Should Calgary Bid on the 2026 Olympics

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

Anyone who votes down billions of dollars of someone else’s money being spent in our city can move to Edmonton.

Hopefully the no side is just a noisy minority.

Except it’s not someone else’s money.

[gasman]

Originally Posted by craigwd

Yes and BidCo repeatedly said the number provided was the number they used.
It was based on the G7, 2010 Olympic Games, 2015 Pan Am Games etc.

It is lower because the clusters are so much smaller and technologies are that much better + technology developed for Tokyo are very state of the art.

So no, there was no manipulation of the number.

And that number magically changed on Monday at the 11th hour to make the numbers work?

I'm sorry this whole proposal stinks, and if it goes ahead, everyone better be prepared to take it on the chin when it comes to paying for what will certainly be more than $5b.

There is no valid economic case for these games, if you believe otherwise you are either naive or ignorant.

Edit:

I just looked up some of the costs that you indicate form the "basis" of the estimate

2018 G7 2 days - $259MM
2015 Pan Am - 2 weeks -239MM (Sig. Smaller scope lower profile than Olympics)
2010 Olympics - $900MM (5 times the budget)

2026 bid - $400MM ( miraculously reduced from $600MM)

Unless they reduce the Olympics to a week long event, there is no way they don't at least double their security budget

As for "technology advances" that is just justification for lowering an already too low budget to make the numbers work.

I stand by my above comment. Ignorant or naive

[Mr.Coffee]

especially judging on how much of a #### show it's been so far I think Calgarians need to anticipate it coming in around $8-$10B, and the city likely on the hook for about half of that amount. That's probably the true cost of the Olympics.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

especially judging on how much of a #### show it's been so far I think Calgarians need to anticipate it coming in around $8-$10B, and the city likely on the hook for about half of that amount. That's probably the true cost of the Olympics.

What are you basing those numbers on?
Is there a formula or did you just pull a number out of the air?

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by zarrell

The no campaign has reached near hysterical levels of panic and concern both here and elsewhere. I think they represent a small vocal minority as literally everyone I've asked has said they would vote yes. This vote passes with easily a 2/3 majority.

Which is odd because I haven’t ran into a single person in my work or personal circle that’s voting yes.

[RinkRat]

I can't think of the last Municipal, Provincial, or Federal project that hasn't run into massive cost overruns, we will take the lowest bids as per the tender process, which are always well below what can reasonably accomplish what is required to be done, then pretend to be shocked as things snowball to a higher and higher cost.

and just for ####s and giggles it will be BIRD who receives a large portion of those contracts who has some of the shoddiest work I have ever seen come out of a tender process, but that's just my personal experience.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Jacks

What are you basing those numbers on?
Is there a formula or did you just pull a number out of the air?

Well apart from the fact that pretty much every Olympics in history goes over budget, it's really then just a function of guessing how much.

Out of the air, and based on how bad BidCo has operated here, I don't think it's totally unreasonable but yeah, obviously a guess when we're talking about an estimate to begin with.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Well apart from the fact that pretty much every Olympics in history goes over budget, it's really then just a function of guessing how much.

Out of the air, and based on how bad BidCo has operated here, I don't think it's totally unreasonable but yeah, obviously a guess when we're talking about an estimate to begin with.

I don't really compare our bid with Russia or Brazil or other countries that have treated the games as a status symbol. We have 2 examples of games held on Canadian soil in the last few decades and both of those were a success. Our closest comparable would probably be the US and they've also hosted Olympics that are considered a success.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by RinkRat

I can't think of the last Municipal, Provincial, or Federal project that hasn't run into massive cost overruns, we will take the lowest bids as per the tender process, which are always well below what can reasonably accomplish what is required to be done, then pretend to be shocked as things snowball to a higher and higher cost.

It's funny you say that literally the day before the new library opens, ahead of schedule and on budget.

[RinkRat]

Originally Posted by getbak

It's funny you say that literally the day before the new library opens, ahead of schedule and on budget.

In that case I'm impressed, haven't followed the Library process.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by getbak

It's funny you say that literally the day before the new library opens, ahead of schedule and on budget.

But but...Nenshi...

[robbie111]

My cynical take is

1. Use the Federal and Provincial funds to build infrastructure and don't touch the cities money at all, then declare that there is a security risk too great to hold the Winter Games 1 month before the starting date and hold the IOC hostage and force them to pony up huge dough if they want the games to take place.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by getbak

It's funny you say that literally the day before the new library opens, ahead of schedule and on budget.

The City Manager stated that since West LRT, which opened in 2012, no significant infrastructure project has run over budget or behind schedule. You can reasonably criticize the City for lots of stuff, but building stuff is something they do really well.

[lazypucker]

I have a question. What is the real purpose of the plebiscite?

Is it the decider between the go-ahead or stop the bid? Or is it just to get an opinion from the public?

In case of a NO result, can the city say F the result and still go ahead with the bid?

