Calgary 2026

[Mori]

"IF" Calgary decides to bid for the 2026 Games The City of Calgary bid to the IOC should stipulate that if they are awarded the 2026 Winter Games that they also automatically be awarded the 2034 Winter Games. It makes no sense for any City to spend that kind of taxpayer money without some kind of chance to be financially rewarded. When any City is awarded Games they should get them again in 8 years. They already have the Venues and the volunteer experience, now lets make some $$$'s. Just imagine how well Vancouver would have profited if they would have had the Winter Games again last year instead of South Korea. What about Sochi? That place is a toilet now, if they would have had the Games again 8 years later they would have continued to improve the place as a city and a capable venue for the games again, this time they might have even been ready! There is a huge opportunity here for economic growth in Calgary, but only if we get to profit after we spend. As a tax payer, I'm all for the Games if we get them twice, but I'm a no vote for a one time shot.

[SkiFreak]

CBC: City council to decide if arena talks with Flames should resume

Quote

CMLC boss says a new arena will come to Victoria Park: 'It's just when does it happen'

The article has conceptual drawings of a proposed arena designed. A reporter was gauging people on the street and reactions were positive. IMHO this design is way better than CalgaryNext, although that leaves out a replacement for McMahon Stadium.

The plebiscite date is approaching fast, although there is another date approaching faster: Oct 17. Been wondering how the Canadian Olympic Committee will be dealing with that. I wonder if they're gonna make Ross Rebagliati the chef de mission to Team Canada.

[paul]

On 10/3/2018 at 5:18 PM, intoronto said:

So far on the Calgary 2026 engagement website, 67% of the vote on "Do you think Calgary should submit a bid for the Games?" is a resounding "strongly disagree"

TODAY:  I want The City of Calgary to submit a bid to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Strongly disagree / 70%

Total Votes: 1355

[Olympianfan]

13 hours ago, paul said:

TODAY:  I want The City of Calgary to submit a bid to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Strongly disagree / 70%

Total Votes: 1355

Do you have a link to it? I can't find it anywhere

[intoronto]

14 hours ago, Olympianfan said:

Do you have a link to it? I can't find it anywhere

https://engage.calgary.ca/2026Games?redirect=/2026games

[FYI]

City report on Calgary Olympic bid highlights several looming risks

The city’s latest risk assessment on the potential impact of hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics shows nearly half of the key factors identified by the city rank as medium- to high-risk.

The evaluation, slated to go before the city’s Olympic assessment committee on Tuesday, comes a little more than a month before Calgarians will cast their votes in a non-binding plebiscite on whether they are for or against hosting the Games.

In the report, bureaucrats identified 18 potential risks that could face a potential Calgary bid, with two of those labelled yellow for medium risk and another six marked red as high risk.

Factors deemed to be high risk include ongoing negotiations between the city and the provincial and federal governments on the clarity and timing of a cost-sharing agreement.

Low-risk categories include the projected cost to host the Games, impact on city investments and a review of the Olympic bid draft plan.

Earlier estimates put the cost of the Games at $4.6 billion, but the city’s draft plan released last month shows the Olympic hosting plan will cost at least $5.23 billion.

The public portion of the Games comes to $3 billion, according to the city’s bid corporation, divided between municipal, provincial and federal governments, and the province has committed to releasing details on its share of the bid no fewer than 30 days ahead of the Nov. 13 plebiscite.

“Time has always been one of the factors we flagged as being a high risk,” said Coun. Jeff Davison. “Could we always want more time? Of course. Are we going to know enough of the facts and the numbers between the goal posts? Yes, I feel confident that we will.”

Ottawa is expected to pay at least half that amount and Calgary’s portion of the bill is an estimated $500 million (or 15 per cent) if a cost-sharing agreement can be reached between Calgary and the province.

The remaining costs would be paid through International Olympic Committee (IOC) contributions, corporate sponsorships, ticketing and merchandising.

The city’s own public engagement campaign ahead of the Olympic vote, which started in earnest this month, is also in the high-risk column along with the city’s ability to keep sensitive documents around the bid confidential and under wraps.

The report reiterated the city’s commitment to an “accountable … citizen-centric” and neutral engagement campaign “to inform and educate the public about the bid process, seek public input … and identify issues” with the bid process ahead of the vote.

Meanwhile, the report said the Calgary 2026 Olympic bid committee’s own engagement strategy “is independent of and separate” from the city’s, as the city-funded group released a video on its website asking families to talk about the city’s proposed Games bid during their Thanksgiving meals.

Calgary 2026’s website states the bid committee’s goal is to “explore, develop and promote a responsible bid to host” the 2026 Winter Games.

Davison said he’s confident the dollar figures cited by city administrators won’t deviate significantly.

“(Calgary 2026), they’re obviously going to go out and promote that those are the numbers and facts. The city’s job is to encourage people to also understand the risks. And of course, the No side is going to tell people no for the sake of saying no,” Davison said.

Representing the opposing side is No Calgary Olympics, a grass-roots anti-Olympic lobby group formed in August in response to pro-Olympic lobby group Yes Calgary 2026.

