Should Calgary Bid on the 2026 Olympics

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

It doesn’t matter what your interpretation of her tweet is. It matters what she meant by it.

Maybe she meant “do we want to be an average Canadian city like Winnipeg or do we want to stand out on the world stage”? It’s subjective until she explains her message.

not in this day and age.

we've seen many times over it's not the intent of a comment but how it's perceived. if the vast majority of people reading it take it as a shot at Winnipeg, then that's what it is.

edit: and as was pointed out, it obviously was a cheap shot as she now says it
was a "joke" ha ha. very professional of her.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I think the poll here is a little skewed based on fans of the Flames hoping for a new arena.

The poll question is meaningless with no mention of cost.

I feel like the power pendulum is swinging away from the IOC and back to the cities. Not too many cities want to competitively bid and spend like we have seen in the past. The IOC might need us more than we need them.

[oldschoolcalgary]

with all the supposed financial benefits of hosting the games, its odd to me at least that only 3 cities are currently vying for them...

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I think the poll here is a little skewed based on fans of the Flames hoping for a new arena.

Well hopefully Calgarians vote for a once in a lifetime opportunity to host a major worldwide event. This opportunity probably won’t show itself again in our lifetimes.

Some people are ok with being an average city because they already experienced the Olympics in 88 and don’t need to experience it again.

The financial arguement is just an excuse for nimby’ism. Taxes will go up Olympics or not.

Federal money is already earmarked for events in Canada. But hey, why should Alberta get any of that?

[stampsx2]

Vote “no”. Let’s be an average city.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Well hopefully Calgarians vote for a once in a lifetime opportunity to host a major worldwide event. This opportunity probably won’t show itself again in our lifetimes.

Some people are ok with being an average city because they already experienced the Olympics in 88 and don’t need to experience it again.

The financial arguement is just an excuse for nimby’ism. Taxes will go up Olympics or not.

Federal money is already earmarked for events in Canada. But hey, why should Alberta get any of that?

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Vote “no”. Let’s be an average city.

Literally nothing you said here would have any chance of swaying someone who would vote no. Which is exactly why I think no will win. This seems to be the whole yes sides campaign.

[Senator Clay Davis]

True story: Hosting the Olympics in 2026 is not going to change the fact Calgary is primarily viewed as a gateway to Banff and the Rockies. Anyone who thinks it's going to be some kind of transcendent event that is going to put us on par with Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver on the global stage....I mean lololololololol.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Well hopefully Calgarians vote for a once in a lifetime opportunity to host a major worldwide event. This opportunity probably won’t show itself again in our lifetimes.

Some people are ok with being an average city because they already experienced the Olympics in 88 and don’t need to experience it again.

The financial arguement is just an excuse for nimby’ism. Taxes will go up Olympics or not.

Federal money is already earmarked for events in Canada. But hey, why should Alberta get any of that?

some people don't think hosting an olympics turns a city into "world class".
hosting another won't vault Calgary to a new tier. Calgary will still be what it is.

as for taxes. sure they are going to go up, they always do.
but should they go up even higher for your party?

do you agree with the BidCo CEO and believe they'll not go over budget?
what's an acceptable amount for Calgary to spend pay to not be average. 1 billion, 2?


nothing wrong with Calgary being what it is. a mid sized city that has a great standard of living. likely never be world class and no shame in being as you say, "average"

[Bunk]

What it'd do is boost our profile on the world stage. What we choose to do with that profile will be up to us.

[OutOfTheCube]

Vancouver is pretty much the only 'world class' city that's hosted the Winter Olympics and actually seen their profile raise because of it, but they were most of the way there already. Does anyone know how Sochi or Turin are doing? No? Because there's nothing going on there anyone cares about.

Also, will be voting 'No'. And my wife asked what she should vote, she will also be voting 'No'. Bam.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Vancouver is pretty much the only 'world class' city that's hosted the Winter Olympics and actually seen their profile raise because of it, but they were most of the way there already. Does anyone know how Sochi or Turin are doing? No? Because there's nothing going on there anyone cares about.

I mean, we are the Economist 4th most liveable city in the world. That is not nothing. We are a better city now than Vancouver was at ~1.4 million in the late 80s/early 90s. We can get there if we make good choices - the Olympics can be helpful in that endeavour.

[DiracSpike]

We could use a new poll. This one has to be at least 6 months old. Personally I voted for the "Plebiscite" option at the time because it's too important and contentious for the populace not to have a say. But I was definitely strongly pro-Olympics at the time.

