The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Game organizers released a long-awaited business plan Tuesday, and said the games will cost less than originally thought.

The committee, VANOC, originally estimated that the operating cost of the games would be $1.7 billion, but the 200-page plan puts it at $1.63 billion, $70 million less.

There was even mention of a possible surplus after the Games during Tuesday's news conference. The extra cash would be used to fund sports in Canada.

"I think we all hope we will leave a positive financial legacy," said John Furlong, the organizing committee's CEO, in Vancouver on Tuesday.

A news release on the VANOC website said that this operational budget, which is footed by the corporate sector, has already secured 69 per cent of its funding.

Organizers expect to collect another $505 million, and plan to raise the rest by targeting companies that are profitable and can afford to invest in the Games.

VANOC also said that $580 million coming from the federal and B.C. governments is being well-used. The document says their venue construction program is on budget and on time.

The committee says that means the games aren't likely to cost taxpayers any more. VANOC still has a $55.3-million contingency allowance just in case construction runs over-budget.

However, some critics say the plan doesn't include costs the committee isn't directly responsible or, like the $175 million to be spent on security that VANOC has budgeted.

Sen. Colin Kenney believes the $175 million figure is a vast underestimation.

"I think the reality is that once you take on an event like the Olympics you take on an open-ended cost, and the security is absolutely open-ended," Kenney told CTV British Columbia. "And it will depend on what sort of threats come forward."

Also isn't included in the plan is the roughly $600 million being spent to upgrade the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler. Nor is the cost of building a rapid transit line between Vancouver's downtown and its airport.

While the province has claimed some of those projects would have gone ahead anyway, the International Olympic Committee has said without the highway upgrade, the Vancouver bid may have failed.

Furlong acknowledged the controversy on costs, but said, "What I'm really trying to do today is not comment on stuff that we're not responsible for in here."

Chris Shaw of 2010 Watch accused the committee of trying to have it both ways.

"If you're going to include it as legacies, then you're going to have to count it as a cost," Shaw said, referring to highway and transit improvements.

TV, ticket revenue

The organizers expect to raise $436 million from TV revenue, which is tens of millions higher than what the IOC originally offered, Furlong said.

Although TV revenues are normally split between the host and the IOC based on a standard formula, Furlong said VANOC proposed a specific figure based on what it needed to stage the Games.

"We felt it was a great deal for us, a very positive one. And it gives us the flexibility to do all the things we've said we need to do to deliver a great Games."

The plan is to generate $232 million from ticket sales.

At the 2006 Turin Games, there were empty seats and unsold tickets, but VANOC organizers think they can avoid those problems.

"We have the technology and ability to create a mechanism to make sure that if a ticket wasn't going to get used, someone could use it," said Furlong.

Ticket prices have not been set yet, but they don't go on sale until next fall. The IOC gets final say on the plan, which is due later this year.

"The goal is to have a ticket-pricing model that allows us to achieve the revenue, but makes it possible for any person who wants to go to the Games to be able to afford to buy a ticket,'' said Furlong.

Seventy per cent of the tickets will go to the public, with the remainder will go to sponsors and officials, said David Cobb, VANOC's vice-president of marketing.

A clear plan hasn't been laid out for tickets to premium events like the gold medal hockey game.

VANOC will make sure there are minimums set for tickets available to the public, Cobb said.

"In the past, there has been events in previous Games where in fact no tickets were made available to the public. That will not happen here."

Promises broken?

The unveiling comes a day after a watchdog group for the games gave VANOC a D- grade for not meeting their social and environmental promises.

The Impact of the Olympics on Community Coalition said that VANOC should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act so their finances and board meetings are open to scrutiny.

This business plan makes the details of VANOC's budget public.

The coalition also named lack of environmental assessment and poor planning for low-income housing as reasons for the poor mark.

Other points from the report:

B.C. tourism accounts for four per cent of the province's GDP and six per cent of its employment. Tourism will accelerate as the Olympics approach.

The Games will include more than 17 days of Olympic and 10 days of Paralympic competition.

More than 80 countries will participate in the 2010 Games, attracting an estimated 3 billion television viewers worldwide.

VANOC has a $55.3-million contingency allowance in case it goes over the $580 million construction budget.

VANOC has a $100-million contingency allowance in case it falls short of the $1.63 billion operation budget.

With files from CTV's Todd Battis, CTV British Columbia and The Canadian Press