Opposition to Olympic bid is sadly short-sighted
It has been two months since Canadian athletes did this country proud by capturing a record 29 medals at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
The legacy of the 1988 Winter Olympic facilities — since stewarded by WinSport, of which I am a board member — played a significant role in Canada’s success there. Of our 29 medals in South Korea, 23 were won by athletes who have either trained or competed at WinSport.
In fact, 171 of the 225 Canadian athletes — 76 per cent — involved in the latest Winter Olympics used the WinSport facilities, which have benefited 100 Canadian Winter Olympic medallists since 1988.
No WinSport, not nearly as many medals.
And Calgary remains the sole former Olympic site whose facilities are still operational, 30 years later.
The city’s Olympic venues have generated $230 million in earnings since 1988, all of which has been re-invested in the facilities. The endowment fund is still intact and the WinSport facility itself contributes $120 million annually to Calgary’s GDP, employing 1,200 people on a full-time-equivalent basis.
With a vote looming Monday, city councillors have a choice: continue to support the pursuit of a 2026 Olympic bid, or ditch the work that’s been done and walk away.
The latter would be a classic example of short-term thinking.
“Everyone talks about the cost of $4.6 billion, but there are also offsetting revenues. Realistically, that puts the actual cost at between $2 billion and $2.5 billion,” said Barry Heck, president and CEO of WinSport. “That’s real money, but the majority will come from other levels of government.”
Think of it as a one-time transfer payment from Ottawa to be used for upgrading infrastructure and provide much needed low-cost housing after the athletes’ village closed.
“If the games are ultimately held, those are infrastructure dollars that we would not otherwise get,” said Heck.
The money doesn’t come without a successful bid. Period.
Vote it down and Calgary walks away from the opportunity to upgrade existing facilities and provide future athletes with upto-date infrastructure to realize their athletic potential and their dreams.
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce weighed in Friday, reminding council it’s only voting on a “bid consideration.”
“We’re calling on city council to finish the job they started and vote in favour of continuing work on a potential Olympic bid for 2026,” said Chamber president and CEO Sandip Lalli.
The economic analysis presented by the Calgary bid exploration committee, done by the Conference Board of Canada, Boston Consulting Group and Deloitte, showed direct and indirect benefits to Calgary’s GDP totalling $2.6 billion and more than $500 million in tax revenues.
Yet many members of city council are mired in short termism, seeming not to appreciate WinSport’s impacts, not just on Calgary but the country, or what another bid could bring to the city.
There is too much discussion about the dollars and not enough attention being paid to the economic and intangible benefits the city would accrue before, during and after the event.
An upgrade would position athletes for the next 30 years. Just like roads and bridges don’t last forever, neither do ski hills and speedskating ovals.
Think of how many people — newcomers and native Calgarians alike — have benefited from learning to ski at Canada Olympic Park and graduated to the challenges of the Bow Valley corridor ski hills — including Nakiska. Consider the number of people introduced to speedskating at the Oval, inspired to ski at the Canmore Nordic Centre, provided access to world-class arenas or captivated by sliding sports.
It’s also important to know that should the bid process proceed, through the creation of a BidCo, there would still be points in time where Calgary could decide against moving toward a firm agreement.
As Mark Tewksbury, a medalwinning Olympic swimmer, said at Friday’s athletes’ rally, it would short-sighted to stop now.
“We have the province and the federal government willing to help create a bid corporation and let it do a proper exploration,” he said.
The price tag for the bid process is $30 million. Calgary’s share is $9.5 million, with $6 million already spent.
There is no question there are flaws in the existing Olympic organization and structure of the games, but why walk away prematurely from an opportunity that has not been fully analyzed?
We tell our kids about optionality. Companies talk about optionality. Proceeding at this stage through the BidCo creation and bid process creates optionality. Calgary can still walk away if the numbers — which have yet to be finalized — don’t add up.
Calgary’s bid for the 1988 Winter Games was made when things were tough in this town, just like in recent years. An Olympic bid for 2026 would give Calgary a much-needed shot in the arm — something big to anticipate, not to mention rebuild the community spirit.
Even more important is the fact Calgary is in the process of an economic transformation.
We are in a global race for talent, where the quality of life is important to attracting the next generation to power the economy, locally, provincially and nationally. It’s not enough to say Calgary is less than 90 minutes from Banff.
Moving forward in the 2026 bid process would be an important part of a forward-looking agenda we need to show the world this is a city willing to take risks and reach for what’s possible, even in tough times.
Last summer, after grinding up Alpes D’Huez in France, I found myself in a bike shop. The clerk, after learning I was from Calgary, said: “You are so lucky to have those WinSport facilities. I am a physiotherapist with the U.K. Olympic team — and we have spent time training in Calgary at WinSport. It is an awesome facility.”
Another bid has the potential to make the facilities even better for future generations.
Let’s get beyond the shorttermism and have the courage to look boldly forward, for the benefit of current and future generations.