Oregon Public Broadcasting

Preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics seem to be on track, but still the people of Vancouver, B.C. fret about getting stuck with a bigger bill. 

Corporate sponsorships underpin the $1.75 billion budget for the sports spectacle next February. 

Vancouver organizing committee deputy CEO Dave Cobb says he’s forced to think about the global economic recession every day.

Dave Cobb: “We continue to get assurances from our sponsors – including some that you read about in the newspaper each day – that they have every intention to continue to meet their obligations.  We are in regular communication with them. We got through what six or eight months since the downturn started without a default.  We expect to get through the Games in the same situation.”

Cobb was specifically asked this week about General Motors.  The carmaker is a major Olympics sponsor, but now teeters on the verge of bankruptcy.  The Vancouver organizers reiterated that they expect sponsors to meet their commitments.