VANOC’s board chairman said today that the organizing committee has no “Plan B” to house Winter Games athletes if Vancouver can’t deliver the financially challenged Olympic Village by a late 2009 deadline.

“The bad thing about it is there is no Plan B,” Jack Poole told reporters at VANOC headquarters. “This has to be finished, this is the heart of the Olympics, this is the showpiece.”

The $1 billion Olympic Village, which will house about 2,800 athletes and officials, has to be finished by next November according to an agreement between Vancouver and VANOC.

Though the organizing committee has no contingency plans in place if financial difficulties and/or construction delays keep that from happening, Poole said he was certain the project would be completed on time.

“Our confidence that the city is going to deliver on its commitments couldn’t be higher than it is today,” he said.

Nonetheless, Poole said VANOC’s finance committee will be monitoring the project “very closely” and receiving updated reports from the city at least every two weeks.

Last Sunday, Vancouver got the go-ahead from the provincial government to borrow as much money as it needs to finish the village. Though city officials say $458 million is needed to pay for construction costs, the city could borrow up to $800 million to buy financier Fortress Investment out of the project, according to a recent Globe and Mail report.

Asked whether he was concerned about the financial health of the athlete's village, Poole said Vancouver's currently high credit rating will help ensure high investor interest.

“I’ve always viewed the financing side of [the village] to be the easiest part,” he said. “In my mind that’s virtually been resolved.”

Poole was adamant that whether the project makes a profit is a concern of the city, not VANOC, because the organizing committee has already put in the $30 million it promised to use the facilities during the Games.

“The Olympic cost is $30 million,” he said. “The rest of it is a real estate development project that we have no voice in, no interest in, no say in.”

Poole declined to comment on what sort of penalty Vancouver could face if the village isn’t delivered by next November. In an interview last week, Vision Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs said the city would incur “very large financial damages” for not finishing the project on time.

“If it came to pass, the lawsuit would have numbers in it that would make our eyes water,” he said.

Geoff Dembicki is a staff reporter for the Hook.