Lethbridge Herald

Moran to lead possible bid for ’26 Olympics

- Donna Spencer THE CANADIAN PRESS — CALGARY

Mary Moran’s job has been to bring economic stimulants to Calgary. She’s about to tackle the mother of all projects.

She’s taking a leave as head of Calgary Economic Developmen­t to become chief executive officer of the team exploring a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“I’ve spent the last 10 years looking for opportunit­ies for Calgary,” Moran said Tuesday. “I view the Olympics as another opportunit­y. It’s a very big one, but it is another opportunit­y.”

If Calgary gives the green light to pursuing 2026, Moran will be the first woman in Canada to champion a bid.

There are hurdles for Moran to clear, however, before the city will declare itself in the race. A plebiscite is scheduled for later this year.

The Calgary 2026 bid corporatio­n has been up and running for just over six weeks and has just begun taking on the work and analysis done by city administra­tion and consultant­s.

Both city council and the public are impatient to hear hard financial numbers on the cost of the games before giving a bid a thumbs up or down.

City council is demanding to know by Sept. 10 how much the Alberta and Canadian government­s will contribute to hosting the games

“I would just ask them for patience. I would also ask city council for patience,” Moran said. “I’m not about to lead this city or this province or this country down a path where we’re going to make a bad decision. They have my commitment to that.“

The cost of bidding for 2026 has been estimated at $30 million with the city, provincial and federal government­s splitting the cost.

An initial estimate on hosting was $4.6 billion, although the Internatio­nal Olympic Committee has committed to contributi­ng US$925 million (CDN$1.2 billion) in cash and services since then.

While the Calgary 2026 board chaired by Scott Hutcheson are volunteers, Moran’s is a salaried position.

Calgary 2026 will pay her an undisclose­d base salary with two performanc­es bonuses — one for a successful plebiscite and another for a successful bid.

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