[nik-]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

I have a question. What is the real purpose of the plebiscite?

Is it the decider between the go-ahead or stop the bid? Or is it just to get an opinion from the public?

In case of a NO result, can the city say F the result and still go ahead with the bid?

It is non-binding, but it's pretty unlikely they'd proceed with a bid if the plebiscite shows the city doesn't want it.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by nik-

it's pretty unlikely they'd proceed with a bid if the plebiscite shows the city doesn't want it.

Is it? I thought it was pretty unlikely they’d push it to the plebiscite after this week.

If it’s 60/40 no I can see it still getting the go-ahead. Only way I see it die is if it’s an overwhelming no.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by DownhillGoat

Is it? I thought it was pretty unlikely they’d push it to the plebiscite after this week.

If it’s 60/40 no I can see it still getting the go-ahead. Only way I see it die is if it’s an overwhelming no.

Provincial money requires a 50% plus to fund. So it has to be a yes vote.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Provincial money requires a 50% plus to fund. So it has to be a yes vote.

Sorry I missed that. Do you have a link?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by DownhillGoat

Sorry I missed that. Do you have a link?

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...2026-games-bid

The province’s money is contingent upon Calgarians voting in favour of hosting the Olympics in the Nov. 13 plebiscite. At a press conference Friday, Ceci clarified the province is looking for a simple majority — 50 per cent plus one.

[Senator Clay Davis]

The bid corporation tried various approaches to keep its project viable for a bit longer. It argues that the city taxpayers’ investment of $390 million yields the city more than $4.4 billion—or every dollar being spent on a Winter Games, as though all the money that compensates Belgian snowboard judges and overtime pay for visiting Saskatchewan police lands directly back in Calgary coffers. Board chairman Scott Hutcheson tried the how-dare-you approach to council, passionately warning them they’d “undermine the process” if it ended that day. And then, to counter common arguments that Calgary 2026 is a shameless play on nostalgia for 1988, the bid group ended its pitch to council with a three-minute video of ’88 hokum and more recent Olympic glory—a preview of what will be a heavy emotional appeal to the voting public. Adding to that bit of arm-twisting, former Olympians and other bid supporters and employees filled council chambers wearing red shirts saying “Calgary: it’s your decision.”


And here’s a highlight reel of the arithmetic flips and triple lutzes that Calgary BidCo performed to make all the numbers work, for the federal government to sign off as 50-per-cent contributors and not a dime more:

—Chopping off the to-build list 1,000 on-campus student housing units; but at least the planned affordable housing stays on the books, bid leaders reasoned.

—Slicing more than $150 million from the initial security budget of $610 million, which bid leaders say came after they applied scrutiny to the numbers the RCMP and other agencies compiled. History makes it abundantly hard to believe Calgary’s Olympics can reverse the trajectory of nearly every Olympics and major-events security costs; Vancouver Games’ costs ballooned from $175 million to $900 million. Securing Sochi cost more than $2 billion. And if with a few hard questions the bid group seriously managed to lop off one-quarter of the police and screening costs, every politician in Canada should take a long hard look at what police chiefs and RCMP superintendents have been asking for all this time.

—The City of Calgary declared it will spend $20 million on a $200-million insurance policy to cover any unanticipated cost overruns, as part of the $1.1-billion contingency budget already baked into the Olympic figures. One ironic hitch: city executives conceded they’re not sure if they can actually get that much insurance for the price they believe they can get, and would have to trim the Olympic budget further to prevent any additional overruns

—Scrapping plans to demolish an old inner-city bus barn by the river, the keystone site for a long-planned revitalization project

—There’s a sudden appearance of $150 million in money in the bid book for road improvements that were already planned and never tied to the bid. This was done simply to make it look like the city was putting up a bigger share of cash than it actually is, so that Ottawa can say it will put up its share to match what the municipality is. (Announcer: and the judges… seem to like it!!)

Therein lies the brutal paradox for an Olympics bid: one must keep a relatively tight budget so that politicians will sign on—$5 billion is still a puny number for the ever-expanding Olympics—but that limits the long-term benefits and projects a Winter Games can bestow upon a community. Calgary was going to refurbish old venues instead of building anew, and the slimmer budget bestows an even slimmer legacy.

Some councillors newly added their names to the list of Calgarians fed up with the brinkmanship and connect-the-moving-dots financial picture, while others still believe in the Olympic magic and potential uplift for an economically frustrated city. One optimist even suggested that Calgarians skip advance voting and wait until the Nov. 13 plebiscite day, in case more details emerge or shift before then.

Public open houses ahead of the vote have largely been packed with financially reluctant or simply firmly unwilling residents—the latest batch of numbers probably won’t impress them much. But maybe BidCo can just play that movie of Gaetan Boucher, Liz Manley and Sidney Crosby on repeat, because wouldn’t it all be so cool?

https://www.macleans.ca/olympics/cal...-bid-lives-on/