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From Richmond Review:

Richmond Review
Dutch ready to paint Richmond orange for 2010 Games

http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/400*266/26626richmondhollandheinekenhouse1.jpg

Minoru Arenas will transform into a sea of orange in February 2010, when Holland Heineken House moves in for the Winter Games.

By Matthew Hoekstra - Richmond Review

Published: October 02, 2009 2:00 PM
Updated: October 02, 2009 2:32 PM

Organizers are busy laying the groundwork in Richmond for what will likely be the largest 2010 Olympic draw outside medal events.

The Holland Heineken House will transform Minoru Arenas into a hub for entertainment, food and beer during the Games and become the biggest Dutch social centre outside the Netherlands. It will attract Olympic officials, Dutch athletes, fans and dignitaries, including members of the Dutch royal family.

This will be the 10th installment of the facility, which has become a popular draw at Olympics since it began at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games. During the last Winter Games, in Turin, Italy, the attraction drew 100,000 people.

Given the site’s proximity to the Richmond Olympic Oval—which hosts the Netherlands’ chief Olympic sport of speed skating—the Richmond house will likely prove as popular.

“That’s the reason why we went to Richmond, to be close to the Richmond oval, so the fans will have just a few minutes’ walk there,” said spokesperson Norbert Cappetti, in a telephone interview this week from Heineken headquarters in the Netherlands.

In January, crews will move into Richmond’s modest facility of two ice rinks and convert it into an orange playground, becoming the official home of the Netherlands Olympic Committee. The ice will be removed, and the main attraction will be the Medal Ceremony Hall, which can host 4,000 people nightly to honour successful Dutch athletes and see performances from Dutch musicians and DJs.

The facility will feature a variety of food options and plenty of Heineken draft beer, imported from the Netherlands for the occasion. Live Olympic broadcasts and shopping will also be on offer, along with its own daily newspaper.

“It’s quite a complex operational project,” said Cappetti. “We have quite a huge project team that involves Heineken team members and external parties as well.”

A larger version of the Holland Heineken House at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games served 1,000 meals daily and an undisclosed amount of Dutch beer. Cappetti wouldn’t say how much beer Heineken is shipping to Richmond for 2010.

Richmond’s house will open Feb. 11, 2010—one day before the official opening of the Games—and close at the end of the Games, Feb. 28, 2010. Organizers hope to get approval to stay open from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

Locals can expect lineups, but those with a Dutch passport can queue in a priority line—so as not to disappoint the Dutch who travelled here for some orange experience.

“Certainly when we have an Olympic medal to celebrate, there will be a lot of people vying to see the athlete on stage to be celebrated, and they’ll most probably have to wait,” said Cappetti. “The experience is that everybody is able to get in there finally, and that’s the most important thing.”

Planning for the Richmond site began in the fall of 2008 with location scouting. A full project team was in place by January 2009 to deal with facility planning, government regulations, staffing and distribution and logistics challenges.

“It’s a huge spectrum of all kinds of things we have to take into consideration and to make it happen over there,” said Cappetti.

Setup for the Richmond house will begin two weeks before opening. Everything from kitchen equipment to beer will be shipped from the Netherlands. A Dutch crew of 300 people will operate the facility, over half of whom are volunteers.

Previous Holland Heineken Houses have been built inside hotels, exhibition halls and under tents.

Cappetti said the Richmond edition will feature a mix of Dutch and Canadian culture. Representing the Netherlands will be the orange and delft blue, while wood and the maple leaf will pay homage to Canada.

“I can tell you that orange will be very dominating there,” he said. “We are just finalizing our design right now.”

The Netherlands’ Olympic team is almost all speed skaters, save for a pair of snowboarders and one bobsled team. So just how will the Dutch skaters match up against the Canadians?

Said Cappetti: “History says the Olympic Games, for us, are good for six to 11 medals. So let’s hope for a number between that, and we’ll be very pleased.”

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Holland Heineken House

•A “home away from home” for the Dutch during the 2010 Games will be 54,000 square feet, taking over Minoru Arenas

•Medal Ceremony Hall can host 4,000 people nightly

•100,000 people visited the house during the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy

•Serves fast food, healthy snacks, lunch and dinner and draft Heineken beer

•Open from Feb. 11 to 28, with proposed hours of 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.

•Dutch workforce of 300, including 170 volunteers