WARMING UP TO OLYMPICS

The city-financed committee looking into the merits of bidding to host the 2026 Winter Olympics won’t make a recommendation until this summer. Still, a poll that finds 61 per cent support for pursuing the Games is encouraging, and proof the committee’s work is worthwhile.

Community support is important — not only to justify the considerable cost of preparing a formal bid, but to help the International Olympic Committee decide which city is the best fit for the sporting spectacle.

If citizens are cool to the idea of hosting the Games, the committee is likely to look elsewhere, as it should.

The poll, conducted by Mainstreet Research for Postmedia, found just 28 per cent of respondents would prefer Calgary didn’t present a bid. Another 11 per cent said they’re unsure if they’d support an application.

The random poll of 831 Calgarians conducted March 10 using both land lines and cellphones is considered accurate within 3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

“These numbers don’t surprise me at all, especially for Calgary,” says pollster Quito Maggi. “The Calgary Olympics were a really special thing for Canada, and certainly for Calgarians.

“If you were to go beyond Calgary, I think most Canadians would support a bid because there is that pride, and there is a chance to be at the top or near the top of the world.”

Maggi is right — as much as the Games would be a source of pride for Calgary, they would be Canada’s Olympics, putting the spotlight on the entire country.

Deciding whether to pursue a bid will be up to city council once it has received the report and recommendation from the committee headed by former police chief Rick Hanson. The group has received $5 million in funding and is taking its task seriously, knowing that Calgarians expect the volunteers and a handful of paid staff members to do their due diligence. If the Games don’t make sense for Calgary, then so be it.

It’s hard to imagine a better host for the 2026 Games, however. Our winter climate, our experience hosting the Games in 1988 and the presence of some existing amenities are all in the city’s favour.

Calgary deservedly has a reputation for being a can-do city that can count on the energies of countless volunteers.

The Games would also be an opportunity to tap senior levels of government for transit improvements and other infrastructure.

Public support is no substitute for a compelling business case for hosting the Olympics, but you can’t have the Games without the endorsement of Calgarians.

Already, there’s evidence citizens are on side.