Vancouver is refunding the $500,000 deposit for a major international electric car race that was due to take place earlier this month before organizers pulled out.
The two-day event was due to start on July 2 and featured a Nickelback concert before it was canceled by organizer One Stop Strategy (OSS) Group, who previously said it would be rescheduled for next year.
But four weeks after the original date of the canceled event, ticket holders complained that they were not receiving refunds. The city said paying the promoter’s performance security payment for the event is contingent on refunds to fans.
It was to be the first Formula E event in the city and touted as an economic boon, selling thousands of tickets for the races in the Falls Creek area.
One of those fans waiting for a refund is Andrew Chobanyuk, who said he couldn’t get any response after repeatedly asking the organizers and ended up reporting it to his credit card company.
It refunded him the $210 he paid for four tickets to see the races in Vancouver.
“Absolutely no information from Formula E organizers despite numerous emails to them,” he told CBC News in an email. “I have received a refund from my credit card company pending investigation.”
“It’s disappointing – you look forward to stock car racing finally coming back to Vancouver after all these years and you’re left feeling cheated. Given the lack of communication from the organizers… I have no faith in the OSS at all.”
One Stop Strategy Group did not respond to multiple requests for comment Friday.
The decision came “after intensive review” with the city
The city said Friday that the return of the deposit would have “no financial impact” on its budget and was made only on the condition that “the funds will be used by OSS to pay its financial obligations,” including refunds to property owners. tickets, vendors, or event sponsors.
“Questions regarding funds being paid or reimbursed by OSS to ticket holders, vendors, sponsors and/or other potential creditors should be directed to OSS,” the city said in a statement.
A Formula E electric race car prototype is seen on stage at the CeraWeek energy conference in Houston in this 2019 file photo (Kyle Bax/CBC)
On April 22, the city announced that event organizers had canceled the event, exercising their rights under the host city agreement. At the time, the city said in a statement that it hoped to “announce a new date in the near future.”
At the time of the cancellation, OSS said the “incredibly difficult” decision came “after intensive review” with the city.
“Delivering a world-class event is of the utmost importance” to the band, the release said, promising to communicate with ticket holders “to inform [them of] their capabilities.”
Count. Last year, Michael Wiebe sponsored a motion to support the city’s hosting of the event.
“I know the management company hasn’t worked here, but I still believe it can be a great event,” he said in an interview Friday. “It was going to be a big weekend, I’m disappointed because it’s an opportunity for Vancouver.”
He recused himself from voting to refund the deposit issued by the city because he himself bought tickets to the canceled event and is now among the thousands who have yet to receive a refund.
“I haven’t yet, but I’ll be waiting in the back of the line,” Wiebe said. “I want to make sure that the people who really deserve the funding get it.
“We’re saying, ‘If you’re going to take the $500,000 back, there are certain people that need to be paid, and the funding can only go to specific things. . . . That includes ticket holders, vendors and others.’
Controversial races
Formula E races are controversial in other cities.
In 2017, the city authorities of Montreal announced that they would stop the Formula E race that was supposed to be held in that city the following year.
The mayor said the event was “headed for a financial fiasco” and that taxpayers would be on the hook for $35 million.
But a year ago, the city of Montreal agreed to pay $3 million in compensation to Formula E Operations, which organizes electric car races around the world. He sued the city for $16 million after the city canceled their 2018 and 2019 events.
Formula E is not the organizer of the Vancouver event, although it appears to have some degree of oversight over the OSS Group-promoted race, which is part of the Formula E series.
Add Comment