If any Canadians owe you a favor, now is the time to give them a call.

The next batch of tickets for the 2010 Winter Olympics go on sale Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Tickets for all events, including the opening ceremonies, will be available, but only Canadian residents will be allowed to buy the tickets.

In hopes of quelling fraud, buyers must have a current Canadian mailing address (no P.O. boxes) and must be in site to sign for the tickets when they are delivered later this year.

For more information visit tickets.vancouver2010.com

The most recent ticket offering, and likely the last major offering for U.S. citizens, was May. Most of the 40,000 tickets sold out in a matter of hours. Tickets for figure skating, hockey and closing ceremonies are still available at cosport.com.

OK, tickets have been on sale since 11:30 a.m. and all 40,000 are almost gone.

All that's left are closing ceremony and hockey. The best tickets left appear to be for the bronze medal match in the women's hockey. They are going for$135-265.

Log on to cosport.com to buy tickets

Cosport.com just posted this message

We are updating the website. Please note Phase II Ticket Sales will start at approximately 2:30 PM US EST on www.cosport.com.

Yes, the cosport.com website is currently offline, but don't panic. The website is expected to be back online by 11 a.m. when Phase II of ticket sales begin. The website is the only place to buy tickets.

The 2010 Winter Olympics are still eight months away, but the real competition starts this morning.

Starting at 11 a.m. Thursday sports fans from North America, Europe and Australia will logon to their computers for a chance to buy some of the 40,000 tickets available.

New Jersey-based cosport.com will handle the sales, the final major ticket offering.

Tickets will only be available for sale online to those who registered on the website before 6 a.m. Click here to register.

The Olympics are Feb. 10-28 in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C, the closest the games have ever been to the Puget Sound area.

Here are more details about ticket sales:

Ticket deadline: Cosport.com officials did not respond to an interview request, but its ticket agents say it is best start trying to buy tickets at 11 a.m. There is not a ticket lottery like the Phase I. Tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Sales continue until tickets are sold out.

Prices: Tickets range in price from $34 for cross country skiing and biathlon to $1,294 for the Opening Ceremonies.

Hot tickets: Hockey tickets range from $61 for the USA-China women’s match to $930 for the men’s gold medal match. Figure skating tickets are $202 to $650. Opening ceremony tickets start at $678.

Limit: 48 tickets per customer.
Sports available: Tickets are available for all sports. Tickets for medal ceremonies are not available.

More information:
cosport.com

From VANOC:

Tickets for the Opening Ceremony and five sports (64 medal events!) of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games go on sale tomorrow – May 6, 2009 at 10:00 am (Pacific Time) on a first-come, first-served basis.

=> Read more!

From VANOC:

Mark your calendars — Phase 2 starts June 6 at 10:00 am (Pacific Time).

The next phase of Vancouver 2010 Olympic tickets go on sale Saturday, June 6 on a first-come, first-served basis. During Phase 2, all Canadian residents can purchase tickets directly through vancouver2010.com*ERROR* (#malformed) or by calling the Vancouver 2010 Ticketing Call Centre at 1-800-TICKETS (1-800-842-5387).

More information will be available as we get closer to June 6. Be sure to watch your inbox for updates from vancouver2010.com

Don't forget — Paralympic tickets go on sale May 6, 2009

Tickets for the Opening Ceremony and five sports (64 medal events!) of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games go on sale Wednesday, May 6, 2009.

Visit vancouver2010.com to learn more about the Paralympic Winter Games, including sport information , the Competition Schedule and ticket prices.

Thank you for your support of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

FROM VANOC:

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) today released its report for the second quarter of the fiscal year, which includes a management discussion and analysis, and interim financial statements for the period ending January 31, 2009. VANOC’s quarterly report is available at www.vancouver2010.com.

“As we expected, we’re in a positive cash position this quarter because of revenues arising from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sponsors and ticket sales. Licensing and merchandising revenue doubled this quarter and over $94 million worth of tickets were sold,” said John McLaughlin, VANOC’s chief financial officer. “However, these remain challenging economic times reinforcing our need to be financially prudent.”

=> Read more!

