2026 Olympics- Calgary votes no- 56%

[RM14]

Originally Posted by Regorium

Also CP definitely skews towards not giving massive corporate handouts

Really? Who is CP then? I thought it was professionals at works bored evey15 minutes.

What is the CP demographic? Bingo?? You're up

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Regorium

Also CP definitely skews towards not giving massive corporate handouts. The fact that this poll only shows 45% no is a definite concern, as it would project to a landslide "yes" in the general public. I would expect the generally reasonable people of CP not to be complete idiots, but I guess that's too much to hope for in this case.

I'd say the opposite. Most polls and such I have seen on other Calgary sites are way more resounding no's.

If anything a place like CP is going to skew yes on sports related things. Sam happened with polls about west village and such. Was much more positive here than elsewhere.

Can't say there is anything wrong with that though - not everyone are sport lovers and those that are probably see the value in sports related things.

Hell it literally took till today to actually talk to someone I know in my work/personal/sports circle that was voting yes.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Solid no.

most of the people i've talked to, except my boss interestingly enough, are voting no.

The numbers the Yes side are putting out are as soft as butter...not sure how anyone can trust them, or better yet, call them 'a good deal'.

a couple of things i don't understand: people talk like calgary is some kind of ghost town without them, even though just this year the Financial Times ranked it the 4th best place in the world to live.

secondly, the yes side is treating this as a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity...except its not...Calgary could simply push back their bid to 2030 if they wanted too... i am betting that olympics suffers the same lack of interested host cities that has been the norm the last couple of cycles.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Weitz

If anything a place like CP is going to skew yes on sports related things. Sam happened with polls about west village and such. Was much more positive here than elsewhere.

As i’ve already pointed out, this is not true.

In fact, it seems more often to be the very opposite.

CP was consistently more opposed in polls related to the arena discussion over the last 3 years than polls of the general public. CP seems to skew financially conservative.

[Travis Munroe]

Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary

Solid no.

most of the people i've talked to, except my boss interestingly enough, are voting no.

The numbers the Yes side are putting out are as soft as butter...not sure how anyone can trust them, or better yet, call them 'a good deal'.

a couple of things i don't understand: people talk like calgary is some kind of ghost town without them, even though just this year the Financial Times ranked it the 4th best place in the world to live.

secondly, the yes side is treating this as a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity...except its not...Calgary could simply push back their bid to 2030 if they wanted too... i am betting that olympics suffers the same lack of interested host cities that has been the norm the last couple of cycles.

I think the yes side knows and accepts that the numbers are soft. We believe the no side is also too hard on them given the nature of renovating vs building new. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Calgary is not headed in the right direction and the 4th place rank is irrelevant when looking at opportunity and economy. Canada continues to slide on rankings of places to do business and this is while most of Canada is enjoying great times.

People have already explained that not only is 2030 out of the question but 2034 would also be. I'm not sure how true it is but I think they mentioned salt Lake city as ready to roll out the red carpet for 2030 and then they would be due for a shift outside of North American for 2034.

Everyone wants to look at property tax hikes as the main driver for the no side. How about looking at property values. Even a 1% gain due to short term economic benefit has you break even. The path we are on right now, no Olympics, no injection of capital, no major temporary job growth, no office space being leases and you will see more than 1% in losses on your he value.

The no gal on the fan yesterday had a interesting comment...
As a no person, she knows we need something to kick-start the local economy but her suggestion was a new arena... This is incredibly hypocritical imo asking for tax payers to fund a smaller project with no outside capital joining in but not wanting to contribute 14% municipal taxes for 86% fed/prov taxes and IOC money.

[OMG!WTF!]

We believe the no side is also too hard on them given the nature of renovating vs building new.

Are you sure renovating on a time line and budget is easier than building new?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Travis Munroe

I think the yes side knows and accepts that the numbers are soft. We believe the no side is also too hard on them given the nature of renovating vs building new. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Calgary is not headed in the right direction and the 4th place rank is irrelevant when looking at opportunity and economy. Canada continues to slide on rankings of places to do business and this is while most of Canada is enjoying great times.

People have already explained that not only is 2030 out of the question but 2034 would also be. I'm not sure how true it is but I think they mentioned salt Lake city as ready to roll out the red carpet for 2030 and then they would be due for a shift outside of North American for 2034.

