Calgary looking closely at 2026 Winter Games bid

[Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who went to Rio for a vacation, is pictured with Olympic gold medalist Erica Wiebe during the Summer Games. TWITTER]

With the party over in Rio, Calgary will begin in earnest this month to explore the possibility of bidding to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The city approved a $5-million feasibility study this summer and will soon announce its bid exploration committee.

“We’re hoping that will be underway within the next 10 days,” says Doug Mitchell, chairman of the Calgary Sport Tourism Authority.

A final report to Calgary city council with a recommendation is expected in about 14 months.

The Canadian Olympic Committee asked cities for expressions of interest by the end of June.

“We were the only city that expressed interest in virtually any Games, Summer or Winter,” Mitchell tells Yahoo Canada News.

There are several reasons the time might be right for Calgary to revisit hosting the Games, he says.

Alberta has lost at least 33,000 jobs with the downturn in the oil industry.

An independent economic report commission by the authority from Deloitte suggested the Games could inject $3.7 billion in GDP to the province. Labour could amount to $2.6 billion and it could create 40,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

“People say, well, why would you be doing it at this time? The bottom line is it’s almost exactly the same situation that existed in the late 70s and the early 80s in Calgary. We were in the depths of a huge recession in Alberta,” Mitchell says.

“So, from the economic standpoint, it’s extremely important for the province of Alberta and the rest of Canada.”

Another factor is the International Olympic Committee’s reformed bid procedures.

Racked by the scandal and the skyrocketing cost of bids, not to mention actually hosting, the IOC has found few cities willing to vie for the Games. Of eight cities that initially expressed interest in the 2022 Olympics, just two followed through.

Beijing was awarded the event last year.

As part of its reforms, the IOC is now open to returning the Games to past host cities, allowing them to take advantage of existing infrastructure.

That’s a big part of Calgary’s interest.

For example, Calgary has a speed-skating oval. The seating capacity is 1,500-2,000 while the requirement is 10,000.

In Sochi, Mitchell says the oval had the capacity but not the crowd.

“We’re saying, if you come back and say we have to spend $3- or $4 million on a speed-skating oval, that makes the decision for us very easy,” he says.

Both Calgary in 1988 and Vancouver in 2010 were examples of Olympics at their best, Mitchell says.

“They were leaders and we hope that we can kind of set the format for the new Olympic Games, where you don’t have to spend multibillion dollars; you can run a great Olympics but not at a great cost.”

Calgary city council voted 13-2 in favour of the study.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi was not available for an interview but the self-professed Olympic fan has been enthusiastic.

He went to both London and Rio on his own time.

“I was 16 in 1988 and I remember those Olympics very well as being a real moment for Calgary,” he says in an interview with Sportsnet.

“That excitement was there. On the other hand, a little bit of panic. Can we do this? Is this really where we want to be? Can we take on such a big role? Are we ready to do that? And I think we are.”

Calgary is a city that loves sports but the mayor says there are many questions yet to be answered.

“The Winter Games now are much bigger than they were in 1988 and it’s a matter of managing all of that,” he says.

Like Mitchell, he says the Games can be an opportunity for economic and social development, “the excuse” for building needed infrastructure such as an LRT to the airport.

Both Canmore and Banff will be part of a Calgary bid. There has been some suggestion that Calgary and Edmonton should bid as co-hosts but at this point it’s just Calgary, Mitchell says.

The city has about 18 months to decide whether to approach the Canadian Olympic Committee about a formal bid.

The Swiss Olympic Committee has also proclaimed interest in hosting the 2026 Winter Games.