Quote:
Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper
I definitely don't work for the IOC, but I sure wouldn't mind a second source of income. Like I said in a previous post, Calgary profited $140,000,000 in 1988. We already have a lot of world class facilities in place. We already spend money on marketing the city to tourists, why not get one of the biggest marketing tools out there. The Olympics garner millions upon millions of viewers and the unique tourism that we would gain can make it worth the trouble.
I don't think there's another city in Canada right now who is more prepared to host another Olympic Games than Calgary. Why not let the next generation of Calgarians experience the pride and sense of community that 1988 brought to us. Plus, I'm pretty sure Trump will be gone by 2026 as I don't see him getting a second term.
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And as has been pointed out repeatedly, 1988 is 1988. It's not even worth comparing anymore, it's so exceptionally different. There are twice as many events, and twice as many athletes. You're acting like we just hosted a few years ago. The "world class facilities" in place is a bit of red herring, as you are assuming there will be zero cost going into improving those facilities, which isn't remotely true. Upgrades are better than new, sure, but that isn't free and could still end up being a significant cost. The tourism angle is pretty much a bunch of crap, Calgary is not and will never be a destination city. Banff and the Icefields Parkway is why most people come to Alberta, and that's not going to change or increase because of the Olympics. It's a desperate argument really, not one I'd wanna be using as a key argument to wanting to host.
As far as "another city in Canada" who is more prepared to host, I'm kinda thinking the feds should not support any Olympic bids until we see just how much health care is going to take a hit now that the boomers are starting to retire. That's sort of a massive problem on the horizon, one the feds should be deeply focused on, much more than fluff like hosting the Olympics, a 100% vanity event. If the prospective host city and province wants to increase taxes on their citizens with the aim of hosting, go for it. Of course supporting that is a political death sentence, so highly unlikely to happen. I'd love a ballot measure, would you support that? Something tells me given the likelihood it fails, you probably don't.
As to Trump, you missed the point. He doesn't have to be in office to have made North America significantly more susceptible to terrorism. 9/11 sent up Vancouver's security costs, even though it happened nine years before the event. Big terrorism events have lasting impacts. Calgary wouldn't want to global infamy of having a terrorist attack happening at an Olympics it hosts. That would probably crush tourism. End of the day, the Olympics offers far too much risk, for a very small potential of a big reward. Echoing what others have said, we need the infrastructure anyway, no need to whore ourselves out to the IOC to get them. We should just get them because we need them. Getting those without hosting the Olympics would be the greatest legacy of all.