[News] UPD: Calgary City Council approves exploratory bid study for 2026 Olympics

[Tyler]

Yep, need a curling venue.

Added bonus: future Heritage Classic games?

[FlamesFanTrev]

Originally Posted by MacDaddy77

I'm sure the report will come out saying other venues outside Calgary were looked at, however it's more economic and in the best interest of the Olympic spirit for all events to be centered in Calgary and the Alpine events to be centered in Canmore. blah blah blah.

I think this is just an early way to say were considering everything.

I remember hearing Rick Hanson talk on the Fan 960 about the thing that they had found in the "exploration of an exploratory bid", specifically how the cost of security has increased dramatically post 9-11, and how, in order to be viable, the games (specifically the athletes village, and open/awards/closing ceremonies) needed to be centralized in order to reduce the cost of security. I cant see this 3-5 locations for the games being at all feasible from that standpoint. Its essentially spending money on security rather then infrastructure that would have a post-games use and benefit.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

So apparently the city is putting the fieldhouse into the Olympic bid and they are adding an ice rink to the middle of the field.

https://www.metronews.ca/news/calgar...struction.html

I wonder what the costs difference would be in up-scaling the hockey arena(s) to go along with the fieldhouse to accomplish the intention here.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Yep, need a curling venue.

Added bonus: future Heritage Classic games?

Huh? Heritage Classic in a indoor fieldhouse with limited seating?

[Lil Pedro]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Yep, need a curling venue.

Added bonus: future Heritage Classic games?

You forgot your green text

[CorbeauNoir]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Yep, need a curling venue.

Added bonus: future Heritage Classic games?

They toss outdoor games out like candy now, that stopped being enticing about five years ago. That's on the same level as when Bettman threatened that Calgary might not get to host the entry draft without a new arena. :sheerunbridledhorror:

[RM14]

Might as well throw in a modified CalgaryNEXT in Vic Park. let's get this all done at the same time.

[sureLoss]

Free trips to exotic places funded by taxpayers? good to see bribes are no longer part of the Olympic bid process /greentext /joking

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...tion-continues

The City of Calgary is paying for two MLAs to attend the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics in South Korea alongside three city staff, and potentially Mayor Naheed Nenshi, as part of efforts to evaluate a potential 2026 Olympic bid.

While Premier Rachel Notley dubbed the trip a fact-finding mission and said the province has made no decisions about supporting a Calgary bid, Nenshi said having provincial representation at the upcoming Winter Games is good news for Calgary’s repeat Olympic dreams.

Notley confirmed Thursday afternoon that deputy premier Sarah Hoffman and Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda accepted an invitation from the City of Calgary to attend the opening ceremonies in South Korea.

“I would imagine that that’s a pretty strong signal that if they want to observe, then they’re willing to fund their costs of the bid committee,” said Nenshi, who hopes to also attend the sporting event in February.

In November, council voted 9-4 in favour of spending an additional $1 million — on top of the $5 million already dedicated — to continue exploring a Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Games.

Council agreed to spend another $1 million on the exploration efforts next year, if the federal and provincial governments agree to help cover the cost of a bid, which is estimated to be around $30 million.

“We’ve made no decision on that. We’re still in the fact-finding and the research stage right now,” Notley told reporters in Edmonton on Thursday.

An end of January deadline has been set by council for the province and Ottawa to come on board and participate in a bid committee — just days before the Feb. 9 to 25 Winter Games in South Korea.

[Bunk]

I'm quite certain official observer status at the games leading up to a bid process is a requirement if you're to bid. The City and Province are certainly required to go if we want to move forward.

[browna]

Again, if Edmonton is part of this bid at all (and I can see Notely including Edmonton in there to justify provincial money and retain NDP votes in the next election and goodwill up there under the guise of having a bigger stadium and newer arena), the Calgary should pull out.

[stamps]

Originally Posted by browna

Again, if Edmonton is part of this bid at all (and I can see Notely including Edmonton in there to justify provincial money and retain NDP votes in the next election and goodwill up there under the guise of having a bigger stadium and newer arena), the Calgary should pull out.

