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‘Miniscule’ chance Whistler won’t host Games: VANOC

There’s a “miniscule” chance the Olympics won’t take place at Whistler Blackcomb, Games organizers acknowledged today as a financial battle rages over the resort’s owner.

“Never say never,” VANOC executive vice president Dan Doyle told reporters. “But I don’t think it’s probable at all. I feel very confident the Games will go on.”

Resort owner Intrawest may be auctioned off by a consortium of lenders on February 19, according to recent reports. That’s right in the middle of the Olympics, which begin seven days earlier.

Fortress Investment Group -- the New York-based hedge fund at the centre of the Olympic Village scandal -- bought Intrawest for $3.1 billion in 2006.

Stock value in Fortress has plummeted 75 percent since 2007. And Intrawest narrowly avoided bankruptcy in October 2008.

The Whistler Blackcomb owner just missed a US$524 million debt payment.

Negotiations between Fortress and a lending consortium that includes David Kempner and Lehman Brothers have reportedly ground to a halt.

The New York Post reported today that Games organizers have considered pulling their financial backing of Intrawest facilities. VANOC denied that report.

"I feel very confident the Games will go on and we'll have Intrawest as a partner," Doyle said.

VANOC board chairman Rusty Goepel said it doesn’t make “rational sense” to auction off Whistler when it’s about to get the best exposure in its history.

“If I’m a vulture fund and I own some of the outstanding debt, I’m trying to increase the value of Whistler, not decrease it,” he said.

Goepel said he’s waiting for more information.

“All we have seen so far today is a leaked report or a rumour,” he said.

Geoff Dembicki reports for the Tyee.


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