Calgary 2026 braintrust takes shape

The people managing Calgary’s possible 2026 Winter Games bid are expected to be announced within days, but the search for a chief executive officer is taking longer.

The chair of Calgary 2026 said Monday three-quarters of the 21-member board of directors has been filled.

“I’m spending a lot of time right now trying to get to the right CEO,” Scott Hutcheson said Monday. “We’ve had many interviews to date and we’re working hard on that.”

Calgary 2026 is the bid corporation established earlier this month now taking over the work of analyzing and building a potential pitch for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The legacy of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary provides the foundation for another bid, but city council has reserved the right to withdraw from the 2026 bid process at any time.

An initial estimate on the price tag of hosting the 2026 Winter Games was $4.6 billion, but that figure is under review. The 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., cost $7.7 billion.

Council heard Monday that even though the deadline to submit a 120-page bid book to the International Olympic Committee is January 2019, it must be completed by Dec. 18, 2018 to allow time for publication and translation.

A draft of the bid book’s content would need to be done by Aug. 17.

“I think we’ll hit the timelines,” Hutcheson said. “That work has been transferred over to Calgary 2026.”