While the newly unveiled Water Cube (National Aquatics Center) has drawn plenty of oohs and ahs, its box office still leaves something to be desired.

At least it looked that way three days after the Olympic venue made its public debut, as spectators for the 2008 Swimming China Open, myself included, lined up in front of a small, improvised ticketing booth sitting strategically against a fence, next to piles of rubble and dirt still to be cleared.

People wait in line outside the Water Cube to buy the tickets for the Good Luck swimming test event in early February. [China Daily]

The ticket sale times were equally inconvenient -- 9-11 am and 5-7 pm -- but, as the notice said, were contingent on the actual schedule, which would be published anew each day.

Still, a large crowd gathered in the face of gusty winter winds to buy tickets with prices ranging from 30-120 yuan. Visitors could buy a maximum of four tickets each for the six-day competition. Tickets went fast so before long only expensive ones were left, if any at all.

"We're not interested in swimming. We just want to see the Water Cube," a middle-aged man in the line confided in me.

Well, the delivery may have been hasty -- the bubble cushions inside also need cleaning up -- but the venue's architects and owners still have good reason to celebrate the early launch of the complex, judging by the fervent public attention it has generated.

They might be pleased to think the Water Cube, with a bill of 1.02 billion yuan, has upstaged the Bird's Nest, the signature stadium of the Beijing Olympics. It cost three times as much to build, but it won't be ready until three months later.

According to Chinese designer Zhao Xiaojun, a "supporting role" had been planned for the Water Cube in relation to the Bird's Nest, just a stone's throw away from each other. The center's rectangular shape and flat roof symbolize harmony and humility in the shadow of the Bird's Nest's giant latticework structure and irregularly angled metal girders.

More importantly, from a business perspective, the early delivery of the Water Cube will also help its marketing managers ride the Olympic fervor that will only intensify as the Games approaches in their pursuit to turn the venue into "the most profitable house ever built", as Zhao has proudly predicted.

Personally, I think the business operation of the center may encounter more challenges than other venues because it's the only one funded by donations from the Chinese public. As such, the venue should be made available to the general public after the elite sporting events finish, and its entrepreneurial strategies should not be socially exclusive.

That's probably one of the reasons why Beijing National Aquatics Center Company Ltd -- the body set to run the venue after the Games -- has said it will charge roughly the same as other swimming pools in the city, at subsidized rates.

But the Olympic venue still faces the issue of how to sustain itself after the Olympic shimmer fades. The company urgently needs to develop a viable business model to generate revenues to cover its operating costs after the summer.

In an effort to cash in on the one-off Olympic marketing opportunity, the company has already launched its Water Cube mineral water bottled in Canada, reportedly at a retail price of about $1.35.

Mangers have also revealed that after the Games, the center will be renovated into a shopping mall and water park. In addition, the company will also sell a line of Water Cube products including drinks, swimwear and memorabilia.

In the end, the Water Cube's future lies in how fast it can reinvent itself to become part of urban life.