DO OLYMPICS MAKE SENSE?

City council’s handling of a potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics won’t win it or senior management any medals, but politicians made the right decision in agreeing to gather the information necessary to reach a reasoned conclusion.

Critics might question the $30-million expense of exploring the wisdom of presenting a bid, but the city has already spent $6 million in this exercise. Surely, with the support of the provincial and federal governments, which have agreed to be partners in funding the study, it’s worth learning if the Games make financial sense.

It would have been short-sighted to cut the investigation short, as six councillors proposed Monday, and abandon an inquiry that has already included sending representatives to the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea at a total cost of $135,000.

There’s a justified sense that the city and other levels of governments have done a poor job of communicating with taxpayers about the costs and support for the Games. Indeed, there’s an admission by the city that matters could have been much better handled.

In particular, there’s a perception that the so-called fix is in — that some council members are determined to bid for the Games regardless of the risks.

To some extent, perhaps such an unproven impression isn’t entirely unexpected. If no council members suspected there might be benefit to bringing back the Games for a second time, there would be no discussion, no controversy.

What is important is that the city acknowledges this skepticism and does better. It needs to ensure that experts and people with business savvy direct the process moving forward. The well-intended enthusiasm of the city’s Olympic athletes is inspiring, but it falls short of presenting a business case for a multibillion-dollar venture.

“A lot of people have been saying, ‘Oh, it’s so expensive, it’s going to triple Calgary’s debt.’ Well if that were the case, we wouldn’t do it,” says Mayor Naheed Nenshi sensibly.

The city is expecting to receive a cost-benefit analysis of hosting the Games in June. It is imperative that politicians and special-interest parties are kept at a distance from the myriad calculations and that the results are freely shared with Calgarians in a neutral and easyto-understand manner. No outcome should be assumed.

It’s only through a frank and thorough examination of the soundness of preparing a bid that Calgarians can have confidence in the decision. Given that taxpayers are the ones taking the risk, they deserve at least a look at the most reliable numbers.