Should Calgary Bid on the 2026 Olympics

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

yeah that's fine, whoever contributes should be allocated votes.I'm talking about the fact that they have opened up voting to people who bear no financial risk. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

I'll tell you what's a sweet deal. That provision in the Tenancies Act that prohibits landlords from passing on property taxes to renters.



But I'll tell you what's not a sweet deal. Somebody with a $300K house in Evergreen or Saddleridge getting the same amount of say as somebody who owns a $3M house in Mount Royal or Brittania. Or companies with large real estate holdings like Boardwalk. So I'd have to assume votes would be allocated based on actual tax contribution for this to be fair, rather than treating poor property owners the same as rich ones.

[Brewmaster]

Every resident of the city will get a vote. That is the way our democracy works, not some system of proportional voting by income or wealth. If Calgary somehow ends up in the red on this over the long term, the low income residents are going to feel the pain worse than the wealthy.

As for the commitment by the Government of Canada, I think it might be enough to sway my vote to Yes. Getting federal dollars to pay for major upgrades to our facilities and potentially getting a new arena in Calgary is the most appealing part of the entire concept. I would like to see the province step up a little more to ensure the maximum commitment by the Feds, but I recognize they are in a tough spot with their reputation for spending and the optics heading into the upcoming election.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

that's a completely reasonable position. What seems weird about this whole process is that a bunch of people who aren't taking financial risk get to go vote in the plebiscite so that the rest of us can pay for their party.

How many Calgary residents who currently do not own a home, will by 2026? How many who do, will not? This can be evaluated any number of ways. Why should all current property owners reserve the right to make decisions that will affect the entire pool of residents for several years to come?


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[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Brewmaster

Every resident of the city will get a vote. That is the way our democracy works, not some system of proportional voting by income or wealth. If Calgary somehow ends up in the red on this over the long term, the low income residents are going to feel the pain worse than the wealthy.

As for the commitment by the Government of Canada, I think it might be enough to sway my vote to Yes. Getting federal dollars to pay for major upgrades to our facilities and potentially getting a new arena in Calgary is the most appealing part of the entire concept. I would like to see the province step up a little more to ensure the maximum commitment by the Feds, but I recognize they are in a tough spot with their reputation for spending and the optics heading into the upcoming election.

Most people are idiots who don’t budget properly and rack up debt and live far beyond their means. These are the people voting on this and don’t care one iota about civic finances and only “living for the day” which is short sighted and stupid.

I understand how democracy works I’m just challenging the notion that it’s the best way to run this particular plebiscite.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

How many Calgary residents who currently do not own a home, will by 2026? How many who do, will not? This can be evaluated any number of ways. Why should all current property owners reserve the right to make decisions that will affect the entire pool of residents for several years to come?


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We are making the decision today not in 2026 plus we’ll begin funding prior to the Games arriving so that’s kind of irrelevant. But it would be nice to know the timing of the incoming property tax that I suspect the majority of homeowners don’t / won’t understand from an impact perspective and furthermore I wonder how many can actually afford the bump.

The current base of property tax payors are the only known group that will be impacted, so wondering about nebulous future impacts is irrelevant. At least future homeowners have the benefit of understanding the financial impacts these games will have on their finances whereas people who own homes today are just stuck with the bill and didn’t have the knowledge Calgary was going to make idiotic civic financial decisions.

[Wormius]

So what is an acceptable amount of cost overruns that would be tolerated to make leveraging the money that the provincial and feds fees to Calgary? I would think up the matching amount would make sense if that money is basically staying in Calgary to essentially pay local workers. If the money basically stays in Calgary then that’s not a totally bad thing in the scheme of things.

But still cost overruns aren’t part of the budget, otherwise that would be the budget, right?

[Wormius]

Dp

[Wormius]

Tp

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Most people are idiots who don’t budget properly and rack up debt and live far beyond their means.

Plenty of these people bought property, which is why they have racked up debt and are living beyond their means.



So why would you want an election made up of a greater proportion of these people?

[PepsiFree]

I’m voting yes because upsetting the pile of condescending whiners on the “no” side is well worth the price!

[transplant99]

I cant believe ANYONE honestly believes that the existing numbers are the ones that will be the final tally.

Hell, we aren't even sure what the current numbers are supposed to build entirely.

