2026 - should Calgary bid?

[spuzzum]

Why was downhill in '88 at Mt. Allen instead of Lake Louise? Was the mountain not fully developed necessary for Olympic downhill in those years?

[puffnstuff]

^^^ Covered a little earlier, didnt want it in the National park.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

I think there's a good chance of Calgary hosting again by 2038 at the latest. That's two more cycles of the Games passing through North America, leaving room for the USA to play host again.

I think a South American Andes Mountains host may be a small X factor (Chile or Argentina), with the trend being to expand the Games to more than just North America, Europe and developed Asia. I don't think that's very realistic though, just a possibility.

Also in play should be Calgary bidding for a Commonwealth Games or Pan Am Games before trying for the Olympics again. They are easier to win and host, and would help phase the infrastructure and facility investments to build up to an Olympics. Out of a Commonwealth or Pan Am Games, you could get a new stadium and some other goodies.

After Toronto-Hamilton hosts the 2015 Pan Am Games, the next cycle through North America would be 2027. For the Commonwealth Games, 2026 or 2030 would be possible.

Back to the Winter Olympics though, I ultimately think 2026 is doable. Would need SELRT, North Central LRT, airport rail connection (paid for by the airport authority, and probably not before the SE and North Central lines, of course), possibly 8th Avenue Subway, enchanced transit (BRT) to COP area, full ring road plus perhaps some enhancements to the parts already completed.

Hubs would be:

- COP - including new jumps and bobsled track

- U of C - retain and enhance current oval, perhaps add a secondary arena for curling/short track/secondary hockey

- Centre City - media centre, medal ceremonies, hotels, new arena and possibly new stadium

- Olympic athlete's village should either come in the form of buildings to be subsequently used as new residences at U of C or in the Centre City - possibly West Village to be used as condos/attainable housing after Games.

- Satellite hub at Canmore for nordic events similar to how Whistler was organized during Vancouver Games.

- One other possible hub at Max Bell/Firepark area involving secondary arenas for curling/short track and/or secondary hockey facility.

• IRRC there are 2? Ice surfaces in the middle of the Oval.
• Doesn't that exist now, with the Nordic Centre, it might need an up grade or re-fit.

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

• IRRC there are 2? Ice surfaces in the middle of the Oval.
• Doesn't that exist now, with the Nordic Centre, it might need an up grade or re-fit.

1. They have to remove these two ice surfaces for competition. The centre ice is for teams to warm up and train.

2. Canmore Nordic Centre just started hosting international events again. It's still pretty small, all satellite transmissions just come from the broadcast trucks.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Does it honestly make sense to invest all that money in another Canadian city?

We're a small country population-wise, and would be better off re-investing in Calgary Olympics every 40-50 years and keep it as our development hub for winter athletics.

This is actually a good point. It would be better for the country to have legacy facilities in Calgary, rather that Quebec City, for the altitude advantages in training.

[Antithesis]

Originally Posted by Flame19,289

A joint Montreal - Lake Placid bid would be intriguing... Lake Placid has the vertical drop necessary at Whiteface Mountain, and obviously has lots of Olympic infrastructure already in place. Montreal has the larger, modern facilities that would be required. Mont Tremblant would be a great locale for many of the snowboarding events.

I don't believe that the IOC will allow multi-national bids for Olympic games, even if the logistics of the situation were manageable.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by _Q_

Sochi Population - 343,334
Pyeongchang - 43,706

Some of you are vastly exaggerating the size of a city necessary for a successful Winter Olympic bid.

For 2018, all of the indoor events are being held in the city of Gangneung, which has a population just under a quarter million.

The problem is that the smaller the host city, the larger the burden on the host city to maintain the facilities afterward. I was reading something yesterday that said the cost of maintaining the Sochi facilities for just the next three years will be $7 billion, and Putin has already told them not to expect any more money from the national government.

For Sochi, the small hockey arena and the curling rink were both designed to be dismantled and relocated after the games. The same is true for the large hockey arena for Pyeongchang.

The advantage of hosting in larger cities like Salt Lake and Vancouver is that they either already had suitable existing facilities, or were able to build new venues that would get use after the games. In Salt Lake, the figure skating/short track venue was the arena where the Jazz play; the primary hockey venue was a new arena that's now the home of the Utah Grizzlies; and the secondary hockey venue is now a small community rink. Vancouver already had the Pacific Coliseum and GM Place and built a new arena at UBC as the secondary hockey venue.

Another advantage of a larger city is that it should already have a lot of the necessary supporting infrastructure as well, such as hotels for visitors and public transportation systems.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Does it honestly make sense to invest all that money in another Canadian city?

We're a small country population-wise, and would be better off re-investing in Calgary Olympics every 40-50 years and keep it as our development hub for winter athletics.

Calgary is a hub, not the hub. All those freestyle skiers and short-track skaters taking home medals aren't training in Calgary.

[Tyler]

I'd argue that it is in fact, THE hub.

With that said, I think it's pretty unrealistic to expect all Olympians to be training out of Calgary. My point was that it would be a BETTER investment to continue to focus dollars and efforts where a majority of athletes already train and where we have existing facilities instead of starting from scratch

[hwy19man]

Having Calgary do it again is a good idea. The new rink should have the international dimensions built in for the Olympics, just like it was done for the Saddledome.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by hwy19man

Having Calgary do it again is a good idea. The new rink should have the international dimensions built in for the Olympics, just like it was done for the Saddledome.

The Canadian players hate the international ice because it promotes defensive hockey. No need to spend the extra money making the rink expandable to international ice because I doubt they would even use it if Calgary was given the Winter games in the future.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by hwy19man

Having Calgary do it again is a good idea. The new rink should have the international dimensions built in for the Olympics, just like it was done for the Saddledome.

they have really stopped caring if the ice is international or NHL sized 2 of the last 4 have been on NHL sized ice

[goodyear]

If Calgary were to host another Olympics, I would like to see it to be the summer games . Calgary would possibly be the first to host both the summer and winter games.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

they have really stopped caring if the ice is international or NHL sized 2 of the last 4 have been on NHL sized ice

Wasn't Vancouver the first Olympics to be played on North American sized ice?

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by goodyear

If Calgary were to host another Olympics, I would like to see it to be the summer games . Calgary would possibly be the first to host both the summer and winter games.

This will never, ever, ever ever happen in your lifetime. If Canada ever gets a summer games it will be Toronto.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by getbak

Wasn't Vancouver the first Olympics to be played on North American sized ice?

Salt Lake, no?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Salt Lake, no?

No: http://arenaguide.iihf.com/en/news/index.php?nid=7

The last Olympic tournament in North America before Vancouver – Salt Lake City 2002 – was played on a large surface.

Based on the quotes in that story, it sounds like future games in North America can/will be played at North American dimensions.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by SebC

I'm curious what makes you think Nordic Centre for ski jumping. Personally, I think an upgraded COP makes the most sense for the games (though potentially not for legacy).

Crosswinds are a problem for COP. Norquay is nice and close to Banff - no other reason really.

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Crosswinds are a problem for COP. Norquay is nice and close to Banff - no other reason really.

I believe crosswinds in ski jumping is lessened these days with wind covers. You see them against the Sochi jumps.

[Texas Blueliner]

The '88 Olympics introduced me to the greatness that is Calgary. I'd love to see the games there again so others can appreciate it as I do.