpayers 
spent on infrastructure. Utah tax revenues post-Olympics have fallen so far short 
of predictions that the state is facing a US$155 million shortfall, has slashed 
spending, dipped into emergency funding, and may have to order more employee 
layoffs. http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,400008943,00.html 
Taxpayers in Atlanta and Barcelona are still paying a surcharge to work off the debt 
from the Games. 

The Calgary profit spin: Excerpted from Pete McMartin, Vancouver Sun, Friday, April 
05, 2002: 
The [Vancouver-Whistler] bid committee's argument would be that the Olympics will make 
money, and generate billions of dollars in economic activity. The prime example of a 
profit-maker they use is the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. But did Calgary make a 
"profit" in the business sense of the word? The International Olympic 
Committee claims the 1988 Games made a $90-million profit. The Calgary Olympic 
Association claims they made a $150-million profit. But in 1999, Toronto Star 
columnist Thomas Walkom went to Calgary to test those claims. 

Searching through the archives of Calgary city hall and the Calgary Olympic 
Development Association -- the body responsible for running the Olympic legacies -- 
he found confidential internal memos, contracts, a 1993 audit and the organizing 
committee's official report released in late 1988. His conclusion: The Calgary 
Olympics were a money loser, and could only claim to be profitable if the huge 
subsidies received from federal, provincial and municipal governments for Olympic 
venues were excluded. "as the auditor's report also points out," Walkom 
wrote, "the organizing committee's figures do not include the cost of building 
most of the Olympic facilities. "All in all, the three levels of government 
spent about $461 million on the Calgary Games: $261 million from Ottawa, $133 
million from Alberta and $67 million from Calgary." 

DOES HOSTING THE OLYMPICS GENERATE JOBS? 
FANTASY: Campbell states that the Games will create 228,000 new jobs(Based on a study 
conducted by the BC Ministry of Competition, Science and Enterprise) 
FACTS: What the study actually said: 228,000 worker-years over 30 years: 8,000 
full-time jobs, boosting provincial employment levels by four-tenths of one per 
cent. However, it is important to note that the study failed to correctly 
distinguish between incremental GDP and job creation and that which would have 
occurred regardless of the Games. The corrected numbers reveal a much smaller figure 
than that cited above (see David Schreck, strategicthoughts.com.) 

In the state of Utah (Salt Lake City Games), average job growth for the Olympic impact 
period (1996-2001) was 37% less than the pre-Olympic period (1990-1995) (US Dept. of 
Labor - State and Area Employment, Nov. 22, 2002) 

DOES HOSTING THE GAMES INCREASE TOURISM? 
FANTASY: The Games will boost BC's image internationally, and increase tourism 
throughout the province. 
FACTS: Intrawest, owner of Whistler resort is negotiating compensation for 
lost tourism business during the Olympics. 

Whistler is already considered the Number One ski resort in the 
world (Pete McMartin, Vancouver Sun). And as Rafe Mair asks, is the winter downpour 
season really the time to showcase Vancouver (or Victoria)? 

"Not only is the economic impact relatively insignificant, it is also heavily 
focused in the host city itself. In fact, other regions of the host country have 
actually experienced a net reduction in economic activity... particularly in 
relation to travel and tourism". (Jones Lang LaSalle report on the Salt Lake 
City Olympic Games) 

Excerpt: Winter Olympics - Business Suffers As Locals Flee - By Matthew Garrahan, 
February 20 2002. Salt Lake City may be buzzing with overseas visitors attending the 
Winter Olympics, but local businesses are suffering because so many residents have 
taken holidays to avoid the games. The Olympics has also had a negative impact on 
local tourism, despite the influx of overseas visitors. 

ARE THE GAMES A GOOD INVESTMENT? 
FANTASY: Many in the private sector support the Games and they know good investments, 
so this must be a good thing. 
FACTS: Public funds are paying for the lion's share of the costs of the Games. 
Taxpayers are legally responsible for any debt left over from the Games (The host 
governments sign this contract with the IOC, Rule 42 of the IOC Charter). 

So, if the these Games are such a great investment, why isn't the private sector 
footing the bill? Read on.. 

DO SPECIAL INTERESTS MAKE BIG PROFITS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE GAMES? 
FANTASY: The Olympics are about promoting amateur sport and fostering 
peaceful competition between nations. 
FACTS: Host cities pay big bucks just to enter the bid process: Just bidding for the 
2010 Games is costing $34 million Cdn. That includes a US$500,000 non-refundable 
cheque the 2010 Bid Corp must give the IOC for being selected to the short list. 
That's on top of $100,000 US just for submitting a bid. (http://www.canada.com). 

Television rights alone are worth billions more and the IOC is not shy about marketing 
various products. In short, it's a multinational business enterprise dressed up as 
amateur sport. 

Athletes have trouble covering their training and traveling expenses. It's not unusual 
to see them holding fundraisers in local pubs. 
The American taxpayers subsidized the Salt Lake City Games with billions of dollars. 
It worked out to US$625,000 for every athlete at the Games. Not just American 
athletes, every athlete. How much of that did the athletes see? 