As has been mentioned repeatedly, there is no way that this thing goes ahead without a new arena included. That's at a minimum. Personally i wouldn't do it without a new stadium being included either. The key to both of those happening is knowing you will have an anchor tenant to make sure they are viable long past the 2 week party 7 years from now. That requires a commitment from the CSEC as they are the only dance partner the city has at this point. They have agreed to nothing at this point and gain leverage each and every day against the city the longer this goes on.

I loved the 88 games....it was an absolute blast and kick started an attitude as a city that never existed previously. I would love to see if that can be replicated but in no way am i voting yes without way more disclosure and honesty as to what the true cost is and what exactly will be provided for that money. If there isn't an arena, its a hard no as it will be with many citizens. If there is, then the rest of it can try and be sold to the masses and may have a chance to be accepted.

Right now though the bid committee has done a dismal job in regards to selling their vision because its a very convoluted and blurry one, and they are running out of time to do so. They need a hail mary in the next 10 days to even have a chance. They need the CSEC a whole lot more than they ever imagined IMO.

[Amethyst]

Clearly, the best way to run this thing is to allow only those who agree with me to vote. I will support those results!

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Amethyst

Clearly, the best way to run this thing is to allow only those who agree with me to vote. I will support those results!

It’s not about people who agree with me it’s about people who are bearing the financial risk. Like everything in life no risk no reward. Except when it comes to the Olympics in Calgary. Hell one poster earlier said he would be bearing financial risk and supported it and I think that’s great and I fully support his / her position.

This is not a radical position nor is it condescending nor is it even unreasonable. Most things in life you have to pay to play so I’m not sure why property tax payors are being asked to pony up for everyone else who get a say but I guess that’s the deal.

As to the other silly post about homeowners putting themselves in too much debt so why should they be the group to vote- again this is a painfully simple concept. People who are paying for these games should have the say. They own homes today and the vote is today, not in 2026 because that’s how the timelines have to be.

One thing Prentice has absolutely correct is how entitled people are to things they don’t pay or work for.

[Amethyst]

My comment wasn't directed to you specifically. Just all the comments about, it will affect these people most, they should vote. No, it will affect these people most, they should vote.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

This is not a radical position nor is it condescending nor is it even unreasonable. Most things in life you have to pay to play so I’m not sure why property tax payors are being asked to pony up for everyone else who get a say but I guess that’s the deal.

It’s all of those things, because you’re effectively saying you don’t agree with democracy unless it suits you.

Would you willing give up your vote on anything and everything that would effect others MORE than you, just to have those who this effects less than you have their vote taken away?

[Mr.Coffee]

If my vote meant financial risk to others with be bearing no risk, then I would understand. I do see your point though. But remember that there’s a difference between democratic elections in terms of our government or human rights issues like health care, education or equality and hosting a massive expensive party.

[PepsiFree]

Fair enough. I just think shrinking the size of the voter base in arbitrary ways is a recipe for disaster. The fact is, the Olympics are going to impact a lot of people in a lot of different ways, it’s not as simple as “property taxes going up” and when you start looking at something with a scope as narrow as that, you’re excluding a ton of people who should absolutely have a say.

Like a lot of things, there are going to be people voting on this that it doesn’t really impact, but like everything else, they should have a say just the same.

[gottabekd]

So the poll on the engagement site has shown some interesting results: https://engage.calgary.ca/2026Games?redirect=/2026games

In the last 24 hours there has been about a huge surge for "Strongly agree". Almost unbelievable.

And this is even before the inevitable "surprise" last minute announcement that the Flames are working with the city and BidCo on a new NHL arena as part of the bid. (To be clear, just joining in the speculation on this).

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by gottabekd

So the poll on the engagement site has shown some interesting results: https://engage.calgary.ca/2026Games?redirect=/2026games

In the last 24 hours there has been about a huge surge for "Strongly agree". Almost unbelievable.

And this is even before the inevitable "surprise" last minute announcement that the Flames are working with the city and BidCo on a new NHL arena as part of the bid. (To be clear, just joining in the speculation on this).

Well the yes side was on the news claiming the no side had bots voting and leaving comments... I wouldn’t be shocked if they are doing it now.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I’m voting yes because upsetting the pile of condescending whiners on the “no” side is well worth the price!

sounds an awful lot like voting for Trump to trigger the libs.