NZSnowboard.com - The home of New Zealand Snowboarding

15th March 2009

  Organisers of the Winter Games have cut $700,000 off the budget as corporate sponsorship becomes harder to secure during the economic downturn.

Winter Games NZ chief executive Arthur Klap said the committee had an original budget of $3.7 million to run the international event in Otago in August. However, the budget had to be cut by $700,000 because of economic factors.

There was still a funding shortfall of $600,000 as commercial sponsors tightened their belts.

"We have 10 different sponsors, so we don't need more sponsors, just more dollars," Mr Klap said.

The committee had cut back on "things that make it nicer", he said.

The festival component and marketing budget had been scaled back and fewer staff would be employed, he said.

However, funding had been secured from Destination Queenstown, Sparc, Tourism NZ as well as the Trust of Southland, Community Trust of Otago and the Central Lakes Trust, he said.

The economic downturn had made it harder for organisers to budget for the event but the competition itself would not be affected, he said. "Elite competitors are still competing. They still need to compete and to train."

Eight curling nations had signed up to enter that competition.

Mr Klap said the event would put Otago on the map. At the games there would be alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, free skiing and an adaptive snow sports run at Coronet Peak, the Remarkables, Snow Farm and Cardrona skifields. Dunedin would host figure skating and ice hockey.

It would have huge economic benefits for New Zealand, surpassing the 2011 Rugby World Cup's projected $600 million injection into the economy, he said.







LINK:   THE SOUTHLAND TIMES