Since then however I have done a complete 180, mostly as a result of seeing the actual details of the bid. I've always wanted Calgary to host an Olympics, I was born in 1990 and I'm jealous my parents got to experience 88. But all those feelings and wants can't override the fact that this bid is terrible. We get no new useful infrastructure besides a field house. The costs to the City are already exhorbitant and all but certain to rise. We aren't getting enough funds from the Feds to offset the Olympic externality costs, it would be cheaper to build the facilites we actually want/need than to tag on unnecessary Olympic expenses. The IOC is corrupt. We're giving BC spinoff benefits after they've done everything in their power to choke us off from the world economy, they can go #### themselves. This bid makes no sense and it overrides all my existing biases towards wanting an Olympics here.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

No doubt the No side is louder, but the Yes side has simply done a very poor job of making their case. In fact, they've really made no case whatsoever other than "Trust us, it'll go fine because....1988....or some such ####". Maybe the Yes side has tons of quiet support, but given the town hall "votes" have been one way traffic against the bid, it's more likely people simply don't want this.

Who votes at the municipal level? Old people. What are the politics of old people when it comes to this stuff? They don't want to spend money.

I'd guess 70+ per cent of Calgarians over 50 are opposed to the bid, and it's maybe 50/50 for the under 50s. If I had to bet on the outcome, I'd go with 38/62 for/against.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Im curious as to what you would base this on.

Everything i have read and heard seems to suggest a landslide no vote.

Lots of people I have talked to support it; I don't have stats but I do see that the most vocal right now is the opposition. I think there is a silent majority, and I think many 'Yes' voters will make themselves heard in the plebiscite.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Well hopefully Calgarians vote for a once in a lifetime opportunity to host a major worldwide event. This opportunity probably won’t show itself again in our lifetimes.

Some people are ok with being an average city because they already experienced the Olympics in 88 and don’t need to experience it again.

The financial arguement is just an excuse for nimby’ism. Taxes will go up Olympics or not.

Federal money is already earmarked for events in Canada. But hey, why should Alberta get any of that?

I have heard that that money earmarked from the federal levels will not be coming in some alternate path if the Olympics don't happen. We won't get that money at all.

This is our only chance to secure federal funding for upgraded sports and recreation infrastructure (which we need), actually have many of the federal taxes that we pay come back to Calgary in a tangible, direct fashion. That's why I support this bid.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by Muta

I have heard that that money earmarked from the federal levels will not be coming in some alternate path if the Olympics don't happen. We won't get that money at all.

This is our only chance to secure federal funding for upgraded sports and recreation infrastructure (which we need), actually have many of the federal taxes that we pay come back to Calgary in a tangible, direct fashion. That's why I support this bid.

Stunningly incorrect. There are FAR greater needs in Calgary than sports infrastructure. This is a want, plain and simple. Acting like we need these things is sort of implying they are vital to the city, which they simply are not.

[gasman]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Well hopefully Calgarians vote for a once in a lifetime opportunity to host a major worldwide event. This opportunity probably won’t show itself again in our lifetimes.

Some people are ok with being an average city because they already experienced the Olympics in 88 and don’t need to experience it again.

The financial arguement is just an excuse for nimby’ism. Taxes will go up Olympics or not.

Federal money is already earmarked for events in Canada. But hey, why should Alberta get any of that?

I wish people would stop calling this a once in a lifetime opportunity. By the fact that we just held this event 30 years ago and there is a real chance we could get it again, and likely bid on it every 4 years, this is by definition not a once in a lifetime opportunity

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by Muta

Lots of people I have talked to support it; I don't have stats but I do see that the most vocal right now is the opposition. I think there is a silent majority, and I think many 'Yes' voters will make themselves heard in the plebiscite.

Sure, they don't need to be as vocal since they don't need convincing on what they believe is a good idea, and don't mind the price tag. But I don't believe the yes side has enough to be a majority.

It's not a glitz and glamour bid. It's an opportunity to get funding for a couple new facilities, and renovate facilities that need it all at once. On the side, get a fun world stage event for a couple weeks to go along with it. It's not sexy enough for the total price tag all parties are putting in to convince majority of people to support it.

Unless IOC and/or CSEC comes in last minute with news that can swing votes, I'd predict the 'no' votes would be the majority be a decent amount.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Stunningly incorrect. There are FAR greater needs in Calgary than sports infrastructure. This is a want, plain and simple. Acting like we need these things is sort of implying they are vital to the city, which they simply are not.

Not incorrect. Our facilities are outdated. With upgraded facilities, we can regularly support future, professional events past the Olympics. The Nordic Centre is currently being upgraded for this very reason.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Joborule

Sure, they don't need to be as vocal since they don't need convincing on what they believe is a good idea, and don't mind the price tag. But I don't believe the yes side has enough to be a majority.

It's not a glitz and glamour bid. It's an opportunity to get funding for a couple new facilities, and renovate facilities that need it all at once. On the side, get a fun world stage event for a couple weeks to go along with it. It's not sexy enough for the total price tag all parties are putting in to convince majority of people to support it.

Unless IOC and/or CSEC comes in last minute with news that can swing votes, I'd predict the 'no' votes would be the majority be a decent amount.

That's cool, I respect your opinion. I predict a 'yes', but I guess we'll see what happens. Should be interesting.