Report for City Council June 12, 2001 Meeting

2001 World Championships – Financial Status & Wading Pool.

Report Summary

• The report gives an update on the financial status of the 2001 World Championships in Athletics and provides information about the use of the wading pool at City Hall.

Previous Council/Committee Action

• At the May 16, 2001 meeting of Executive Committee, Councillor Bolstad made the following inquiry:

“Mr. Mayor, this inquiry has to do with the financial status of the 2001 World Championships and plans the Local Organizing Committee has for the wading pool at City Hall.

Regarding the financial status of the championships, I realize that many of the revenue projections are still estimates at this point in time. However, I would like to know what the organizing committee has in mind should it appear that the championships will run a deficit. Does it have a contingency plan? Are there things that could be dropped or scaled back in order to reduce the financial shortfall?

With respect to the wading pool, I would like to know the implications of retaining the pool and fountain operation during the championships. Could the restaurant be simply moved to one side of the pool? Could it be placed next to the 102A Avenue?

Given the shortage of time between now and the championships I would appreciate a report responding to each of these concerns at the next meeting of Council’s Executive Committee, which I believe is three weeks from now.

Thank you very much.”

Report

• The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and Board of the 8th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Championships) has recently reviewed and reported on their financial status.
• The provincial and federal funding of $80M in revenue is on schedule with final payments to be received in July 2001. Sponsorship revenues, which are largely value in kind (VIK), are on target. Most of the VIK will be received and reported during the Championships period of August 3 – 12th, 2001. The LOC unlike organizing committees of previous Championships have fully maximized their sponsorships in the National Partners (7) and National Sponsors (8) categories.
• Ticket sales continue to exceed those of other Championships and of the Pan American Games hosted in Winnipeg in 1999. The LOC is still confident in achieving its $12.5M target. The $12.5M can be realized by selling out Opening/Closing Ceremonies and the 100-meter men’s final.
• The LOC has indicated that their expenditures are on track and that they are still projecting a non deficit position at the end of the Championships.
• The World’s Plaza is an event designed by the LOC to bring people to the downtown, specifically Sir Winston Churchill Square and City Hall. The plans for Sir Winston Churchill Square include pavilions for sponsors and visiting countries, interactive activities for children, a First Nations area, musical entertainment, pin trading and limited merchandise sales. Activities at Sir Winston Churchill Square will be integrated with City Hall Plaza. 102A Avenue will be closed from August 4 – 11th to provide a large, vibrant, safe area for visitors to take in the festivities. Canada House will be in the Art Gallery, Alberta House will be on the Main Floor of Edmonton Centre and Edmonton House will be inside City Hall. In addition, the Art Gallery, Winspear and the Citadel will all be offering activities during the 9 days.
• The World’s Café is proposed to operate as a floating restaurant over the wading pool at City Hall. The restaurant will be on scaffolding that is built in such a way as to maximize the aesthetics of the water and to provide a calm, inviting place for light snacks and beverages. The location of the Café, over the pool, has been selected to enhance the look of City Hall Plaza and to allow for a free flow of people in and around the area. Other locations for the Café were discussed but eliminated for these reasons. It is anticipated that the pool will be out of service for wading activities for less than 3 weeks.

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