Erin Waite, spokesperson for No Calgary Olympics, said Calgarians should be aware of any potential pitfalls with Olympic spending, particularly if political attitudes change after upcoming provincial and federal elections.

“If anything happened to those funding streams, Calgary is carrying the entire costs,” Waite said. “(Calgarians) need to understand that as a taxpayer, you are legally obligated to pay whatever (the Games) ends up costing. … So to me, that risk is huge and it needs to be understood.”

Waite also called on city councillors to publicly commit to honouring the plebiscite results. Davison said a No vote should and would be honoured by the city, but added a Yes result from the public could ultimately end up being voted down if the cost-benefit numbers don’t add up.

“Personally, I’m committed to honouring the results of the plebiscite one way or another,” Davison said.

For more information on Calgary 2026’s draft hosting plan visit www.calgary2026.ca.

Calls to the city’s bid corporation and Yes Calgary 2026 were not immediately returned Saturday.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/city-report-on-calgary-olympic-bid-highlights-several-looming-risks/amp

[SkiFreak]

CTV News Calgary Special Report: (Video, over 42 mins): Yes or No? Should Calgary Host the Olympics?

[SkiFreak]

CTV News: Province pledges $700M to Calgary's potential 2026 Olympic bid

Quote

Published Friday, October 12, 2018 12:56PM MDT
Last Updated Friday, October 12, 2018 1:32PM MDT

The provincial government says it will contribute $700M towards Calgary's bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

[FYI]

Province of Alberta leaves Calgary, Ottawa with 2026 Olympics tab

Alberta says it is willing to spend $700-million to return the Winter Olympics to Calgary in 2026 if the city is chosen as host, however, the province’s decision not to cover possible cost overruns leaves the city and Ottawa facing a potential multibillion-dollar tab.

Finance Minister Joe Ceci said on Friday that the province’s funding is contingent on a majority of Calgarians supporting the Games in a plebiscite scheduled for Nov. 13. The province would also require the city’s bid process to fall under provincial freedom of information laws to increase transparency.

“I know there is $3-billion necessary for the public governments and agencies to contribute. And $700-million is a significant amount of money and it gets us a lot of the way there,” Mr. Ceci told reporters in Calgary on Friday afternoon.

The Finance Minister said he felt $700-million was the most the province could contribute as Alberta claws its way out of a long recession and looks to slay its budget deficit.

“It was a number we felt comfortable putting in, relative to the situation we’re in at the provincial government level,” Mr. Ceci said.

A draft plan for the 2026 games estimated the cost at $5.2-billion, with the three levels of government expected to contribute $3-billion. Sponsorships and Games revenue would cover the rest. Calgary officials have said the city could provide $500-million. Friday’s announcement from Mr. Ceci means Ottawa and the city could be asked to cover the remaining $1.8-billion, and the risk of cost overruns.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said in a statement that the city is in conversations with the federal government about funding the Games.

“We imagine there will be more to say about the city and federal government contributions in the next few days,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the federal Minister of Science and Sport said Ottawa is working on providing more funding specifics before the plebiscite. “We respect that the citizens of Calgary need to be informed before they vote,” the statement from Science and Sport Minister Kirsty Duncan’s office said.

Calgary city councillor Druh Farrell has been opposed to an Olympic bid from the outset and believes Calgarians have not been given the preplebiscite data they were promised.

“We have a tendency to pursue the unicorn, the one big thing that is going to solve our problems," she said. "We know that with this particular recession it’s very different, very complicated and we’re not just going to rebound because of hosting an event eight years into the future.”

All three of the candidates approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) face political challenges.

Stockholm’s bid is at risk because a coalition deal struck on Friday to run the city’s municipal government requires that no taxpayer funding go towards holding the Olympics. The Italian government’s decision to not provide significant financial backing for the combined bid of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo has also led to questions about the level of support for the effort.

The most immediate barrier for the Calgary bid is next month’s non-binding plebiscite.

Calgary’s city council has not said what level of voter support it would require to continue the Olympic bid. Mr. Ceci said the province would be comfortable with a simple majority.

Two competing campaigns, YesCalgary and NoCalgaryOlympics, have emerged to shape the debate. Both sides are clashing not only about the amount of money required to fund the Games, but also about whether Calgary would benefit from the infusion of cash a decade after the start of a grim economic situation sparked by a downturn in the oil market.

Emma May, a volunteer for the pro-bid group, said Calgary needs the Games again to recapture the feeling of the 1988 Olympics and the international attention it brought to Alberta’s biggest city.

“I was here in the depression of the 80s. People were losing their homes and businesses were going bankrupt. But in 1988, the town gathered around and lit itself on fire and we had the 1988 Olympics. We underestimate what that did to the city’s consciousness. It shifted us onto a new path and gave us a global outlook that has helped us thrive,” she said.

A month before the vote, she said, there has been a lot of vocal support for the no side. Her biggest challenge will be getting the people who she says want the Games to come out and publicly support it.

