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Guest
//Don't know whether to laugh or cry//
Toronto's Olympic spirit burns year round
Unique facility lets participants emulate athlete's experience
By Terry Poulton - Business Edge
Published: 02/02/2006 - Vol. 2, No. 3
Can't make it to Turin next week for the Winter Olympics? Fret not.
Instead of merely being a spectator in Italy, you can stay in Canada and do something that's arguably even better. And it might just beef up your bottom line.
How? You can challenge your clients and/or colleagues to actually emulate the athletes by working up a sweat at the world's only electronically-interactive Olympics -themed venue: Olympic Spirit Toronto (OST).
Equivalent complexes are being contemplated in Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal, Salt Lake City, Athens and other such spots around the globe. But for now, the boldly designed, 52,000-sq.-ft. centre perched on the eastern edge of Toronto's downtown Dundas Square is the only site of its kind in the world.
Opened in April 2004 with an investment of $40 million, OST was the brainchild of the more commercially minded members of the International Olympic Committee.
These pragmatic visionaries took what Bill Walker, OST's partnership and development director, calls "the reality that the Olympic rings are the No. 1 brand on the planet" one logical step further by creating the International Spirit Development Organization.
Its mandate is to develop centres around the world where people will happily pay to learn about the Olympic Games, schmooze with on-site Olympian heroes and get to pit their own physical skills against the personal-best records of medal winners - thanks to high-tech simulation and measurement devices.
International competition for first-ever status was brisk. But it was Toronto that sprinted out of the blocks fastest to construct and launch an Olympic Spirit complex that has garnered kudos all round.
But Walker says there's been a major change to the complex's original business model. Initial projections were that at least 500,000 individuals, mostly family groups, would visit OST annually. With an average admission fee of $10 per visitor, that revenue stream was nothing to sneeze at.
But then two other potential gold mines revealed themselves and were quickly snapped up by OST planners.
One is bussed-in school groups from Canada and the United States. Walker says OST has already grossed a cool million dollars from this sector, which is growing rapidly. "Just since October, school group visits have grown by 500 per cent."
But where the really big bucks have turned out to be is in hosting corporate events. More than $4 million has been paid to OST to date by mostly big-name companies for staging receptions, media announcements and other happenings in an inspirational venue that is literally unlike any other.
So far, Walker says, these patrons have included Bell Canada, HBC, Petro-Canada, Rona, General Motors, RBC, Scotiabank, IBM and Direct Energy, as well as smaller companies and law firms.
A big fan of OST is Toronto Mayor David Miller, whose staff has chosen the complex for about half a dozen events, partly to further the city's post-SARS tourism and revitalization efforts by spotlighting the Dundas Square area as a welcoming tourist hub.
Says mayor's office spokesman Brendan Agnew-Iler, "Most recently, we held a reception for the international consular corps and everybody had a wonderful time. Toronto is delighted to have such a fantastic facility. It's interactive, it's fun and the events always come off very, very smoothly."
Another vote of confidence is voiced on behalf of Pfizer's animal health division by New York city-based marketing manager Eric Farrand.
He says his company chose to stage a reception at OST for several hundred swine veterinarians last spring "because it isn't just the same old have dinner, have drinks and socialize type of thing. The results were fantastic and we'd definitely (choose OST) again."
So what's putting so many smiles on so many faces? Three-time Olympic gold medal rowing champ Marnie McBean - now OST's director of corporate and athlete programs - says it's the complex's interactive features, which are especially popular for corporate team-building exercises.
Whether competitively or just for fun, visitors can row, cycle, curl, speed skate, ski, snowboard, slap hockey pucks, make like a gymnast on the parallel bars, stage their own imaginary biathlon by trekking on a cross-country skiing simulator and then shooting a rifle at virtual targets, or hop into a bobsleigh - with computers tracking their results and comparing them to Olympian records.
In all, there are a dozen do-it-yourself exhibits at the five-storey complex. Among the toughest are the long jump simulator, which has a gliding device to help non-Olympians try to match Bob Beamon's 1968 Summer Olympics record of 29 feet, 2.5 inches. Also anything but a breeze is competing against Olympic sprint champ Mark McCoy in a short foot race.
McBean, who helped design some of OST's interactive features, is enthusiastic about making the centre enjoyable for visitors. But what's closer to her heart is the direct benefits it provides for current, past and aspiring Olympic athletes.
