SYDNEY — With tens of thousands of athletes and spectators filing into Sydney for Saturday's opening ceremonies of Gay Games VI, the organization that hosts the event is facing a serious cash crunch.
But that shouldn't be the focus of the event, expected to draw some 13,000 athletes and 12,000 spectators, according to Bev Lange, co-chair for Sydney 2002, the local organizing effort.
"The media has focused almost exclusively on the financial aspect," she said. "Even if the games don't make a penny, we will accomplish our goal of helping athletes come out, of increasing public awareness of all gay and lesbian people."
The Gay Games run Oct. 25 to Nov. 9.
But the event, overseen by the Gay Games Federation, has narrowly evaded complete financial collapse, according to recent media reports confirmed by Lange. Only one third of the expected ticket sales had taken place as of last week and there was little operating revenue, she said.
On Oct. 25, Ticketek, the company handling sales for the event, released a $300,000 advance to organizers to aid preparations. But the funds came only after a group of gay benefactors provided guarantees on the money through their own bank loans, according to the Sydney Herald.
Lange said in an interview Wednesday that she was confident Ticketek would release another $300,000 this week.
"There is a historic boost in ticket sales in the last week of the games as attendees show up, and we're seeing that now," she said.
Ticket prices range from $8 for individual sporting events to $85 for a premium seat at the opening ceremonies. The average attendee will pay about $300 a week for official events, not including travel, hotel and meals, according to the Sydney Herald.
Organizers are considering scaling back the opening ceremonies, which is "by far the costliest" event to stage, to help save an estimated $300,000 of the overall $16 million budget for the Gay Games, Lange said.
In July 2001, the Gay Games Federation visited Sydney to investigate what an internal memo cited as financials troubles of a "serious nature." After the visit, federation officials said they were "optimistic" about the games' financial future.
In July of this year, the Sydney games' chief executive officer, Jeffrey Williams, resigned; officials said the matter was considered "internal" and refused to offer details.
Money problems aren't new
Monetary troubles aren't new to the Gay Games Federation. As the games commenced in 1998, the director was fired for mismanagement, and host city Amsterdam swooped in with a $2.5 million loan.
Early this month, Westpac Bank and the Sydney City Council declined to bail out the games.
But as organizers struggle to keep the games "message focused," sports enthusiasts have plenty of opportunities to enjoy quality athletics, said Jim Buzinski, co-founder of OutSports.com, a Web site for gay sports participants and fans.
"It's more about inclusion than being elite, and since people pay their own way, there are some terrific athletes not attending," Buzinski said.
Even so, legitimate Masters swim records fall regularly at the games, and fans should watch for men's and women's basketball to be "very competitive" as well, he said.
The U.S. offers the largest contingent of athletes from the 70 countries with registered participants.
High-profile athletes like Mike Crosby are scheduled to participate. Crosby is a former Harvard water polo captain featured on the cover of Genre this summer. He is expected to lead the West Hollywood team to victory, according to Outsports.com co-founder Cyd Zigler, Jr.
Fans should also keep an eye out for the likes of tennis player Carlos Gambirazio, Mark Chambers of Long Beach Basketball, the 30-member Nadadores Swim Team from Miami, the Golden Gate Grapplers in wrestling and the Coors Light Colorado Climax in hockey.
"Every event has its share of marginal jocks for whom it is more important to show up that to win," Buzinski said. "I imagine that the gay rugby player who will march under the flag of his native Iraq will get a huge round of applause."
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