Should Calgary Bid on the 2026 Olympics

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by CPK80

Technically there are still two other groups in the process... We could debate how legitimate they are, but as long as they are still officially in the process I don't see the IOC changing any dates.

The funny thing is pushing it back actually helps the Yes side so you'd think I'd be against pushing it back. But we were promised a lot more time to review this rather than what we're getting. Process going as poorly as it has no doubt has hurt the Yes side.

[bossy22]

Does anyone know what Canmore and Whistler are thinking? I haven’t really found anything online. Just speaking with friends. My Whistler friends say, if Calgary pays, who cares. If Whistler/BC pays then hell no. My Canmore friends are all a no. They don’t want it.

I understand they really don’t have input into this. My Canmore friends feel they should also get vote in the plebiscite especially if their tax dollars are to be affected. Nobody seems to have a clear understanding on this. By that I mean just hard facts. Not assumptions and “reading between the lines” rhetoric.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Which is the deadline to bid....against themselves. If the IOC actually wants us to host, we should be able to dictate a bit more on terms. We're not talking all the time in the world here. There are no other bids they are going up against, and I'm not saying push this thing back forever, just a little bit so the full thing can be fleshed out. If the IOC can't accommodate that, then seriously #### them.

Well #### them then and their regularly scheduled submission deadline that every other submission before has followed.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by CPK80

- Listing to Mary on QR77 yesterday when asked about the Arena it sounds like the Federal Government and Provincial didn't want to help fund it... So it was left out of the bid. But she hopes that getting the Olympics inspires the City and the Flames to get a deal done.

- Then listening to John on Sportsnet 960 yesterday... It really Seems like the Vancouver Olympics were done the same way as what Calgary is looking to do... All the sexy infrastructure wasn't actually part of the Vancouver Bid... But once they were awarded the Provisional and local governments decided either to move up projects or create new ones (The Canada Line, Sea to Sky highway and the Convention Centre).

So if the sexy infrastructure stuff is kept out until later, how will we know anything about the cost and tax implications? That is nuts. Either this is really a bare bones bid and that seems to be what the Yes side is selling, or they need to roll the whole thing out with some reasonable cost estimates. This seems very amateurish and unorganized.

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by bossy22

Does anyone know what Canmore and Whistler are thinking? I haven’t really found anything online. Just speaking with friends. My Whistler friends say, if Calgary pays, who cares. If Whistler/BC pays then hell no. My Canmore friends are all a no. They don’t want it.

I understand they really don’t have input into this. My Canmore friends feel they should also get vote in the plebiscite especially if their tax dollars are to be affected. Nobody seems to have a clear understanding on this. By that I mean just hard facts. Not assumptions and “reading between the lines” rhetoric.

Canmore town council is voting on Nov 6 in regards to their participation.
I've heard that it is almost a guaranteed Yes and that most are on board.

If it is a No then the bid will most likely be abandoned.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by bossy22

Does anyone know what Canmore and Whistler are thinking? I haven’t really found anything online. Just speaking with friends. My Whistler friends say, if Calgary pays, who cares. If Whistler/BC pays then hell no.

I think that's about accurate. The Whistler Sports Legacy guy pretty much summed it up last month...

A new WSL apartment building currently pending approval could fill any gaps."We were going to build that anyways so it's not going to be a legacy of the Calgary Games, but they certainly could help fund that with some capital," Soane explained.

The mayor also echoes what most people are saying...

"I'm distinctly aware of the clock ticking," said Wilhelm-Morden. "There's not a lot of time for Calgary to put this bid together, so we need to get more information and do some community consultation in fairly short order."

One thing I can assure you of is that Whistler/BC will not be adding a dime to this and will be spending as much free money as possible.

[Frequitude]

I’d also love to see the plebiscite pushed back if it were possible (sounds like it isn’t). Gives the yes side more time to present the numbers in an accurate well-communicated way so that you can sway people with heart AND head (assuming of course the real numbers reveal a positive story...if they don’t then we can all happily vote no). All the current campaign has time for is playing to the heart. It’s so frustrating.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

I think that's about accurate. The Whistler Sports Legacy guy pretty much summed it up last month...

The mayor also echoes what most people are saying...

One thing I can assure you of is that Whistler/BC will not be adding a dime to this and will be spending as much free money as possible.

I think the Federal government has allotted 30 million should there be events in Whistler that Calgary/Provincial didn’t have to match funds.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

Calgary changed forever, for the positive, after those Olympics. Calgary wouldn't be Winnipeg if not for those games but it probably would be Edmontonish.

OK can we all get along for a sec and recognize that this is near Shakespeare level prose?

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by craigwd

Canmore town council is voting on Nov 6 in regards to their participation.
I've heard that it is almost a guaranteed Yes and that most are on board.

If it is a No then the bid will most likely be abandoned.

Yeah, this is what I thought. While the residents may not want it, the town council does because of the promise of low income housing. At least that was how I understood it.

[Red Slinger]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

OK can we all get along for a sec and recognize that this is near Shakespeare level prose?

Thanks?

I'm certainly interested to hear why you disagree.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

Thanks?

I'm certainly interested to hear why you disagree.

I don’t. I love it!

...isn’t being compared to Shakespeare a compliment?