Everyone wants to look at property tax hikes as the main driver for the no side. How about looking at property values. Even a 1% gain due to short term economic benefit has you break even. The path we are on right now, no Olympics, no injection of capital, no major temporary job growth, no office space being leases and you will see more than 1% in losses on your he value.

The no gal on the fan yesterday had a interesting comment...
As a no person, she knows we need something to kick-start the local economy but her suggestion was a new arena... This is incredibly hypocritical imo asking for tax payers to fund a smaller project with no outside capital joining in but not wanting to contribute 14% municipal taxes for 86% fed/prov taxes and IOC money.

This is such a false talking point. The provincial funding is money that Calgary will lose from other grants. There will be projects like Green line Expansion where the Province will say that we funded the Olympics so we aren't funding this or its real debt being taken on. I get the federal funds are free argument but extending that to the province is just wrong. At a minimum you need to look at the tax revenues that Calgary sends to Alberta as it coming directly out of though 100% in my opinion is much more reasonable.

Increasing of property values long term will not happen as a result of the Olympics. The only people who capture that increase is those who sell while the boost happens. Long term property values will always be set by market conditions.

The Olympics change nothing about the direction that Calgary is headed. Its a ridiculous talking point. Your essentially using a MAGA argument. Trash Calgary's current state (which is still one of the strongest in Canada), point to some random issue as the solution, tie the arguments together with an emotional appeal. Now while it lacks the racism of Trumpian politics it certainly matches the logic.

[Senator Clay Davis]

First (probably only) poll is out. Interesting that the province wide support is larger than in Calgary. But this sounds about right and lines up with the city's feedback site, less the Yes bots.

Calgarians do not support hosting the Olympic Games, according to a new poll commissioned by CBC News.

The poll suggests only 35 per cent of Calgarians eligible to vote in the Olympic plebiscite would vote to host the Games. Fully 55 per cent are opposed and 10 per cent are undecided.

Provincially, 51 per cent would support hosting the Games, while 36 per cent are opposed and 13 per cent undecided.

The poll, however, should be read with a grain of salt.

"I am approaching this poll cautiously," said Janet Brown, who conducted the poll. "Every poll is a snapshot in time and this is probably an especially blurry snapshot given how much uncertainty was happening while this poll was being administered."

Brown points to the fluidity of the debate at the time of the polling, with intense rounds of negotiations taking place between governments and a last-minute funding deal that was brought before city council at the 11th hour.

The sample size was also small at 243 people, with a margin of error of 6.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Provincially, the survey of 900 people has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The Calgary numbers, however, still tell a story, says Brown.

"What we're seeing is a lead for the No side that exceeds the margin of error," she said. "So these numbers are well outside the margin of error. It's a small sample, but a well constructed sample."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...gary-1.4894146

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

First (probably only) poll is out, interesting that the province wide support is larger than in Calgary. But this sounds about right and lines up with the city's feedback site, less the Yes bots.



https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...gary-1.4894146

If you don't live in Calgary of course you would want the Olympics to come. It essentially costs you nothing and you can attend and benefit from it. Especially if you live in the immediate vicinity of Calgary.

[Bunk]

Older skews heavily no, younger to yes. Good thing it's younger people that go vote in huge numbers and seniors stay home.

Oh, wait. Crap.

[corporatejay]

Looking forward to voting yes next week. Sounds like a great opportunity to solidify our position as Canada's Olympic city for athletes and training, upgrade our aging facilities and leave an amazing legacy for our children.

I think this presents a great opportunity for the city and we'd be foolish to turn it down, but I understand why people don't think this is where tax dollars should go, I just don't agree with them.

[Travis Munroe]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Are you sure renovating on a time line and budget is easier than building new?

100% certain.
Overages as a percentage of the project are also almost always less expensive as well.

Originally Posted by GGG

This is such a false talking point. The provincial funding is money that Calgary will lose from other grants. There will be projects like Green line Expansion where the Province will say that we funded the Olympics so we aren't funding this or its real debt being taken on. I get the federal funds are free argument but extending that to the province is just wrong. At a minimum you need to look at the tax revenues that Calgary sends to Alberta as it coming directly out of though 100% in my opinion is much more reasonable.

Increasing of property values long term will not happen as a result of the Olympics. The only people who capture that increase is those who sell while the boost happens. Long term property values will always be set by market conditions.

