The Sochi Games cost $51 billion. It's highly questionable whether the entire city of Sochi and everything in it is worth that much money. Unquestionably billions were wasted.
Pyeongchang is budgeted at about $10 billion, but that number looks set to increase. And the people saddled with the heaviest burden are not happy about it:
(
http://pc2018.com/fears-over-south-k...lympics-costs/)
It looks as if a lot of South Koreans are worried about billions being wasted, too.
Looking ahead to 2022, the Beijing committee claims to be working with a budget of $3.9 billion; but this would appear to be a pipe dream, as they are dealing with issues that no previous Winter Games ever faced – such as putting all the ski and snowboard events in a location without reliable snow cover. If they do come in under budget, it will be because they make massive use of facilities built for the 2012 Olympics – which cost $43 billion.
Calgary, needless to say, does not have that advantage. Most of the facilities left over from the 1988 Games are no longer up to Olympic standards, either because the facilities have deteriorated or (most often) because the standards have risen. We would face billions in new construction costs, much of it to replace facilities that are fully adequate for our local needs but not grand enough to suit the IOC.
To give you an idea of the gap: Pyeongchang is spending $78 million on a
temporary 50,000-seat stadium, which will be dismantled after the 2018 Games. This structure is being built for the opening and closing ceremonies, and to serve as the medal plaza in between. Calgary in 2026 would have to do something similar; if we offered to use McMahon Stadium for these purposes, the IOC would laugh themselves into seizures. The building isn't big enough, and has none of the luxurious appointments that the Olympic brass expect to be made available for VIPs.
There are only two ways for the City of Calgary to come out of the 2026 Winter Games without massive debt. One is to stick the other levels of government with that debt, for which they will have little appetite. The other is not to host the Games at all.