ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607180075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: Associated Press
PRICE GOUGING is as much an Olympic staple as the torch or the five rings.
The temperature was in the low 90s, the perspiration was rolling down the woman's brow, and the ``Squeeze Breeze'' promised cooling relief - for a fat $20.
``Oh, Lordy!'' she exclaimed before leaving, the latest sticker shock victim of these cash-and-carry Olympics, where there's only one official credit card but plenty of fast bucks to be made.
The ``Squeeze Breeze'', which combines a battery-powered fan and a plastic water bottle to produce a refreshing mist, appeared a bargain next to some other items up for bid Wednesday in downtown Atlanta.
How about $10 for a 3-ounce tube of sunscreen, sold from a table on vendor-packed International Boulevard? Or $39 for an embroidered straw hat, up the road at the CNN Center? Or $90 for an Olympic beer stein inside the enormous Olympic Super Store? Or $199.99 for a Coca-Cola Olympic stuffed polar bear, available through its gift shop?
There's even government-sanctioned gouging: City officials approved a 22-percent fare hike for Atlanta's cabbies, turning an $18 ride into a $22 excursion. Flat rates inside the downtown Olympic Ring jumped 40 percent, from $5 to $7 - and that was only because the mayor shot down a bigger increase.
The city has cracked down on hotel gouging, with mixed results, but there was evidence the unregulated private housing market was still booming. Signs posted on utility poles inside the Olympic Ring urged people to ``rent your homes for Games - up to $1,000 a day.''
Bob Hubbard, 57, of Atlanta, spent about half that amount Wednesday. He walked out of the Olympics Super Store with $462 in official Olympic T-shirts - but he was complaining about the price of its posters.
``For $25, they're overpriced,'' said Hubbard, who steered clear of big ticket items like the $42 Olympic Monopoly game or the $39 backpack. ``I've seen the same type of poster in London for about $10.''
Price-gouging is as much an Olympic staple as the torch or the five rings. In Barcelona, some hotel prices doubled. The last U.S. games, 12 years ago in Los Angeles, saw car-rental prices soar.
Initial reports of spiraling Atlanta prices began last year, with the state attorney general reporting more than two dozen cases of hotel and motel gouging in June 1995. This week, there were reports of hotel room wholesalers peddling $174-a-night hotel rooms for $575.
Budget Rent-A-Car was anything but. A rental that would cost $69 on Aug. 6 was going for more than double that on Wednesday under their Olympic pricing system.
Less expensive but just as highly sought was the much-maligned Olympic mascot Izzy, a bizzyness unto itself. An Izzy mini-basketball, with matching hoop and backboard, sells for $48. An Izzy backpack brings $28. The Izzy doll, in three sizes, goes for $8, $11 and $24.
Squeeze Breeze salesman Patrick Harris, 20, said confidently that Atlanta was a seller's market. People might balk initially, he said, but they had another 18 days to come around.
``It's a pretty good little deal,'' he said of his product, detailing its big selling points: refillable, refreshing, batteries included. ``People will think it's worth $20 when they get hot.''
Food prices, while not staggering, were still steep. A hot dog or a slice of pizza was $3, while a 12-ounce bottle of water was $2 - more than double its usual price. A family of four would drop $14 for the temporary heat relief offered by soft frozen lemonade.
``I'm gonna throw away my pretzel,'' whined one little boy in Centennial Olympic Park. ``It's gross.''
His mom intercepted the boy as he moved toward the garbage can. ``Wait!'' she announced. ``I paid $2.50 for that!''
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP A parking lot that normally costs $6 a day is $15by CNBfor the Olympics, paid up front. color.