Quote:
Originally Posted by Red
Just as I suspected, it's not really about what he believes in. It's about winning an argument or opinion he defended. And hurting someone he hates, Nenshi.
I could care less how corrupt the IOC is or how big Nenshi's ego would grow. I want the Olympics because it would boost this city's image 10x more than any sports team could do. I believe that this would be good for the city long term. Expensive, but a good investment.
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How do you see the Olympics boosting the city's image in the long term? And what positive economic benefits do you see attached it that? Being on the TV for a few weeks doesn't help us five or ten years down the road. Companies looking to invest are not going to say "well Calgary hosted the Olympics that one time, so lets make that a key point in our evaluation".
In my mind, there should be four main things that are firmly in place before a bid is submitted.
1) Commitment from the federal government for funding as a percentage of total costs
2) Commitment from the provincial government for funding as a percentage of total costs
3) Commitment from the IOC for either a lump sum amount plus share of generated revenues OR commitment for funding as a percentage of total costs
4) Scenarios presented to council showing impacts of the games on current and future debt loading, as well as predicted impact on future taxation rates. Not just best case scenarios either
If they are going to use the long term benefits of infrastructure created for the games, then those benefits should be able to be defined. There have already been enough games that the cost benefit analysis can be easily done. If it comes out positive, then go for it.