The Olympics change nothing about the direction that Calgary is headed. Its a ridiculous talking point. Your essentially using a MAGA argument. Trash Calgary's current state (which is still one of the strongest in Canada), point to some random issue as the solution, tie the arguments together with an emotional appeal. Now while it lacks the racism of Trumpian politics it certainly matches the logic.

You multiple paragraphs and bolded 1 sentence which I agree with your statement and never said otherwise in what your bolded. The fact remains that 86% is coming from outside the city that we can grab right now.

I've said I will live with what Calgarians vote for but a few of the no posters mentioning that the yes side must be complete idiots or the yes side is using trumpian politics and a number of other insults doesnt help the no sides cause.

Calgary a state is one of the strongest in the country? I must be living on a different Calgary. I visit home owners on the daily who are struggling more today than they were 3 years ago. I can't tell you how many people could use the opportunity to sell during a small boost. People who need it badly want to sell but simply can't as in the bank won't let them without writing a cheque for thousands (tens of thousands) of dollars. Our downtown is so empty and the city can't spend another 100 million to save us from increases, the list goes on with evidence we are not one of the strongest markets in Canada.

I respect the no side and although I disagree, I will respect the results of what Calgary wants. I see this thread as friendly banter sitting around the table at a pub but it seems some (not directly referring to you) are taking it personal and resorting to name calling.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Older skews heavily no, younger to yes. Good thing it's younger people that go vote in huge numbers and seniors stay home.

Oh, wait. Crap.

Did you see the lineups on the news last night? Looked like an AARP convention. Doesn't bode well for the 'Yes' side.

Edit: I can't spell

[Senator Clay Davis]

The old folks ruining the young people's party is a right of passage.

[Otto-matic]

Scaled back Calgary 2026 Olympics security plan predicted to go over budget

The committee report proposed "a pragmatic and fiscally prudent security framework" based on a philosophy of "active risk management as opposed to high consequence aversion" — a philosophy endorsed by the bid corporation.

Instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on security personnel — costs that would likely include transportation, accommodation and overtime for hundreds of police officers from across the country — the plan is to "reduce the risk to as low as reasonably practical," according to the committee report.

It suggests one of the ways to do that is to hire fewer security personnel and fewer police officers.

"Instead of staffing every position with police officers, consider other options," said the report.

That would include more volunteers, private security guards and peace officers.

Vancouver security costs 5x original estimate
Vancouver 2010's final security bill came in at just under $1 billion — five times the original estimate.

Did BidCo use Kevin Malone and his Keleven to get their budget for Security set?


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...dget-1.4893885

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Did you see the lineups on the news last night? Looked like an AARP convention. Doesn't bode well for the 'Yes' side.

Edit: I can't spell

Yeah, Advance polls are probably not representative of the whole. But yeah, if younger people don't show up chances of a yes are slim.

[chemgear]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...dget-1.4893885

Scaled back Calgary 2026 Olympics security plan predicted to go over budget

Proposed $495M budget is being questioned since average security cost is $1.3B

While half a billion dollars is a lot of money, critics say the budget is unrealistic and cost overruns in the hundreds of millions of dollars should be expected.

"The Games are always characterized by a significant cost overrun and security is no different," said Michael Heine, the director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies at Western University in London, Ont.

It suggests one of the ways to do that is to hire fewer security personnel and fewer police officers.

Heine is also uncomfortable with the suggestion that more volunteers and private security guards be used during the Games.

"That seems very implausible to me," he said.

Vancouver 2010's final security bill came in at just under $1 billion — five times the original estimate.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

But this sounds about right and lines up with the city's feedback site, less the Yes bots.

Russians.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Yeah, Advance polls are probably not representative of the whole. But yeah, if younger people don't show up chances of a yes are slim.

Advanced polls are usually a pretty good indicator of enthusiasm though, and given that as mentioned it was a predominantly older crowd, that certainly doesn't bode well for Yes.

[The Yen Man]

I'm not surprised people in Calgary are more opposed to it than the rest of the province. With the high unemployment rate, and the downtown vacancy rates, people in the city are already facing ever increasing property and business taxes. To ask Calgarians to tack on even more taxes for a 2 week party probably doesn't sit well with Joe who saw his business taxes go up double digits over the past few years.