For starters, she says, a percentage of all revenue goes to the Canadian Olympic Committee's Excellence Fund. Of the projected $500,000 annually, 100 per cent is put toward helping athletes train.
Additionally, OST employs more than 50 athletes, including former Olympic champs, in management and guest services positions. "I work to integrate Olympic athletes into different programs we have here," McBean says. "It can be school programs to inspire youngsters to be more fit, or corporate events, from simply doing meet and greets to more formal seated lunches and dinners, to leading coaching seminars for team-building exercises."
Regardless of the nature of their visit to OST, she says people enjoy getting a chance to rub elbows with their heroes and hear from the horses' mouths what competing at the Olympics is really like.
"And, depending how busy I am on a given day," she says. "I may open up a cabinet to show them my medals or some of the other athletes' memorabilia we've got here."
McBean will be in Turin, Torino in Italian, in a role she calls "performance mentor" for the Canadian Olympic team. But OST will be busier than ever in her absence, going all out during the Games with a 17-day Triumph Torino Toronto festival, which Walker calls "the world's largest Italian festival based around the Games outside of Italy."
The highlights - some of which are expected to be broadcast during CBC's Olympic coverage - will coincide with the opening and closing ceremonies in Turin. The new prime minister, Stephen Harper, has been invited to join in one or both of these galas. And more than 30,000 school children from across North America are signed up to work out on the interactive features.
Thanks to strategic partnerships with CHUM Ltd. and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada, Walker says a few lucky visitors will win, at one gala, an instant trip to Italy to attend the Games and, at the other, a GM automobile.
McBean says she's excited to be involved in yet another Olympic Games. But when she gets home, she'll go back to enjoying what she believes to be the essence of Olympic Spirit Toronto and something that's bound to be duplicated in comparable complexes in the future.
"I think television makes the Olympic events look much, much easier than they really are. But when people come here, they all start off by watching The Calling. It's a 12-minute film that really shows the Games from the athletes' point of view.
"And then, when (visitors) get to challenge themselves on our interactives and simulators," McBean concludes, "it all sort of works together to put some awe back into appreciating the 'swifter, higher, stronger' of what Olympians actually do."
Toronto's Olympic spirit burns year round
Unique facility lets participants emulate athlete's experience
By Terry Poulton - Business Edge
Published: 02/02/2006 - Vol. 2, No. 3
Can't make it to Turin next week for the Winter Olympics? Fret not.
Instead of merely being a spectator in Italy, you can stay in Canada and do something that's arguably even better. And it might just beef up your bottom line.
How? You can challenge your clients and/or colleagues to actually emulate the athletes by working up a sweat at the world's only electronically-interactive Olympics -themed venue: Olympic Spirit Toronto (OST).
Equivalent complexes are being contemplated in Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal, Salt Lake City, Athens and other such spots around the globe. But for now, the boldly designed, 52,000-sq.-ft. centre perched on the eastern edge of Toronto's downtown Dundas Square is the only site of its kind in the world.
Opened in April 2004 with an investment of $40 million, OST was the brainchild of the more commercially minded members of the International Olympic Committee.
These pragmatic visionaries took what Bill Walker, OST's partnership and development director, calls "the reality that the Olympic rings are the No. 1 brand on the planet" one logical step further by creating the International Spirit Development Organization.
Its mandate is to develop centres around the world where people will happily pay to learn about the Olympic Games, schmooze with on-site Olympian heroes and get to pit their own physical skills against the personal-best records of medal winners - thanks to high-tech simulation and measurement devices.
International competition for first-ever status was brisk. But it was Toronto that sprinted out of the blocks fastest to construct and launch an Olympic Spirit complex that has garnered kudos all round.
But Walker says there's been a major change to the complex's original business model. Initial projections were that at least 500,000 individuals, mostly family groups, would visit OST annually. With an average admission fee of $10 per visitor, that revenue stream was nothing to sneeze at.
But then two other potential gold mines revealed themselves and were quickly snapped up by OST planners.
One is bussed-in school groups from Canada and the United States. Walker says OST has already grossed a cool million dollars from this sector, which is growing rapidly. "Just since October, school group visits have grown by 500 per cent."
But where the really big bucks have turned out to be is in hosting corporate events. More than $4 million has been paid to OST to date by mostly big-name companies for staging receptions, media announcements and other happenings in an inspirational venue that is literally unlike any other.