[DiracSpike]

Originally Posted by Red

So true. Dollars and cents are important, but they are not everything. Sometimes it's nice to buy nice things if affordable.

Sometimes i feel like this point is missed here. We are not debating whether the olympics will turn a profit or not. We are debating whether what we get out of them is worth the cost.
For a few bucks a month that this will cost me i am all for it.

What screams affordable to you about a Billion dollar and certain to grow City contribution for a two week event that leaves us with no useful infrastructure beyond a Field House?

You guys can wax poetic about life being bigger than money but that's not enough to justify a ####ty bid with dubious benefits.

[Red Slinger]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

I don’t. I love it!

...isn’t being compared to Shakespeare a compliment?

Gotcha. I think I may have gotten a little caught up in some of the snarkiness of this thread. My apologies.

[chemgear]

Right so Bidco is saying that the Federal government is going to cover security cost overruns. But the Federal government is saying it's not going to cover cost overruns.

What am I missing?

[DiracSpike]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Right so Bidco is saying that the Federal government is going to cover security cost overruns. But the Federal government is saying it's not going to cover cost overruns.

What am I missing?

That even this early in the process there's been a decent mix of incompetence and glaring/extremely concerning miscommunication between the BidCo and varying levels of Government.

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by DiracSpike

What screams affordable to you about a Billion dollar and certain to grow City contribution for a two week event that leaves us with no useful infrastructure beyond a Field House?

You guys can wax poetic about life being bigger than money but that's not enough to justify a ####ty bid with dubious benefits.

+ upgraded conference and convemtion center space
+ new day lodges for rec use
+ upgraded training and fitness facilities
+ a massive upgrade of McMahon Stadium with a new plaza, concourses and ticketing areas
+ new ice plants
+ updated trails and recreation spaces
+ enhanced safety and accessibilty improvements for those in wheelchairs or have mobility issues.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by DiracSpike

That even this early in the process there's been a decent mix of incompetence and glaring/extremely concerning miscommunication between the BidCo and varying levels of Government.

Still no clarification on the discrepancy (lie?)

Jesus H Christ.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Calgary/com...rruns_federal/

JeromyYYC Palliser | Ward 11 Councillor

This is astonishing. At City Council, Calgary2026 Bidco said an agreement with Federal government on overruns was close. Who are we to believe? This is a crisis of credibility. It just keeps getting worse.

tax-me-now-and-later

Jeromy, please ask your fellow Councilors, the Mayor and the City CFO what their forecasts and accounting predictions suggest for the increases to property taxes if Calgary wins the games and has to pay (including overruns), $1B and $2B into the total costs for the games.

JeromyYYC Palliser | Ward 11 Councillor

We don't have those projections, despite repeated requests.
Another reason to vote no.

Augustus_Trollus_III

I’m curious about the insurance policy. Who in their right mind would sell a policy where they are betting the olympics won’t go over budget?

JeromyYYC Palliser | Ward 11 Councillor

From the Council meeting, we are sort of hoping that the product exists.

yycmwd

I watched the entire meeting, and I heard Bidco make that claim. When asked if the contract was signed that would guarantee it, they back peddled and said "No, but they've committed to signing".
Why was my city council allowed to vote on something without actual facts? And all this misrepresentation? This shouldn't even be going to a plebiscite at this point.

JeromyYYC Palliser | Ward 11 Councillor

We have failed Calgarians by bringing this to a vote without performing due diligence. If we were the board of a publicly traded company, we would be immediately sacked.

[chemgear]

Again, it's not NO for no sake. At least give me some GD confidence about your numbers and plan. Not lies and confusion with pressure timeline tactics like Direct Energy door-to-door salesmen.

It's ridiculous City Council expects citizens to vote on something when they're still confused, getting changing information or at worst, being outright lied to.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1058774414957793280

https://twitter.com/user/status/1058739904677441536

[chemgear]

From the Boston Olympic bid, they looked into the insurance and ended up cancelling their bid.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...BEP/story.html

“In the insurance world, eliminating all risk is the equivalent of cold fusion or the perpetual motion machine,” said Tom Baker, a professor of insurance law at the University of Pennsylvania.

Patricia A. McCoy, a Boston College law professor, was more skeptical. While Boston 2024 can cobble together many plans to cover a variety of hazards, she said, insurers will not simply promise to protect taxpayers from any financial risk.

“Insurers do not cover risks that are certain to materialize, and almost every Olympics in the recent past has had major cost overruns,” McCoy said. “Any suggestion that private insurance will pick that up is smoke and mirrors.”

Said one senior executive at a national insurance firm: “There’s no wraparound, no Band-Aid that says, ‘OK. You blow the budget by $1 billion and the insurance steps in and funds that.’ It doesn’t exist.”

The bid committee, however, acknowledges it cannot obtain an insurance policy that would cover voluntary changes in the scope of a project, such as last-minute enhancements to make a bigger velodrome.

The committee also cannot insure against overly rosy budget projections — for example, if the bids for the velodrome come in higher than the $64 million budgeted for that venue. Boston 2024 officials said they have addressed that danger by using realistic estimates in their budget.

Vancouver, host of the 2010 Winter Games, famously had to step in with taxpayer money to finish the athletes village, after the project lost financing in the global recession.