Indigenous B.C. bid for 2030 Games advances

Kamloops included in Winter Olympic plan alongside Vancouver, Whistler

An Indigenous-led partnership is moving forward with plans to host the 2030 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, but organizers say all groups must be on board by December if the proposal is to go ahead.

“We do not move forward without one another,” said Tawanee Joseph, who is shepherding Indigenous partnerships for the bid.

“It’s important for each of the organizations that we work with and the nations to make sure that they identify things that are important to them, including challenges, including opportunities. And that’s the process that we’re embarking upon now.”

The Lilwat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations said on Feb. 1 that they had signed an agreement with the City of Vancouver, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee to explore a bid.

It would be the first Indigenous-led bid for a Games in Olympic history.

The partnership unveiled more details of the proposed bid on Tuesday, including plans to reuse many of the venues that hosted events during the 2010 Games in Vancouver.

“We’re looking at building no new competition venues, so we’re using what we have,” said Tim Gayda, who was vice-president of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Rogers Arena would once again host hockey, while bobsled, skeleton and luge would be back at the Whistler Sliding Centre and longtrack speedskating would return to the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Hastings Park in Vancouver would be a hub for various sports, including short-track speedskating and figure skating at Pacific Coliseum, curling at the PNE Agrodome and snowboarding at a temporary big air ramp.

The proposed bid would also see freestyle skiing and snowboarding events held at Sun Peaks near Kamloops.

With nearly 1,000 athletes and officials taking part in freestyle events, the sport is like a “mini Games,” Gayda said, and finding the right venue was a challenge.

“I just think when you go to that mountain, it’s got a nice vibe to it in terms of community and a resort destination,” he said. “We just think on television, it’ll be incredible.”

Organizers like that the mountain is north facing, that it allows for early and late-season training, and will be a place where athlete development can continue going forward, Gayda added.

“We feel that it really brings something new to this bid, that we’re tying in the rest of the province and not just Vancouver, the Lower Mainland and Whistler,” he said.

In Vancouver, an athletes village would be built with the MusqueamTsleil-Waututh Development Corp. using one of two projects (the Jericho Lands or Heather Lands) the group is currently working on developing.

Villages would also be built to house athletes in Sun Peaks and Whistler. Each of the groups in the partnership will now present results from a feasibility study on the potential bid to their respective communities for feedback.

The costs of hosting the Games are expected to be released in July.