NDP uncovers government's Olympic suites
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 | 1:19 PM PT
CBC News
Vancouver's GM Place will be renamed Canada Hockey Place during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. (CBC) B.C. New Democrats have released documents that show the provincial government purchased box suites at GM Place and the Pacific Coliseum for the use of MLAs and cabinet ministers during the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The price of the tickets was deleted from the documents, but the advertised prices for GM Place suites for the duration of the Olympics alone range from $133,650 to $496,500. At the Coliseum, the price is $115,000.
The tickets were apparently purchased by the Olympic Secretariat, the branch of government responsible for the Games, so that politicians can host business leaders and dignitaries, according to documents obtained by the NDP through a Freedom of Information request.
The two venues will be the site of much-sought-after hockey and figure-skating events, as well as short-track speedskating, during the 2010 Winter Games in February.
Just two weeks ago, questions were raised after the federal Canadian Heritage Department spent $447,000 to reserve 2,000 tickets for MPs and senators and people working in government agencies to buy.
Of the 1.6 million Olympic tickets printed, 896,000 were made available to Canadian residents. The rest were reserved for government and corporate sponsors, Olympic and sport organizations of other countries, athletes and their families, the media broadcasting the games and to residents of other countries.