Nenshi has no problem using my tax money for an Olympic bid that will bring Olympic hockey to Edmonton and enable the IOC to make hundreds of millions , all for a sixteen day party that I don't know , will help elevate his political career maybe ??? Yet he has no appetite for using public funds for a piece of infrastructure that will help keep NHL hockey and other events that would benefit Calgarians locally for the next thirty years ??? Is the city's bid not saying that they will front the loan but be paid back in full and their third of the cost is also to be paid back over x amount of years ??? Am I correct or am I missing something ???

[N-E-B]

I don't want the Olympics. If they're going to waste money waste it on a rink for the Flames.

[JD]

Something doesn't add up here. Nenshi seems fully on-board with hosting the Olympics yet he's battling the Flames tooth-and-nail on potential venues? Surely he doesn't believe the Saddledome or McMahon Stadium are adequate for 2026, does he?

And I echo Browna, if it means Calgary has to use Edmonton's facilities to get this done, count me out. One of the perks of hosting the Olympics is to thumb our noses at Edmonton when they brag about hosting the Track and Field Championships or something else less significant. Haha.

[Tyler]

Calgary ain't using Edmonton's arena.

This is called posturing. Sheesh.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by stamps

Nenshi has no problem using my tax money for an Olympic bid that will bring Olympic hockey to Edmonton and enable the IOC to make hundreds of millions , all for a sixteen day party that I don't know , will help elevate his political career maybe ??? Yet he has no appetite for using public funds for a piece of infrastructure that will help keep NHL hockey and other events that would benefit Calgarians locally for the next thirty years ??? Is the city's bid not saying that they will front the loan but be paid back in full and their third of the cost is also to be paid back over x amount of years ??? Am I correct or am I missing something ???

They offered 1/3 public funding.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by stamps

Nenshi has no problem using my tax money for an Olympic bid that will bring Olympic hockey to Edmonton and enable the IOC to make hundreds of millions , all for a sixteen day party that I don't know , will help elevate his political career maybe ??? Yet he has no appetite for using public funds for a piece of infrastructure that will help keep NHL hockey and other events that would benefit Calgarians locally for the next thirty years ??? Is the city's bid not saying that they will front the loan but be paid back in full and their third of the cost is also to be paid back over x amount of years ??? Am I correct or am I missing something ???

Well the fact that Edmonton being included in the bid is not a thing. At least not currently. So maybe hold your outrage.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by JD

Something doesn't add up here. Nenshi seems fully on-board with hosting the Olympics yet he's battling the Flames tooth-and-nail on potential venues? Surely he doesn't believe the Saddledome or McMahon Stadium are adequate for 2026, does he?

And I echo Browna, if it means Calgary has to use Edmonton's facilities to get this done, count me out. One of the perks of hosting the Olympics is to thumb our noses at Edmonton when they brag about hosting the Track and Field Championships or something else less significant. Haha.

Do you know that for city projects sometimes money comes from the city, sometimes from the province and sometimes from the federal government?

With regards to a hockey arena vs Olympic venues which one do you think has federal money being put into our city? And therefore which one do you think Nenshi is most likely to get behind?

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by stamps

Yet he has no appetite for using public funds for a piece of infrastructure that will help keep NHL hockey and other events that would benefit Calgarians locally for the next thirty years ???

You say this, and yet the legacy of the Olympics gives us more publicly usable spaces than a new arena gifted to billionaires would. Amateur sport getting support is a good thing.

I'd love to see the Olympics here and I do think they offer a good legacy for the city, but the numbers don't make sense for Calgary right now. I'd also love the Flames to stay put in a new arena, but not for what they're asking for right now. Right now, I don't think the money works for either of these.

[stamps]

Originally Posted by Bunk

They offered 1/3 public funding.

Paying property tax will more than recoup the city's contribution over 35 years I think is what the Flames are getting at , so essentially the Flames do end up paying for the whole thing plus ... the user fee's collected are really Flames revenue so that third is being defined as Flames contribution by the franchise ... I bet the indirect funding from the city (17th ave extension and under passes etc) would also be covered by the property tax so that is probably where Ken King gets his 120% the Flames end up eventually paying .... I can see why the Flames would turn this down ... there has to be some middle ground here ...

[stamps]

here is what the rest of Canada has done with publically funded sport arenas and stadiums .... http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...h-public-funds