Oregon Public Broadcasting

Forty-thousand tickets for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics go on sale for U.S. winter sports fans Thursday morning. Correspondent Tom Banse reports.

This is the second round of ticket sales in the U.S. for the Winter Games just across our border.

Mark Lewis, president of ticket seller Jet Set Sports, says tickets will go by phone and internet -- first come, first serve -- until they run out.

Mark Lewis: “There is always a chance we could get some more later, but we can’t guarantee that.  So in some respects, we are saying this is the last opportunity to make a purchase if they’re interested in attending.”

Lewis says tickets are available for all of the different sports to be contested just eight months from now in Vancouver and Whistler.

Prices range from $50 for cross country skiing and biathlon to in excess of $1000 for the opening or closing ceremonies.

The prices include a stiff mark-up over what Canadians pay to attend the same events.  The difference stems from the exclusive sponsorship deal the Olympic Committee made with its U.S. ticket vendor, CoSport.

Online:

Jet Set Sports subsidiary CoSport is the authorized U.S. retailer of 2010 Vancouver Olympics tickets

2010 Vancouver/Whistler Olympics