The possibility of a 2026 Winter Olympics bid by the City of Calgary, that clearly would involve the community of Canmore as a major Nordic sport venue, is a hot topic of conversation locally, but the question still remains as to whether or not it ma
The possibility of a 2026 Winter Olympics bid by the City of Calgary, that clearly would involve the community of Canmore as a major Nordic sport venue, is a hot topic of conversation locally, but the question still remains as to whether or not it matters to the bid process whether this town and its local government are on board.
The Olympic bid exploration committee was in front of Canmore council in March to provide an understanding of the process it is going through to make a recommendation to city council about whether it would be feasible for the 1988 host city to take another turn at hosting the major sporting event.
But Canmore's mayor was more interested in when his community gets to have input into the process and if it would matter if local politicians decided the cost was too high to pay for hosting Nordic sports in 2026.
“This is an important discussion and one that we have been eager to have in a forum like this, so council and the rest of the community could have a better understanding of what is shaping this decision,” said Mayor John Borrowman. “I want an understanding of how the considerations or the expectations of the Town of Canmore or its input would be considered by the city.”
The mayor asked bid committee representatives to explain how support or lack of support from Canmore would be communicated through this process.
“I should think it should have quite a bit of impact if the Town of Canmore is not supportive of the bid,” he said.
City of Calgary staff member Augusto Romero explained to council that once the bid committee makes it recommendation and reports to Calgary council, then the process would allow for more engagement with other levels of government.
The report from the bid exploration committee is expected to be in Calgary council on July 24 and a decision would be needed by March 2018 to signal to the International Olympic Committee that Calgary intends to bid on the 2026 games.
“At that point it would likely be the opportunity for the City of Calgary to start more conversations with the Town of Canmore and have a look at what would be beneficial for the town itself,” said Romero, adding he is unsure what level of support would be needed from Canmore at that time.
Brian Hahn, the bid exploration committee's general manager, told council that the process being undertaken by the city of Calgary is different than what typically occurs for an Olympic bid.
Hahn said typically host cities do not go through the exercise of examining if they could and should bid first, they tend to work on putting a bid together and submitting it.
“I think right at the outset it is important to know this is not a bid committee, it is an exploration committee and as a result, we are taking a very neutral stance on whether it is appropriate to move to the next stage or not,” he said.
“Two questions we have to ask ourselves are: is it feasible as a region to host a 2026 winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and if the answer to that question is yes, then the second question we must face is: is it prudent for us to bid on the games?”
The bid exploration committee was formed in June 2016 with support for the Calgary Tourism Authority and a $4.7 million budget for the work. But that means the process and the committee structure is based on membership from the city and the tourism authority – the Town of Canmore has no representation on that committee.
Romero said the process will result in a report to be submitted to the City of Calgary that includes detailed work on a plan for all the venues needed to host the games, a security plan, public engagement and community impact, stakeholder and government relations and, of course, how much it will cost.
“The goal of the project and the City of Calgary administrative team is to provide an objective, balanced and comprehensive report to the city council on whether to pursue a 2026 winter Olympic and Paralympic bid,” Romero said.
As for public engagement, an online survey is available to the public, including Bow Valley residents, to express opinions on the process. Hahn said he has also been meeting with stakeholder groups – more specifically with sports groups who would be directly affected by hosting the games.
Hahn said at the time of the presentation to council, that more than 11,000 people provided feedback to the committee, which includes an online questionnaire.
“I think that is very positive, we are getting a strong percentage of the community reaching out to us,” he said.
A decision from the IOC on the host city would be made mid-2019, and Hahn said once the committee makes its recommendation to Calgary council, its work will be done and it will wrap up operations in August.
“What happens after that is in the hands of Calgary city council,” he said.
Hahn, though, acknowledged that clearly Canmore is being considered as a venue given that the Nordic Centre is a 1988 Winter Olympics legacy venue and the bid committee has undertaken a site tour and review.
He said if the Town of Canmore did not support hosting events for a 2026 games, the city of Calgary at that point would consider backup venue options in other locations.
Borrowman was also curious as to how much it would cost taxpayers in Canmore to host the games. He said as a big part of the discussion, what it would cost this municipality and community needs to be known before a decision can be made.
Councillor Sean Krausert pointed to the fact that the 2026 Olympics would likely be twice the size of the 1988 games and there would be major impacts in this community – from preparing and assessing the ability to be a venue and possible location of an athlete's village. There is also the issue of managing people and traffic and potential bylaw changes needed.
Krausert said while the City of Calgary goes through a process of assessment and feasibility around the 2026 bid, so too must the Town of Canmore, and locally there will be no information to work with until the committee is done.
“We are anxious to get that and would like you to recognize there is a time element (affecting us) as well,” he said.
Hahn told council that at some point the Town of Canmore would be asked if it is prepared to be part of the games, but they are not at that point yet. So far, Canmore town administration has only had high level meetings with the bid committee and identified a number of concerns.
“The important thing now is for everyone to let the Calgary Bid Exploration Committee keep doing its work,” Hahn replied. “We are in the middle of that process of evaluation.”
Go to www.shouldcalgarybid.com to take the online survey. Hahn said once survey results are available, they should also provide a breakdown of support from those in the Bow Valley that filled it out.
