VANCOUVER - The anti-doping lab for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver will be built inside one of the venues at double the cost organizers originally budgeted.

After deliberating for years about where to put the facility, officials have settled on building it inside the speed-skating venue in Richmond, B.C.

"I believe that everybody can be confident that you can't stop people from taking drugs, but if you come to Vancouver, we're likely to find you," said Richard Pound, the former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and a member of the board of directors for Vancouver's organizing committee.

The space, about 1,400 square metres, will be donated by the city of Richmond.

The lab will cost $5 million to build, in addition to the $4.1 million organizers had already budgeted to run the program.

The cost overrun was attributed to the fact that organizers would need to build a facility, rather than take advantage of an existing one.

John Furlong, the chief executive officer of the organizing committee, said the additional funding will come from "economies" in the Games budget, but said nothing was being taken away or cancelled as a result.

The lab itself will be run by a team from Montreal's Institute national de la recherche scientifique, known as INRS.

The Montreal institute currently has the only lab in Canada and one of a handful in the world certified by the world agency.

Olympic organizers had at one point considered flying all of the samples from the Games in Vancouver and Whistler to the Montreal facility.

Other options for the lab could have been existing hospital or university facilities.

"We exhaust ourselves to try and get the best possible result in the best possible location," said Furlong. "This is not an uncomplicated venue to put in place."

Pound said having the lab near the venues was crucial to ensure quick turn-around time for results.

Organizers will also recruit 500 volunteers to act as doping control officers.

New equipment for the lab will be purchased, but its program will mirror the one already in place in Montreal.

After the Olympics, the space will convert to an international athletic health facility and the equipment may be available for other scientists to purchase.

Olympic doping labs are under considerable pressure, said Dr. Christiane Ayotte, the director of the doping control laboratory in Montreal, who will be helping set up the 2010 facility.

They have to turn around samples within 24 hours, whereas testing on samples from other sporting events take as long as 10 business days.

"It's us working day at night and also under pressure," she said. "The world is watching."

Historically, doping has been less of a problem at Winter Games than at Summer Games, acknowledged Cathy Priestner Allinger, senior vice-president of sport for the organizing committee and a former Olympic speed skater.

She said when she competed back in the 70s, doping controls weren't as sophisticated as they are now - though they did test for gender.

"It's come a long way, it's just become so highly technical and specialized," she said.

"But it's always been a concern in sport."

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