Olympic bid would ‘clearly’ be feasible: Calgary group

The group tasked with CALGARY studying a potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics says it’s too early to say if Calgary should bid, following 10 months of work and $3 million spent.

Headed by Calgary’s former police chief Rick Hanson, the exploration group told council Monday a repeat Winter Games in Calgary is certainly feasible but more time is needed to determine whether it would be prudent.

“Our committee found the answer to the question of feasibility — ‘Can we host the Games?’ — is clearly yes,” said Hanson, chair of the Calgary bid exploration committee. “But the question of should we bid requires more work in light of new information.”

That information includes recent changes to the International Olympic Committee’s candidature processes, a shift in deadlines for the 2026 Games and yet-to-be-released new host city requirements.

No matter what the bid group determines, Calgary city staff must make a final recommendation before the council votes.

City officials said they need more time to study the work done so far and want to meet with the council on July 31 with proposals for the next steps.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he suspects the council won’t make a final decision until months after the next municipal election, in the spring of 2018.

“The harder question, the political question, is should we? And I would suggest it is impossible for us to answer that question without really understanding the financial requirements,” Nenshi said.

“And we won’t understand the financial requirements until the IOC releases a draft host city contract, which I understand will not happen until next spring, after the PyeongChang Olympics.”