The agreement to rent Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre as a homeless shelter runs from March to May. There is an option to renew, but a renewal cannot happen if the Tokyo Olympic Games go ahead.
The Memorial Centre is booked for the Olympic men’s basketball qualifying tournament from June 29 to July 4.
The International Olympic Committee, Japanese government and organizing committee have pushed back hard against a London media report that the Games will be cancelled.
“At our level, we are planning on delivering a world-class qualifying tournament,” said organizing committee chair Clint Hamilton. “Public health and safety are the priority, and all our plans reflect that. The organizing committee, with manager Dena Coward and assistant manager Nick Blasko, realizes it must be responsive and resilient.”
Whether fans are allowed will depend on the health guidelines in effect at the time.
Nearly 3,000 full tournament passes had been sold when sales were cut off last March for the originally scheduled qualifying tournament after the postponement of the Tokyo Games in 2020 was announced.
Individual game tickets were expected to sell out quickly. The qualifier was rescheduled for this year. Only a few tournament pass holders have asked for refunds, with the majority deciding to hold on, said Hamilton.
“The support has been terrific,” he said. “But we need more certainty before we release more tickets.”
Hamilton said the organizing committee is preparing for a bubble if fans are not allowed. “We are looking at a number of different scenarios with the IOC, COC, FIBA and provincial health authorities, including a bubble. The level of complexity we are talking about is unbelievable.”