Erin Waite, a spokeswoman for the no campaign, said the tone of the plebiscite has “felt panicked” as different levels of government have put forward their commitments only weeks before the vote.

“When this is an IOC-driven process you have IOC deadlines, you get rushed decisions and cost overruns. We’re eight years before the games and already seeing the panic,” she said.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/canada/article-province-of-alberta-leaves-calgary-ottawa-with-2026-olympics-tab/

 

[mountainboarder_530@yahoo.]

that 300 mil is going to make a pretty big difference for Calgary........that might have tipped this thing as a no, if there were any glimmer of hope for a yes

[FYI]

How much would the 2026 Winter Olympics cost each Calgary household?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/globalnews.ca/news/4566104/calgary-2026-winter-olympic-games-cost-taxpayers/amp/

[SkiFreak]

CTV News: IOC in Calgary to answer questions about potential Olympic bid

Coincidentally, the Jamaican bobsled team is also in town, doing pre-season training at Olympic Park. Cool Runnings 2: Electric Boogaloo?

[FYI]

Protesters against Calgary 2026 claim Stockholm bid works better

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1071410/protesters-against-calgary-2026-claim-stockholm-bid-works-better#comments

 

[paul]

On 10/6/2018 at 5:12 PM, paul said:

TODAY:  I want The City of Calgary to submit a bid to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Strongly disagree / 70%

Total Votes: 1355

strongly disagree has risen to 74% regarding the statement: I want The City of Calgary to submit a bid to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

https://engage.calgary.ca/2026Games

[SkiFreak]

CBC News: Alberta isn't budging on $700M Olympic commitment, despite federal government cash

Finally, what the feds would be contributing:

Quote

The federal government is committing up to $1.75B to host the Olympics in Calgary

 

[SkiFreak]

23 hours ago, paul said:

strongly disagree has risen to 74% regarding the statement: I want The City of Calgary to submit a bid to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

https://engage.calgary.ca/2026Games

Ignore the numbers. Apparently bots are hitting the site.

CTV News: Yes Calgary calls on City to dismiss online engagement results on potential Olympic bid

Quote

Proponents of a potential Calgary bid to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games say the City of Calgary’s online engagement platform is ripe for manipulation by bots and its results should not be considered.

 

[Olympianfan]

So we could have another Brexit Trump like event for Calgary it feels like there is a silent YES majority vote after all Vancouver 2010 was super popular in Canada unity it was only the far left protesting against the games at games times if their is a YES win the Canadian Taxpayers federation creditably will be shot down the toilet after all they joined the far left campaign.

The older baby boomers might want to give the younger generations the chance that they had in the 1980s I don't think it's all over yet we will find out in under 3 weeks times. 

[SkiFreak]

I'm heading out to a 2026 open house put on by the city. I'll see what's going on.

[FYI]

Lmfao - love the TIT-FOR-TAT here! And then just love the Trumpisms - “Make Canada Pay Again!” Stockholm portrayed as a great host is “fake news!” Brilliant!! 

Swedish taxpayer group retaliates, endorses Calgary 2026 Olympic bid

https://www.google.com/amp/s/calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/swedish-taxpayer-group-retaliates-endorses-calgary-2026-olympic-bid/amp

 

[FYI]

And then the ending is great, too! “Let’s just ‘team up’ & make Italy pay instead!!” 

[paul]

strongly disagree had risen to 82% regarding the statement: I want The City of Calgary to submit a bid to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

....then suddenly the "strongly disagree" changed to 44% and the "strongly agree' jumped to 46%

If the city can simply adjust the number like this there is no credibility in any engagement effort.

[paul]

Here are some of the comments left on the Calgary engagement site:

“Basically, I distrust the IOC and feel that we will end up losing millions or even a billion + dollars & Homeless ppl pushed aside ”

“High profile vanity projects, arrogant politicians and benefit-seeking special interests are a recipe for fleeced taxpayers. ”

“Self anointed elites who indiscriminately waste public resources have never created anything “vibrant” or “world class” vote NO ”

“Olympics are a business.Let business people finance and operate sports & entertainment ventures.Let the tax mules rest! ”

“Too expensive for Calgary taxpayers. ”

“Not a place for scarce public resources.Govt needs to focus only on those important roles appropriate for govt. I vote NO”

“The cost, broad doping & cheating regardless of the oaths claimed at the start of the games has broken the spirit and value. I vote NO!”

...there were many more negative comments but only 1 sort of positive one:

“The larger share of the money is spent on persistent buildings and infrastructure that are needed and will be well used by Calgarians.”

[FYI]

Questions arise over funding for Calgary’s 2026 Olympic bid

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.newsobserver.com/sports/article220792435.html

[SkiFreak]

We've become a city of morons.

CBC News: Council's Olympic committee will be asked to cancel Calgary 2026 bid and plebiscite

They may have just burned thru $2 million setting up the plebiscite. Morons.

[paul]

Calgary has scrubbed their engagement tools clean off their website.......so much for engagement. If you don't get the engagement you want then just shut down the process.