USA House
ENDED FEB 28, 2010 The USA House will be located at the corner of Seymour & Nelson. Unlike the other venues USA House is private and only credentialed guests will have access. We felt that US nationals visiting Vancouver would like to know the location.
No confirmation on whether Stephen Colbert will be passing thru, but he might consider it safehaven on this side of the 49th parallel.
It will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fans of Team USA can subscribe here for updates. Team USA gear is reportedly being sold at the Nike Town store on Robson Street.
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I was able to get into the Team USA store with my non American husband and half American daughter waving a non American flag. Maybe it helped that I had a games accreditation, shocking since I'm only volunteering. If you want to support the US, improve its image and show the rest of the world how individual Americans can be respectful of other cultures and their endeavors rather than try to outshine them. We have a bad enough rep as it is.
Back to the store... Prices are overpriced as expected. I'd say it's comparable to stuff at the Bay (which is also horribly overpriced) but not as badly expensive as some other countrys' teams. Picked up a Nike team USA scarf (without the "just do it" on the back which is what you get at the Niketown store) and some USA flag pins.
We even bumped into an athlete with a medal around his neck...
Yea, it would have been nice to have a "USA house" to watch the games with other Americans but I've always felt comfortable in a crowd of many cultures and nations and proud to wave my flag, especially when my underdog team beats the home country in their own homegrown sport....
BTW, the building seems like a residence hotel. I bet one of the reasons was to have a place downtown where people could feel safe but also be in the middle of it all (unlike the Athlete's Village which is completely secluded from the crowds).
I for one don't think the government needs to sponsor this kind of thing. The US has enough willing private sponsors (even in this economy, thank you Colbert!) rather than burden taxpayers....
Wow, totally disappointed in USA house. I too ventured out on the 15th to buy some Team USA stuff. Very limited throughout Canada. I have been here since November working. Besides being rude and told to shop at they bay, the Irish house across the street made them look even more ridiculous. They welcomed me with open arms and a full beer.
Shame on you USA, way to continue showing your arrogance and stupidity to the World.
Wow Shannon!I too am an American married to a Canadian and living here in Vancouver.I did not realize the USA house was "off limits" to the public.How embarrassing this is and how offensive.They want Canadians to feel safe and welcomed in the US..but yet when they come up here they snub them!So I guess Canadians are welcome to buy but not see the culture.Wow..that's showing them friendship.Makes me even happier to be living in Canada now!!
I am an American living in Vancouver with my Canadian husband. I was rejected from the US house too last night. I was angry and disappointed. I wanted to hang out with my home team and buy some USA merchandise. I feel so embarrassed that I can't even get into my own country's house. I guess I will have to hang out at the Canadian house or even the Irish house. Shame on you American House, Americans needs a place to go too. You could of used this opportunity to let everyone in and show people that Americans are nice too but you look like asses making it private. All Americans that are here should go down and chant let us in…lol
Wow how embarassing... Im American however my girlfriend is from Vancouver. I was more or less humiliated yesterday after being denied access to my own countries house, and laughed at by my girl and her friends. I guess the worst part was when the girl at the front desk wispered to us that maybe it would be different if the event had been sponsored by our govt. wow!!!
I hope they realize this is not a good decision and have taken the spirit of these games away from their fans.
The Team USA store is definitely not open to the public.
The Bay has the Ralph Lauren branded Team USA gear...at a premium and way more expensive than should be tolerated given the economic climate for the last year.
Nike also makes authorised Team USA gear and the NikeTown on Robson has some of it (replica jerseys, hats, t's).
Alternately, Roots is selling 'team' gear for many countries, including the US. All the items are in appropriate national colors to show your support for your favourite nation's athletes.
Thanks so much for letting us know that the TEAM USA store is also closed to the public. This is contrary to the previous information we had been provided. As a result we will remove this as one of our "free venues".
Tried to go there yesterday, but even the store is not open to the public? So the only place to get team usa stuff is at hbc store, but they only have the expensive Ralph Lauren line. So if you are coming from the States I would get your stuff before you get here. Even the cool team Canada stuff is only at hbc first thing each morning, then it is all gone for the day. Really frustrating.
Tom either loves our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, who has little in common with Obama, or Tom is an aspiring Marxist who is eager to stamp out free speech and ideas.
Americans and their ideas and American government officials are ALWAYS welcome in our country.
We love our American brothers and sisters; so welcome to our home. But your govenrment and its views are never welcome. Enjoy the party!
Since the United States originally backed Seoul, Korea for the 2010 Winter Games, it is not surprising that their contribution to Canada's winning bid is "underwhelming".
Given the US's ability to directly and "indirectly" impact events and outcomes....I'm very nervous about thse games.
gc
The only place that the public can buy USA merchandise is at the Hudson Bay. Prices are way out of line though, usually 2-3 times as expensive as other countries merchandise. Example, a simple baseball cap, $80 for the USA version (Ralph Lauren), $25 for the Russian one.
The pavilion is definitely off limits to the public, too.
not open to the public? !but we can buy thier stuff, typical, I'm with kelly thanks but no thanks I'll spend my money somewhere that has a bit of Olympic spirit
John from Cleveland:
Good for you!! Thanx for the idea. I will be bringing some little goodies from MS to spread around. Let's blanket the games with smiles and good wishes to all the countries competing.
I cannot wait to see all of ya'll from other countries!!!
Definitely bringing "I Am America.." hope to run into Colbert and have him sign it.
Who needs extra goodwill ambassadors when you have Stephen Colbert in the house!?! Go team USA!
Although I think it's nice of the US to keep it low key and let Vancouver stumble/shine on its own.
USA house is a few steps away from Irish House at the corner of Nelson and Seymour Streets? Isn't that the Penthouse Nightclub - famous for strippers?
Isn't that the same reason why Detroiters always cross the border to go into the small Canadian town of Windsor?
ouch - this is the result you get when bureaucrats are in charge of setting up something that should be warm & fuzzy. I will be coming to the Games from Cleveland, Ohio and will be happy to be an unofficial ambassador. I'll be sure to bring along some pins from Cleveland's Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame to pass out.
LOL, love the comments ...
Maybe this is why there's more security than athletes and volunteers! I was wondering why the security level was so high, it's insane you can't get in anywhere without having authorization in triple :-| And I'm not even talking about when a torch relay comes to a city ...
I imagine this is mainly due to security reasons. Given how popular it is to be US hater in the world these days, I imagine would be like going through airport security to get in.
Although perhaps, they could have set up a full body imaging scanner. That should keep out all the freaky terrorists.
Nothing open to the public? No interactive exhibits? No goodwill ambassadors? Oh wait, I can BUY something though? How perfectly American. I'll save my $ thanks!
To not have any interactive public exhibits while the rest of the world extends goodwill? Why can't we be friends?
how friendly .... oh those americans!
So will the Team USA store be open to the public?
Marcie, the Games are being held in Canada, not the U.S. Maybe they don't want to look like they're trying to steal our thunder?
BTW, you might want to ease up on the punctuation. It just makes it harder to figure out your message.
Well, it's most likely for protection.
Why the obvious lack of participation from the US of A??? I personally think that it is so poor on their part!!!! Shame on them!!! But, I do think that a lot of Americans will flock here whether or not their government toasts it or not... and so enjoy themselves! We welcome you!