WHAT’S NEXT FOR ’88 VENUES?
Legacy facilities still need cash
In the wake of Calgary ’s plebiscite rejection to host the Olympics in 2026, sports leaders fear a lack of funding for deteriorating facilities and an impending exodus of training professionals and programs could occur, scarring the legacy of winter sport in the city.
“It’s extremely disappointing. We’re looking at some serious challenges now,” said Barry Heck, CEO of WinSport at Canada Olympic Park.
“The bid would have given us a tremendous advantage, helping renew up to eight legacy venues. It would have been that silver bullet, and it would’ve created a legacy fund, too,” he said. “Now we’ll have to go where everyone goes for sport funding — the federal government.”
At Canada Olympic Park alone, up to $125 million in renovations are required, including upgrades to the aging sliding track, the ski hill and the day lodge, as well as basic maintenance on mechanical infrastructure.
But that’s only a small slice of the $583 million in legacy venue upgrades outlined in the original Calgary 2026 bid documents, including much-needed renovations at the Olympic Oval, the Canmore Nordic Centre and Nakiska Ski Area.
Yves Hamelin, director of the Olympic Oval, says the 31-year-old facility needs at least $15 million in major upgrades within the next decade, including replacement foundations underneath the 400-metre ice track and both Olympic-sized arenas inside the track.
“It’s not a situation of just upgrading it, it needs to be completely replaced,” said Hamelin, explaining that the combination of cement and brine is wearing down and will no longer be able to maintain the temperatures needed for optimal ice conditions.
As well, the narrow, underground tunnel leading to the central bench areas and ice rinks needs to be expanded, and the mechanical systems and ice plants also need major upgrades.
“At this point, we’ll just have to look at other options,” Hamelin added. “But it will be a challenge because we won’t be the only ones chasing dollars.”
Nakiska Ski Area in Kananaskis Country is also in need of facility upgrades, including course and safety improvements to ensure continued hosting of events and hill rentals for national team training.
Brad Spence, a former alpine skier who competed in two Winter Olympic Games — Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 — said national ski teams still train regularly at Nakiska, providing the hill with muchneeded revenue earned through rental of some of its more remote slopes by world-class skiers from Europe, the U.S. and Canada.
Also west of the city, the Canmore Nordic Centre is in need of upgrades as it looks to host World Cup biathlon events in the future and continue to be a training centre for Canada’s national biathlon and cross-country ski teams.
Improvements to allow access for disabled skiers and Paralympians were also planned, but will now fall to the unpredictable funding of government grants.
Other venues in dire need of upgrades include McMahon Stadium, which requires new seating, concourse areas and washrooms, as well as the Scotiabank Saddledome, which needs structural and mechanical upgrades as well as enhanced accessibility and improved spectator services.
But Dale Henwood, president of the Canadian Sport Institute, worries much of that wish list may never happen as both the provincial and federal governments have all but abandoned funding for sports since the lead up to the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010.
“We’ve been advocating for funding for a long time, but it has fallen on deaf ears,” said Henwood, adding that the federal government has not increased funding to Olympic sports since 2008, while the province has not pitched in since 1992.
As a result, the number of Alberta-bred athletes competing in the Olympics has decreased significantly since the 1988 Calgary Winter Games.
But in addition to the decadesold facilities, Henwood said he’s particularly concerned about an exodus of staff and program supports for athletes after Tuesday’s plebiscite.
Coaches, physiotherapists, sports psychologists, medical therapists, conditioning experts and all the programming they provide won’t stay if there isn’t enough funding to keep them in place, Henwood said.
“In the past, we have built sport on the backs of Games. When you have that, there’s interest every day. Corporations invest longterm. But without a Games, there’s just much less interest.”
Spence also fears that without an Olympic Games in the foreseeable future, the erosion of programming and athlete support will only continue.
Legacy training facilities like the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park or the High Performance Training Lab at the University of Calgary help athletes with the off-ice or off-snow training that is so critical to their success, he says.
“But all of these facilities, they’re not just exclusive to athletes. They benefit the entire community,” Spence said, adding that he’s already seen other Olympic cities across Europe and North America poaching talented coaches and sports staff, with many leaving Calgary to go to Vancouver or the U.S.
“It’s hard to quantify sometimes. But I worry we may no longer be in a position to continue all of these great things for another 30 years. We sometimes forget the benefits of competitive sport — learning resilience, grit, and overcoming adversity.”