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

[Vinny01]

Sorry I haven't read through the entire thread but if the Olympics did happen in Calgary one could assume there would be more of an interest in the CalgaryNEXT project? If they built the West Village facility one could also assume they retain the saddledome to host other events and then proceed to tear it down after the games?

[Resolute 14]

IMO, the argument over whether we made or lost money is more to distract than anything else. OCO made money and VANOC closed down debt-free. These are both facts.

Also a fact is that three levels of government spent money themselves. In the case of Calgary, that money produced a suite of sporting facilities that we have enjoyed for three decades, Olympic Plaza and the Olympic Village that became student accommodations at the U of C. We have also become a go-to destination for world level sporting events and the heart of Canada's winter sport program.

When I look at that, I find the quibbling about profit or loss to be rather pointless.


The issue for 2026 is that the costs will be far higher, and the odds of repeating those benefits are less likely. But it still comes down to what we get for our money. If we come out of a 2026 games with renovated or replaced sporting infrastructure (necessary anyway as these buildings are nearing the end of their life spans), a new Olympic Village that spurs development (west village?), and some useful transportation upgrades (i.e.: LRT Airport spur to the green line), then the cost may be justifiable.

[Tyler]

I don't get why everyone is so obsessed about this thing turning a profit.

It's the biggest winter sports party in the world and it only happens every 4 years. The eyes of the world focus on Calgary for 2 weeks.

So you lose a bit of money. Big deal. Manage it appropriately and a generation too young to remember '88 will thank you for the rest of their lives.

[GirlySports]

Resolute: Can you find the 2005 Calgary Expo bid?

If we had won that I think more infrastructure in the city would have been completed and even if it has lost money, 11 years later we'd be benefiting from it.

[Senator Clay Davis]

The one thing that's going to be a major obstacle to any bid is the fact that 2019, when the bid is due, is an election year provincially. Given how the NDP is loading up the debt, I suspect adding more debt to host the Olympics will be a problem for the voting public, especially outside Calgary. So this could become an election issue, and it's likely the non-NDP parties would be preaching cutting the debt, not adding to it. And obviously the NDP is likely to be dumped as the ruling party.

[GirlySports]

but the promises and the bid would have to come well before 2019 right? Calgary has to win the Canada round first. I'm sure Quebec City will want to bid too.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Quebec City has been out for a while now. Calgary is it for a Canadian bid. The promises are subject to the voters giving the party making the promises enough seats to form the government. The vote for Alberta will be first half of 2019, Olympic bid second half. So if the NDP supports the Olympic bid and say the Wildrose doesn't, and the Wildrose wins (the likely scenario), the bid is basically dead right there.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

but the promises and the bid would have to come well before 2019 right? Calgary has to win the Canada round first. I'm sure Quebec City will want to bid too.

Quebec's mayor has been told by the IOC that a bid would not be successful because FIS won't negotiate the lack of approved ski venues and the USOC shot down the chance of a split bid with Lake Placid. He has notified the COC that they won't be bidding. It's as good as ours.

Re: the Expo, I'm not sure but I do have somewhere a pdf of Calgary's 2010 Winter Olympic bid. It was pretty comprehensive. I'll have a look.

[You Need a Thneed]

Any potential bid would likely be far enough along in 2019 that a provincial government change shouldn't be able to kill the project.

[polak]

Most of the infrastructure upgrades would be municipal as the TransCanada is already plenty to get from Calgary to Banff. I know people like to throw the idea of a High Speed rail to Banff but that is hardly necessary, considering they didn't build one to Whistler. LRT Greenline is already funded (although we would need a line to the airport).

Is it the Provincial Governments bid to kill? I thought it would be a Municipal government decision.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by polak

Most of the infrastructure upgrades would be municipal as the TransCanada is already plenty to get from Calgary to Banff. I know people like to throw the idea of a High Speed rail to Banff but that is hardly necessary, considering they didn't build one to Whistler.

