All eyes shift to Calgary vs. Quebec City
According to sources, Toronto Mayor John Tory will on Tuesday officially extinguish the dream of hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics in Canada’s largest metropolis.
In truth, Toronto faced high odds of yet another rejection from International Olympic Committee voters with European cities like Paris, Rome, and Hamburg in the race, as well as a strong American pitch from Los Angeles.
And that’s if the Toronto bid could have survived its own council, with city taxpayers sending a loud and clear message that they wanted no part of the estimated $50-million-plus cost purely just to bid.
With Toronto out of the way, Canadians had best turn their focus to the political battle brewing over the bidding for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Quebec City vs. Calgary — and this donnybrook is shaping up to be anything but pretty.
For as long as anyone can remember, Canadian Olympic Committee president Marcel Aubut has waxed poetic about the Olympics coming to Quebec City.
“I’ve attended the last 12 Olympic Games,” Aubut told En Route Magazine for an article in July. “I have fond memories of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer. There was such an intimate, familylike atmosphere in this small Norwegian city and we were so warmly received by the locals.
“Quebec City is the only other place where we could create a similar experience.”
Just last week, Aubut told Postmedia: “It’s time for the east part of the country and time for Toronto and time for summer sport.”
As it turns out, this clearly is not the time for Toronto and it’s not time for Canada to pursue a Summer Olympics.
But we can safely assume Aubut still fancies the fivering circus pitching its tent in the eastern part of the country — specifically, in his home province of Quebec.
On July 9, Aubut welcomed IOC president Thomas Bach to Montreal for what was called “Canada Olympic Excellence Day.” In a lavish display, the Olympic rings were raised above the downtown Montreal headquarters of the COC, making it the only building outside of Lausanne, Switzerland permitted to display them.
In many ways, Calgary is seen as the heartbeat of the Canadian Olympic movement due to the sheer number of Olympians training at the legacy facilities from the 1988 Winter Games.
The COC has no offices west of Toronto.
But behind the scenes in Calgary, Postmedia has learned business and community leaders have been quietly meeting for more than 18 months about preparing a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
If Los Angeles can bid, and possibly win, a second Olympics, the decisionmakers in Calgary figure they can do the same and limit costs by using at least some of the facilities still in place from 1988.
The Olympic Oval, on the University of Calgary campus, would need a major upgrade. Same goes for the bobsled facility, which is like a kiddie waterslide in the West Edmonton Mall waterpark compared to tracks like the Whistler Sliding Centre.
But Calgary has no problem finding a mountain suitable for the Olympic downhill with the Rockies on the doorstep (the lack of an alpine venue is a major sticking point for Quebec City, as the men’s downhill is akin to the men’s 100-metres in track and field for Olympic purists).
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi is no fan of using public dollars to build a new arena for the National Hockey League’s Calgary Flames or a stadium for the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders. The Calgary Sports & Entertainment Corporation, which owns the Flames and Stampeders, officially unveiled plans last month for a $900-million arena, field house and stadium on the outskirts of downtown.
If the new mega-facility is tied to the Olympics — and creating a lasting legacy for the community — sources say Nenshi might be open to such a proposal.
The power brokers in Calgary are well aware of Aubut’s feelings on Quebec City and the Olympics. They know they’ve got a fight on their hands if they choose to proceed.
Quebec City made a failed bid to host the 2002 Winter Olympics, which the IOC awarded to Salt Lake City.
The city tried again to present a candidacy for the 2010 Games, but the COC chose Vancouver.
À la prochaine …