City hands over athlete's village

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - With 100 days to the opening of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, the athletes village was handed over to the Games organizers Wednesday.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Games now begins preparing the 1,100-unit village to house 3,000 athletes.

The eight-acre site has waterfront views of the two stadiums that will host the opening ceremonies and hockey events. Beyond are the snowcapped mountains of Canada's pacific coast.

The steel, concrete and glass buildings surround a central courtyard open to Vancouver's picturesque waterfront.

Vancouver Olympic CEO John Furlong said the location of the village, with its views of water, mountains and downtown towers, will help inspire the athletes to the performance of their careers.

The village will have a bank, cafe, stores and a post office.

The $940 million village did not come without controversy, going millions of dollars over budget and requiring the city of Vancouver to come to its financial rescue after New-York-based hedge fund Fortress Investment Inc. pulled their backing when global economic crisis hit.

"This has not been an easy project," Furlong said.

After the Games the village will return to the city of Vancouver, which will try to sell the suites as condos to recoup its investment.

"I would be surprised if we're anything beyond a break-even," Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson said.

Of the 1,100 units available, 737 will be available as condos, with the remaining used as affordable housing and rental properties.

Robertson turned the village over to Furlong in a ceremony at the site.

Furlong said representatives of the 2014 Sochi, Russia and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games have already visited the Vancouver village as they plan their own.

Organizers also announced this week that accommodations for more than 6,000 people working in and around the Whistler ski resort have been found. Whistler is the site of the alpine and sliding events, cross country, biathlon and ski jumping.

The International Olympic Committee said in a statement that the all of the venues for the Vancouver Games are now complete and they "will give athletes, spectators and TV viewers some spectacular backdrops as they compete and watch the world's best winter athletes go for gold next February."