OlympicGames

Beverly Hills Cigar Club to Hockey Haters: Light(en) Up!

Much ado has been made of the cigars ignited by the Canadian Women's Hockey Team in celebration of the gold medal they had earned. Of course, they are not the first to light cigars following a victory, and despite much of the criticism being levied these days, they are unlikely to be the last. Vin Lee, CEO of the Beverly Hills Cigar Club, wants the team to know that they have his support.

In addition to decrying the International Olympic Committee's suggestion that an investigation may be necessary, he said in a statement:

Every other sport – from the Stanley Cup, the World Cup of Soccer, NASCAR to the Super Bowl -- supports celebrating victories with a bottle of champagne and a great cigar," points out Lee. "The moment is emotional; in the case of the Olympics, it often is the reward of years of hard work and sacrifice. The Canadian Women's Hockey Team should not be chastised for wanting to mark their victory on the ice. They are national heroes.

It would be nice for the IOC to lighten up on this issue ... having already missed the opportunity to light up in support of the Canadian women's team.

And, congratulations on a victory that was certainly earned!

Tags: beverly hills, BeverlyHills, canada, canadian womens hockey team, CanadianWomensHockeyTeam, cigar, cigars, hockey, ice hockey, IceHockey, OlympicGames, olympics

Whistler Blackcomb Facing Foreclosure Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Next month's Winter Olympics have been anticipated for years in Whistler. But one resort is facing an unexpected snag, foreclosure. Whistler Blackcomb, which will be hosting part of next month's games may end up being auctioned off in the middle of the Olympics. The owner, private equity firm and hedge fund Fortress Investment Group, has failed to make payments on a $1.7 billion loan. The company bought resort operator Intrawest for $2.8 billion in 2006 back when everything was smooth sailing in the real estate world.

Flash forward to now and Fortress is trying to refinance the loan and lenders to Fortress have been publishing notices of foreclosure in places like the Wall Street Journal announcing a public auction of the assets of Intrawest which includes a bunch of winter resorts sprinkled across North America. The auction date of February 19 puts the sale of Whistler Blackcomb smack dab in the middle of the Olympics. Intrawest is said to be negotiating with the lenders but plans to continue with business as usual and the auction likely won't affect the running of the event. Intrawest properties also include the Whistler Sliding Centre, shown at right, which is the site of the Olympic bobsled and luge events.

The Globe and Mail reports that Intrawest ULC has sold its Panorama Mountain Village resort as part of its effort to stave off the auction. Panorama is located in eastern British Columbia and neither the buyer nor the price have been revealed. Intrawest already sold Copper Mountain in Colorado last November.

Tags: foreclosure, fortress, hotel foreclosure, HotelForeclosure, hotels in trouble, HotelsInTrouble, intrawest, OlympicGames, olympics, whistler, whistler blackcomb, WhistlerBlackcomb, winter olympics, WinterOlympics

$70 Million "Cultural Olympiad" Planned for London 2012

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events, Art, Sports

In the buildup to London's hosting duties of the 2012 Olympics, the city's planners have created a "Cultural Olympiad" to generate buzz, highbrow British style. Twelve new public works of art are slated to open, the Royal Shakespeare Co. will produce a Shakespearean festival, a film competition will inspire the next wave of British filmmakers and Windsor Castle will be illuminated by a dazzling light show. The city plans to invest around $70 million in the project.

Lord Sebastian Coe, the chair of London's organizing committee for the 2012 Games, will even participate in Martin Creed's conceptual piece of moving sculpture currently on exhibit at the Tate, a piece featuring a runner sprinting across the museum galleries every 30 seconds, followed by an equivalent pause. The museum is calling it the "purest expression of human vitality."

The hope, organizers say, is to connect sports and the arts and provide a major injection of culture that will inspire young artists the way Michael Phelps makes you want to don a Speedo.

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Tags: cultural olympiad, CulturalOlympiad, london, lord coe, LordCoe, martin creed, MartinCreed, olympic games, OlympicGames, shakespeare, tate britain, TateBritain, windsor castle, WindsorCastle