Olympic officials fly First Class around the world, stay in 5-star hotels, and are 
driven around in limousines. The Bid Corp has guaranteed that hundreds of 
internationally protected persons," IOC members, executive, staff, the 
presidents and secretaries general of international sporting federations and their 
guests will all be flown by helicopter to Whistler whenever they want to go. 

Corruption: Recent Olympics have shown the underside of the Olympic movement 
with fixed judging, drug scandals, and payoffs to IOC members. Marc Hodler, "a 
longtime member of the IOC's ruling inner circle" detailed what he described as 
the systematic buying and selling of the Olympic Games. Hodler cited a pattern of 
bribery and other ethical malpractice in the bidding and selection of Olympic host 
cities. He also cited bribes of up to $1 million and payoffs of up to $5 million. 
Hodler used the word "bribe" to describe the $500,000 scholarship fund set 
up by Salt Lake that benefited the relatives of six IOC members. 
Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, regarding the Salt Lake City Games: 
"It's got to do with land swaps exchanging worthless land for valuable land, 
it's got to do with wealthy developers, and it's got to do with the enrichment of 
billionaires." 

The Vancouver-Whistler Olympic Bid: Secret deals are being negotiated with select 
First Nations bands, and municipal and corporate entities. Crown corporations are 
handing over contributions of public money: ICBC, against their Charter, 
gave $1.8 million to the Bid Corp while raising driver premiums --B.C. Lottery 
Corporation donated $1.5 million --B.C. Hydro has given $1.1 million --Canada Post 
has given between $150,000 and $500,000 This spending is on projects that are 
outside the mandate of the Crown corporations. 

The Callaghan Valley: Back-room deals are being made to develop a mega ski resort at 
public expense, using the Olympics as cover: The provincial government has promised 
the Bid Corp more than $90 million of publicly-owned Crown land in the Callaghan 
Valley for the Athlete's Village and Nordic ski areas. BC taxpayers may pay for 
development of the resort, too. Current estimated costs for the village and 
facilities exceed $100 million. The total cost so far is close to $200 million, and 
likely to grow. 

The Bid Corp highlights their long-term goal of future development of this 
land/facility as 'restricted housing' (pg. 31 Bid Corp proposal). In other words, 
what will most likely occur is that the people of BC give away the land, pay for the 
development, and the private sector will get to keep the resulting condos. Further 
more, someone else has already claimed the land title. In the mid '80s the 
mother-daughter team of Nan and Diane Hartwick proposed a multi-season resort in the 
Callaghan and won the right to develop the area. The government of Bill Vander Zalm 
tried to insert their political cronies instead. A series of lawsuits followed and 
the issue is still not resolved. However, the RMCP Commercial Crimes unit in 
Vancouver has reopened an investigation into the actions of various persons, 
including Vander Zalm. Significantly, some of the same players from the earlier 
period have resurfaced. One of those named in the papers on the original Callaghan 
lawsuits is now Director for the Whistler Bid Corp who is a government of BC 
bureaucrat seconded from BC Assets and Lands/Crown Lands. 

The Whistler Bid CEO, Jack Poole, is also current CEO of Concert Properties, a condo 
construction company and bid sponsor. Mr. Poole was former CEO of Vancouver Land 
Corp. (VLC) in the '80s and early '90s. VLC received 'free' land in Vancouver from 
former mayor Gordon Campbell to develop housing for the city's poor. The condos 
wound up on the highend market. 

Corporate sponsorship and preferential treatment: Excerpted from, Corporate Games - 
bid donations total $16M Andrew Petrozzi, Vancouver Sun, November 06, 2002 

Linda Oglov, vice-president of marketing for the Vancouver 2010 Bid 
Corporation said donating money will not mean companies can expect 
preferential treatment should the Vancouver bid succeed she quickly added: "What 
I always tell our sponsors, and I mean it, is that we will remember our friends. 
We'll remember the companies that came forward and supported us when we tried to 
bring this opportunity to British Columbia." 

WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH ALL THAT MONEY? 
FANTASY: Governments say they can't get blood from a stone when it comes to funding 
for nurses, teachers, hospitals, schools, women¡¯s shelters, etc.. 
FACT: The various governments have now admitted that they are not broke and that there 
is funding for projects they like. Taking the conservative estimate of $6 billion as 
a starting figure, here is what we could buy instead of the Games: 

$1 billion for Forestry Renewal, creating a value- added, sustainable forestry. 
$1 billion to create a Sustainable Fishery. $1 billion for Health Care 
$1 billion for Education $1 billion for Alternative 
Energy. 
There is still a billion plus left for other initiatives such as reinvigorating 
Canada's agricultural base, expanding programs for ending homelessness and chronic 
hunger, water system protection nation wide, the list goes on and after all this 
perhaps then we could host one helluva party! 

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: 

NO GAMES 2010 COALITION 
CHRIS SHAW 
828 W 10TH AVE, VANCOUVER, BC 
875-4111 (EXT. 68373) 
0r csshawlab@hotmail.com