From VANOC:

After weeks of deliberations at kitchen tables across Canada, Olympic enthusiasts submitted more than $345 million in requests for tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. As of this past Friday, November 7, the final day of the Request Period of Phase 1, an estimated 120 of 170 ticketed sessions were oversubscribed due to demand exceeding the available tickets. In terms of dollars, Canadians have already requested approximately four and a half times the value of tickets in Phase 1 for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games ($345 million over five weeks), compared to the first phase of ticketing ($75 million over nine weeks) for the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the most recent Olympic Games held in North America.

=> Read more!

Friday is the last day to request tickets for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.

Ticket requests can be submitted at cosport.com or 877-457-4647. A credit card with an expiration date of February 2009 or later is required to request tickets, but no payments will be collected during this time according to the cosport.com website.

Tickets range in price from $25 to watch cross-country skiing to $1,118 for the opening ceremonies.

The ticket request period started Oct. 3, but regardless of when requests are submitted they will be considered equally when ticket sales are confirmed in December. Those who win the right to buy tickets will have their credit cards billed at that time. Tickets will not be shipped until January 2010.

If any tickets remain after requests are submitted they will go on sale on a first-come, first-served basis in February or March according to cosports.com.

This just in from the Associated Press:

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The 2010 Vancouver Olympics remain financially strong, organizers said Thursday, despite a current deficit, rising venue budgets and concerns about the global financial crisis.

The organizing committee’s latest financial statement says it ran a deficit of $40.5 million in the year ending July 31, compared to the $51.3 million surplus it had in 2006-2007.

“It’s important to look at that in the context of the entire run of the Games, the six-year period,” said John McLaughlin, the chief financial officer for the organizing committee, who added the deficit wasn’t a surprise.

“Whether or not we have a deficit or a surplus in any given year is really strictly just a matter of timing of our cash flows and is not indicative of the financial performance of the organization.”

The overall budget for venue construction hasn’t increased, the committee said. A contingency fund was built in to cover overruns.

McLaughlin said organizers still expect the Games to break even. He said the deficit comes from organizers ramping up spending on staff, technology and other planning elements for the Winter Games.

“We’re not asking for any more money, we won’t ask for any more money,” he said. “From our perspective we are going to complete them on target and on budget.”

When organizers first released their business plan for the 2010 Olympics last year, they said they were making their revenue plans on the assumption of the “Canadian economy remaining relatively strong with no recession through Games time.”

On Thursday, Canadian banks warned a recession was coming as the global credit crunch continues.

Still, McLaughlin said the Games are on solid financial footing — 79 percent of revenue has already been committed or received and organizers have surpassed their target for sponsorship.

Money from ticket sales will start coming in next month when the first phase of sales ends. Organizers say demand is high.

“We should be able to hit our revenue targets, not without our challenges but we’re in good shape,” he said.

There are still 498 days until the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but it’s already time to prepare for the games if you’re looking for tickets.
Starting this morning Olympic organizers are accepting ticket requests for the games scheduled for Feb. 12-28, 2010, in Vancouver and Whistler.
Tickets range in price from $25 to watch cross-country skiing to $1,118 for the opening ceremonies.
HOW TO REQUEST TICKETS: Ticket requests can be submitted at cosport.com or 877-457-4647 until Nov. 7. A credit card is required to request tickets, but no payments will be collected during this time according to the cosport.com website.
THE LOTTERY: Regardless of when ticket requests are submitted they are considered equally when ticket sales will be confirmed in mid December. Those win the right to buy tickets will have their credit cards billed at this time. Tickets will be shipped in January 2010.
OTHER TICKET OPPORTUNITIES: Any remaining tickets will go on sale on a first-come, first-served basis in February or March according to cosports.com.
CREDIT CARD INFO: Credit cards are accepted if they have an expiration date of February 2009 or later.
COST: Opening Ceremonies ($185-$1,118), alpine skiing ($85-150), biathlon ($25-70), bobsleigh ($30-85), cross-country skiing ($25-70), curling ($65-125), figure skating ($50-525), freestyle skiing ($65-125), hockey ($26-775), luge ($35-85), Nordic combined ($50-120), short track speed skating ($50-150), skeleton ($30-85), ski jumping ($80-210), snowboarding ($50-150), speed skating ($95-185) and closing ceremonies ($185-793).
MORE INFO: vancouver2010.com