Is it the Provincial Governments bid to kill? I thought it would be a Municipal government decision.

It's not their bid to kill. But any bid would almost certainly include a provincial funding commitment, and they could potentially (but very unlikely) pull the plug on that.

[GirlySports]

could there be a bid with no provincial funding? just feds and city.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Why would it be very unlikely? I think there's a pretty good chance the Wildrose will be running a campaign with cutting spending as their forefront (because we know they aren't raising taxes). Do you think they'd start right off cutting education and health care? Not a chance. Cutting potential Olympic funding? Easiest sell to the public ever.

Oh and we have a federal election going on in 2019 as well. So yeah if there's big federal/provincially money involved in an Olympic bid, it's going to be a big election issue.

[polak]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Why would it be very unlikely? I think there's a pretty good chance the Wildrose will be running a campaign with cutting spending as their forefront (because we know they aren't raising taxes). Do you think they'd start right off cutting education and health care? Not a chance. Cutting potential Olympic funding? Easiest sell to the public ever.

Oh and we have a federal election going on in 2019 as well. So yeah if there's big federal/provincially money involved in an Olympic bid, it's going to be a big election issue.

If unemployment is above 9% (No reason it won't be) that would be a lot of medium term jobs to say "Nah" too, especially if public support is high.

[GirlySports]

would it be a big federal election issue? it wasn't in 2010 with all those minority governments. Trudeau is pro spending and pro buliding infrastructure anyways.
Feds also have to foot the bill for a Toronto 2028 bid. That money is peanuts to the feds

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by polak

If unemployment is above 9% (No reason it won't be) that would be a lot of medium term jobs to say "Nah" too, especially if public support is high.

Unemployed people aren't the only people who vote. Those who are employed (i.e. the vast majority of the population) will be more concerned about their taxes going up, and this will be coming off the heals of an NDP government who drove the province deep into debt. They're going to lose in 2019 no matter what, only question is will it be PC or Wildrose. I'm thinking it'll be Wildrose because Kenney is a knob like Prentice.

Originally Posted by GirlySports

would it be a big federal election issue? it wasn't in 2010 with all those minority governments. Trudeau is pro spending and pro buliding infrastructure anyways.
Feds also have to foot the bill for a Toronto 2028 bid. That money is peanuts to the feds

2003 was when the 2010 bid happened. Election was in 2004. Timing is everything. 2019 is a bad year to bid. If the mayoral race was in 2019 too that would just be a calamity for the bid committee. Needing 3 election races to go right usually doesn't end well.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

would it be a big federal election issue? it wasn't in 2010 with all those minority governments. Trudeau is pro spending and pro buliding infrastructure anyways.
Feds also have to foot the bill for a Toronto 2028 bid. That money is peanuts to the feds

Vancouver was named Canada's candidate city in 1999, and won the bid in 2003, both under Liberal majorities. Incidentally, there was a Calgary bid proposal for Canada's nomination; Vancouver had 26 votes, Quebec 25 and Calgary 21 in the first round. It likely won't be an election issue as odds are the 2019 IOC session that names the winning city for 2026 will happen before an election call. We'll either be of the hook or committed by that point.

As far as your question about Expo 2005, a quick glance of articles from when we were bidding (1996-98 timeframe) offer stories similar to that of an Olympic bid: Questions of whether the benefit is worthy of the cost, and questions of what to do after the event. The media of the time - especially after talking to organizers for Spokane's Expo74 (yes, Spokane) and Vancouver's Expo 86 - was very cognizant of the need for a post-fair plan. That, thankfully, is a lesson we already knew well from the legacy of 1988.

[getbak]

Today, the city announced the formation of a volunteer committee to review the potential for a 2026 bid. They will make their recommendation by July of next year.

The committee will be chaired by former Police Chief, Rick Hanson, and features at least a couple of Olympic medalists.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Did we win the Olympics yet?

[MoneyGuy]

That's a large committee.