Prognosis Positive?

One of the things we need to realize about the Olympics is that its more than just a cavalcade of sports events and phenomenal athletes showcasing the peak of humanity's capabilities. Its a business. From shareholders, to new stadium expenditures, tourist dollars, and so on, even the grand event must succumb to one even greater. The Almighty Dollar. Vancouver is encouraging people to carpool and use public transit during the games to cut down on "human pollution."

So, how much will the city of Vancouver profit from the games? Analysts forecast a lot. Vancouver is notorious for its sky high accommodation and lodging costs to begin with. When you factor in all the tourist influx for the games...Vancouver is expected to reap the fruits of its labor and then some for the 2010 games.

As for ticket pricing, expect them to range from $175-1,100 CAD, depending on the seating arrangement! When you realize that BC Place (the opening and closing ceremonies venue) has a seating capacity of 60,000...that's 10 million dollars generated just for the opening ceremonies! Analysts predict that over 2.5 million people will attend the games. And that doesn't even count the 5,500+ athletes and staff, 10,000 media members, and 25,000 volunteers!

Still, some predict that the 21st winter games will not turn a profit. The operating costs for the games are nearly 1.8 billion dollars. Of that money, nearly 600 million came from taxpayer's. When you think about the recession that is still plaguing the nation that seems kinda rough and unfair. At least the Canadian dollar is worth close to 94 cents U.S... but will that suffice? Only time will tell, but my prediction it that it will turn a profit, albeit a very small one.