NYTimes: Vancouver’s Plan for 2010 Winter Games Hits Financial Snag

Now, as residents of Vancouver prepare to vote in a municipal election on Saturday, the freeze in credit markets and a collapse of the city’s real estate market have made the financing of the 2010 Winter Games a critical issue.

Looming over the debate are the fortunes of the Fortress Investment Group, the hedge fund and private equity firm that controls the main Olympic skiing site, Whistler Blackcomb, and is the primary source of financing for a $1 billion athletes’ village now under construction downtown. On Thursday, Fortress reported a third-quarter loss of $20 million, in contrast to earnings of $111 million in the period a year earlier.