Supporters, Olympians rally at city hall to rescue bid for Games
Supporters of a Calgary 2026 Olympic bid gathered outside city hall Wednesday morning as city council discussed whether to keep the Olympic dream alive or call it quits.
Hundreds of volunteers, athletes and supporters of the Calgary 2026 Bid Corp. flooded into council chambers as CEO Mary Moran and Scott Hutcheson, the board chair, prepared to present an 11th-hour funding proposal to council.
Overflow seating was set up outside chambers to allow the rowdy group of Calgarians in the Yes camp to watch a question period between council and Calgary 2026.
The crowd, mostly dressed in red and white, broke into a round of O Canada and later started chanting, “Let us vote.”
Some in the Yes rally identified themselves as Calgary 2026 volunteers, or employees of third-party companies hired by the bid corporation.
But Aaron Barnes said he has no affiliation with Calgary 2026 or any Olympic bid but wants to see the Games go forward, adding a successful Olympics bid could be a morale and economic boost. He went to city hall to add his voice to the chorus of bid hopefuls.
“I just think the Olympics are important to the economy, I think it brings good spirit,” Barnes said. “I think the economy and the country, in general, have been down. And just to bring something uplifting to the country, it’s just good for it.”
George Clark was one of a handful of citizens at city hall on Wednesday who is against the bid. He wants to see council shoot down the bid because of a lack of transparency around negotiations and the last-minute cost changes.
“Any information I’ve gotten so far, because of the heavily redacted copy, I’ve had to find out through the media,” Clark said.
“It’s just wrong,” he added. “We don’t have the numbers yet.”
Tuesday’s funding proposal announcement came hours after the city’s Olympic committee asked the full city council to consider a proposal to terminate the Olympic project and cancel the planned Nov. 13 public vote on holding the Games in Calgary.
The funding proposal would see Calgary contribute $370 million in cash, along with $150 million in previously committed dollars for improvements to Victoria Park and Stampede Park, said the bid corporation in a letter released Tuesday night.
The city would also be on the hook for paying $20 million in cash for a $200-million insurance policy to cover a “defined contingency.”
The province’s contribution would be $700 million in cash while the federal government would provide $1.4 billion — matching financial commitments to “core event” costs by the province, Calgary and Canmore.
Ottawa would also supply a further $30 million in “leveraging initiatives,” the bid corporation said Tuesday.