Total cost is now 9.2 Billion $'s and counting

[Cateyes]

Here are the total costs so far. Including infrastructure. Suddenly 6billion doesn't look so bad....sigh.

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http://this.org/magazine/2010/01/12/alt ... uver-2010/

[Liberty and Truth]

That list is totally misleading - but you knew that already. You can take off at least $4 billion from that list - the Canada Line and the Sea to Sky highway are infra-structure that are going to be around for many years to come and really can't just be written off as "costs" of the Olympics. The Canada Line is awesome and something that is going to benefit transportation in Vancouver for a long time. I rode it for several days - excellent way to get around. It should also pay for itself many times over, just in reducing congestion in downtown Vancouver.

[RR24K]

That list is totally misleading - but you knew that already. You can take off at least $4 billion from that list - the Canada Line and the Sea to Sky highway are infra-structure that are going to be around for many years to come and really can't just be written off as "costs" of the Olympics. The Canada Line is awesome and something that is going to benefit transportation in Vancouver for a long time. I rode it for several days - excellent way to get around. It should also pay for itself many times over, just in reducing congestion in downtown Vancouver.

I have used it few times it's great for getting from YVR to Canuck games.

Going off topic here but it only topic so who cares.

[Cateyes]

That list is totally misleading - but you knew that already. You can take off at least $4 billion from that list - the Canada Line and the Sea to Sky highway are infra-structure that are going to be around for many years to come and really can't just be written off as "costs" of the Olympics. The Canada Line is awesome and something that is going to benefit transportation in Vancouver for a long time. I rode it for several days - excellent way to get around. It should also pay for itself many times over, just in reducing congestion in downtown Vancouver.

So you want to explain it away at 6billion saying that also included the infrastructure but at 9billion you still use the same tired excuses. It wouldn't matter if it was 100billion you would use the same tired excuses.

Ok what the heck. Take out canline and seasky. It's still almost 6billion! Poof....gone!

850mil for a convention centre that will hardly be used. What a deal!

Almost 1billion for a condo project. A condo project! 1 BILLION! What were they supposed to originally cost $250Mil.......sigh.....

[coffeeFreak]

BUT, I would suspect the costs would not have been as high if those "jobs weren't "jammed" through in time for the big show...I can't help but wonder how up to standard some of those jobs are, I guess time will tell.

[Cateyes]

BUT, I would suspect the costs would not have been as high if those "jobs weren't "jammed" through in time for the big show...I can't help but wonder how up to standard some of those jobs are, I guess time will tell.

Those 1Billion dollar condos supposedly have walls as thin as paper. At least that is what the athletes are saying. And these are supposed to be top of the line luxury condo's. There's your sign.....sigh...

[LoneWolf_53]

*bleep/Jo*

[Al Czervic]

Funny they missed the billion dollar singing bonus given to all of the public sector Unions so they would take long term deals and NOT strike during the Olympics. Considering all of those deals gave huge raises as well and we did not know a recession was pending you can add a few extra billion in additional wages for the long term deal as being Olympic related expenses as well. After all had we just done a two year deal we would all be seeing zero’s in public sector pay increases as we will only finally see this year for the public sector. This way really you could argue the costs for the Olympics is really over $ 10 Billion for the games.


I am pretty certain the new Super Ferries were an Olympic expense as well and maybe we can add in our new Kelowna Bridge and the removal of the Coquihalla tolls. Also I am pretty positive that the MLA pay raises were all done in advance because of the Olympics and also the new hospital in Abbotsford can be an Olympic expense as too. Using NDP math I am pretty positive we can prove the infidels organizing the Olympic games really spent $ 100 BILLION DOLLARS. And that doesn’t even count all of the slums that were bought up and renovated and turned into homeless housing in the lower downtown eastside and of course we have the Olympic related costs of Carole James new Happy Chinese New Year ad on youtube as well. The inhumanity of it all.

[LoneWolf_53]

Now now Al don't forget the airport runway extension in Kelowna as well as airport parking lot expansion.

I mean for sure some Olympic visitors must have come through here.

[Darkre]

The athlete's village expense isn't a fair one to be on there either. The condos are going to be sold to recoup most of the money spent on them. Plus the City of Vancouver ended up paying for those.

While the Vancouver organizing committee contributed $30 million to the billion-dollar project, the City of Vancouver paid for the rest. The city will retain 250 of the 1,100 units for social housing, but the remainder will be sold on the open market to recoup costs.

So it cost BC $30million for 250 social housing units in downtown Vancouver. That's only $120,000 per unit. Seems like a hell of a bargain to me

BTW if the HST goes through, BC stands to get around $30million off of the sale of these condos so technically 250 social housing units may have been created in downtown Vancouver at no cost to BC

[Darkre]

Almost 1billion for a condo project. A condo project! 1 BILLION! What were they supposed to originally cost $250Mil.......sigh.....

According to the Vancouver Sun "the $1-billion project went approximately $130 million over budget" plus as I said above, the City of Vancouver paid for the Athlete's Village themselves and plan to recoup this expense by selling the condos.

[steven lloyd]

Now now Al don't forget the airport runway extension in Kelowna as well as airport parking lot expansion. I mean for sure some Olympic visitors must have come through here.

Now that is funny

[Cateyes]

Let's do some basic math.

1billion divided by 1100 units. So those condo's would have to sell for an average price of $900,000 per unit to recoup the costs. Yea it's Vancouver but that is ridiculous even at Vancouver prices. And the average unit size is not that big with paper thin walls.

But fine, take out Athletes village, canline, seasky. What is the price now. Still generations of debt as far as the eye can see. 13%HST and higher provincial income tax. Guaranteed.

You were making the same tired "but infrastructure costs don't matter" arguments at 2billion, then at 4, then at 6, and now you think it somehow is still ok at 10billion......

[Liberty and Truth]

But fine, take out Athletes village, canline, seasky. What is the price now. Still generations of debt as far as the eye can see. 13%HST and higher provincial income tax. Guaranteed.

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You are guaranteeing it? What does that mean? If it doesn't happen what are you going to do? I want to see what your guarantee is worth here - seems to me right now it is worth zero, and will stay there. You don't even know what you are talking about - if Vanoc ends up being cash flow positive I hope you paint yourself purple and run down Harvey naked with a big "I'm sorry VANOC" banner trailing behind you - that would a start - maybe then next time BC and Canada try to do something positive on the world stage and show what an awesome country and province we are, you'll shut up and actually accept our awesomeness.

[grammafreddy]

I am sharing Cateyes' concern for these huge costs and I also am inclined to lump a lot of what some are calling infrastructure into the Olympic equation. Without the hosting of the games, a lot of this would not have happened, so it isn't entirely right to exclude them from the costs.