Vancouver 2010 Needs Money For Athletes Village

There are reports that the city of Vancouver wants emergency powers so it can borrow money to finance the athletes' village for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Vancouver's new mayor Gregor Robertson wants British Columbia's legislature recalled to deal with the issue.

The cost of developing the village is reportedly $1 billion overall and about half has been paid out, but the city of Vancouver has been footing the monthly construction costs since October, reports the Toronto Star, after lender Fortress Investment became uneasy over its $750 million loan to the village developers and stopped paying out loan instalments.

Although the loan is now being renegotiated, the Mayor says if that deal falls through the city has to borrow the money to finish the village. Robertson told reporters Monday, "the city is not authorized to borrow, particularly amounts of this significance, without the consent of taxpayers. Due to the emergency and the financing that's required to complete the Olympic village project, we are going to be asking for authority to borrow in order to complete this project".

According to the Associated Press if renegotiating the loan doesn't work, the city, by the terms of a guarantee it signed in 2007, will have to find the money to complete the village by the fall.

Vancouver 2010 said it would offer assistance to the city, but the Associated Press reports it's unlikely since the organizing committee wants to cut costs of its own.

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