Mayor David Bronconnier signed off on the $500,000 bid Thursday, in which Calgary will compete against eight other cities to host the gallery with more than 20,000 paintings and prints.

"This bid is rock solid. That comes with support that I don't believe can be matched anywhere else," he said.

The gallery would be built on city land in the northwest corner of Olympic Plaza, which is also the home of the Epcor Performing Arts Centre, the Glenbow Museum, the Calgary Convention Centre, the public library, Old City Hall and the Calgary Municipal Building.

Bronconnier said the location was a strong part of the bid: "It's an internationally recognized location, in the centre of downtown Calgary, and in the heart of what is known as the cultural district."

The independent public-private partnership business Plenary Group said it is prepared to design, build, finance and operate the gallery.

Terry Rock, head of Calgary Arts Development, said Calgary and the National Portrait Gallery are an ideal match.

"We've got a tremendous contemporary arts scene," he explained. "You know, portraits are moving beyond just static images, they're becoming moving images, and so you can see that kind of thing, you can see Calgary taking a really strong leadership role, and the Calgary arts community participating and working with this new entity to make something that's unique in the world."

The deadline for submissions was Friday. The other cities entering bids are Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.

The submissions will be reviewed over the next 90 days by the Public Works Department. The new gallery is expected to open by the spring of 2012.

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