Olympic oval tickets go to business, schools
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Updated: July 24, 2009 2:21 PM
City council has agreed to sell half its Olympic tickets to local businesses and schools.
On Thursday, council endorsed the sale of 330 tickets worth $91,000 to the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Richmond. Another 96 tickets worth $14,000 will be sold to Richmond schools.
The business groups will resell the tickets at face value to local business to promote economic development.
The school tickets will be purchased by parent councils and awarded to students. Two students at each public school who best combine arts, sports and academic achievement, will receive an Olympic ticket.
Tickets for eight support staff will also be sold to the district to facilitate trips to speed skating and snowboarding events.
City officials will be able to host dignitaries in the oval's legacy lounge throughout the Games, but they've yet to determine how to distribute the rest of its Olympic tickets.
Staff have suggested giving volunteers tickets, but just who would get them is unclear.
"Richmond has thousands of volunteers out there," said Coun. Bill McNulty. "How do you make it equal and fair across the board?"
In April, city council agreed to spend $195,990 on 732 tickets from the Vancouver Organizing Committee's "Olympic family" allocation, a group of tickets set aside before sales opened to the public.
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