So far, Walker says, these patrons have included Bell Canada, HBC, Petro-Canada, Rona, General Motors, RBC, Scotiabank, IBM and Direct Energy, as well as smaller companies and law firms.
A big fan of OST is Toronto Mayor David Miller, whose staff has chosen the complex for about half a dozen events, partly to further the city's post-SARS tourism and revitalization efforts by spotlighting the Dundas Square area as a welcoming tourist hub.
Says mayor's office spokesman Brendan Agnew-Iler, "Most recently, we held a reception for the international consular corps and everybody had a wonderful time. Toronto is delighted to have such a fantastic facility. It's interactive, it's fun and the events always come off very, very smoothly."
Another vote of confidence is voiced on behalf of Pfizer's animal health division by New York city-based marketing manager Eric Farrand.
He says his company chose to stage a reception at OST for several hundred swine veterinarians last spring "because it isn't just the same old have dinner, have drinks and socialize type of thing. The results were fantastic and we'd definitely (choose OST) again."
So what's putting so many smiles on so many faces? Three-time Olympic gold medal rowing champ Marnie McBean - now OST's director of corporate and athlete programs - says it's the complex's interactive features, which are especially popular for corporate team-building exercises.
Whether competitively or just for fun, visitors can row, cycle, curl, speed skate, ski, snowboard, slap hockey pucks, make like a gymnast on the parallel bars, stage their own imaginary biathlon by trekking on a cross-country skiing simulator and then shooting a rifle at virtual targets, or hop into a bobsleigh - with computers tracking their results and comparing them to Olympian records.
In all, there are a dozen do-it-yourself exhibits at the five-storey complex. Among the toughest are the long jump simulator, which has a gliding device to help non-Olympians try to match Bob Beamon's 1968 Summer Olympics record of 29 feet, 2.5 inches. Also anything but a breeze is competing against Olympic sprint champ Mark McCoy in a short foot race.
McBean, who helped design some of OST's interactive features, is enthusiastic about making the centre enjoyable for visitors. But what's closer to her heart is the direct benefits it provides for current, past and aspiring Olympic athletes.
For starters, she says, a percentage of all revenue goes to the Canadian Olympic Committee's Excellence Fund. Of the projected $500,000 annually, 100 per cent is put toward helping athletes train.
Additionally, OST employs more than 50 athletes, including former Olympic champs, in management and guest services positions. "I work to integrate Olympic athletes into different programs we have here," McBean says. "It can be school programs to inspire youngsters to be more fit, or corporate events, from simply doing meet and greets to more formal seated lunches and dinners, to leading coaching seminars for team-building exercises."
Regardless of the nature of their visit to OST, she says people enjoy getting a chance to rub elbows with their heroes and hear from the horses' mouths what competing at the Olympics is really like.
"And, depending how busy I am on a given day," she says. "I may open up a cabinet to show them my medals or some of the other athletes' memorabilia we've got here."
McBean will be in Turin, Torino in Italian, in a role she calls "performance mentor" for the Canadian Olympic team. But OST will be busier than ever in her absence, going all out during the Games with a 17-day Triumph Torino Toronto festival, which Walker calls "the world's largest Italian festival based around the Games outside of Italy."
The highlights - some of which are expected to be broadcast during CBC's Olympic coverage - will coincide with the opening and closing ceremonies in Turin. The new prime minister, Stephen Harper, has been invited to join in one or both of these galas. And more than 30,000 school children from across North America are signed up to work out on the interactive features.
Thanks to strategic partnerships with CHUM Ltd. and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada, Walker says a few lucky visitors will win, at one gala, an instant trip to Italy to attend the Games and, at the other, a GM automobile.
McBean says she's excited to be involved in yet another Olympic Games. But when she gets home, she'll go back to enjoying what she believes to be the essence of Olympic Spirit Toronto and something that's bound to be duplicated in comparable complexes in the future.
"I think television makes the Olympic events look much, much easier than they really are. But when people come here, they all start off by watching The Calling. It's a 12-minute film that really shows the Games from the athletes' point of view.
"And then, when (visitors) get to challenge themselves on our interactives and simulators," McBean concludes, "it all sort of works together to put some awe back into appreciating the 'swifter, higher, stronger' of what Olympians actually do."