Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games: An Overview of Ticket Options

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games aren’t too far to venture for many Americans, and with the third (and possibly) last round of ticket sales having opened on November 14, 2009, anyone wanting to venture off to Western Canada to see the Olympics should seriously consider bagging themselves a ticket before it’s too late. Here’s what you need to know:

Who can buy tickets?

All Canadian residents, regardless of citizenship, can buy a ticket to the Olympics. You need to be available to sign for the secure delivery of tickets in December 2009/January 2010. In order to buy online, note that only Visa is accepted as payment method.

For anyone outside of Canada wanting to buy a ticket, you need to purchase through an official ticket agent for the event, which in the US is CoSport, the sister company of Jet Set Sports. MasterCard and American Express are also accepted for online US ticket sales.

As well as online, you can buy tickets by phone or in person at the main ticket centers in Whistler and downtown Vancouver, which opened in November, or on the first day of competition at each venue box office. When buying in person, you can use cash as well as Visa.

For Canadian residents, a fee of $10 is charged on all online ticket sales of under $100, and $20 on sales over $100. International ticket sales are also subject to a charge (various prices apply). No changes, cancellations or returns on tickets can be made once they’ve been purchased. It may be possible to re-sell tickets through the sales agent if you can’t attend, but this doesn’t apply for sales through CoSport.

How much do they cost?

For the opening and closing ceremonies in BC Place, tickets range from $1100 to $175 depending on seat category.

For the individual games, ticket price depends on seat category, event, and stage of event. For example, a ticket for the men’s and ladies’ aerials qualifications of the freestyle skiing at Cypress Mountain in a category A seat will cost $100 (a category B seat will cost $50), while a category A seat for the finals of the same event will cost $150 (a category B seat is priced at $75). A ticket to see the men’s ice hockey quarter-finals at the General Motors Place and UBC Winter Sports Centre will cost $300 for a category A seat, and for the same category seat to see the men’s gold medal leg of the same event expect to pay around $775. Some events have only two seating categories, while others have four (A, B, C, D).

There are no discounts available on tickets, but a group of 20 or more can apply for group ticket pricing on some events, including the Paralympics Winter Games sessions.

Any ticket packages?

A Ticket and Hospitality Pass Package is available for some international spectators (including those from the US). This package comprises one ticket for a pre-determined primary event and one hospitality pass – a hospitality pass grants access to CoSport’s hospitability center in downtown Vancouver with catering and big-screen TVs, all aimed to ensure visitors get the most from their Olympic experience. As for price, a pass package to see the men’s speed skating individual final will cost about $700 USD.

For Canadian residents, there’s the Olympic Experience Package, offered by the Vancouver Organizing Committee. This package contains a set of tickets for events held over a period of three to six days. There are city packages (for events in Vancouver), Whistler packages, mixed packages, and locals’ packages (spread out over evenings and weekends). In terms of price, $1325 will buy you a city package comprising tickets to the opening ceremony, the men’s ice hockey preliminaries, three stages of the ladies’ snowboarding event, the men’s curling qualifications, the Vancouver Victory Ceremony, and the women’s ice hockey semi-final.

All quoted prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games run from February 12 to February 28, 2010.