For better or worse, we’re out of the picture
Relief and disappointment both reasonable reactions to Commonwealth Games bid getting turfed
There was a pang of disappointment when the news broke this week that Hamilton was out of the running for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
Followed immediately by some genuine relief.
Yes, it’s possible to feel both. You can think we’re missing out on a good opportunity while simultaneously feeling we’ve dodged a bullet.
Let’s start with the latter.
If this city has proven anything over the years, it’s that people here will show up in droves for big-time, world-class events or one-off super shows. But for things people deem less than major league? That’s a much tougher sell.
There’s some real doubt — in this corner at least — about whether Hamiltonians really wanted the Commonwealth Games or were even vaguely excited about the possibility. Any buzz from the public sure seemed to be decidedly lacking.
The most-recent version was held last year in England. You would’ve been hard-pressed to find much media coverage or live TV of the competition in Canada. You would’ve been even harder-pressed to find someone who could tell you how we did. Or who was competing.
Don’t believe it? We won 92 medals. Name one.
Maybe this would’ve changed by 2030 if Hamilton had been officially awarded the event, preparations had begun toward it and the opening drew closer. Maybe then excitement would’ve grown. Maybe. Or maybe people would’ve yawned and stayed home. Which would’ve been an unfortunate look as people tuned in around the world.
We don’t have to worry about that now.
But then there’s the other side. The sense we may have just missed an opportunity that could’ve been quite impactful.
As much as any multi-sport games are about the sports, they’re also about something bigger if they’re done right. They’re about the legacy and how they can help the host city over the long term.
In some places that legacy fails miserably. Go online and type in “Athens Olympic venues today” for a taste of that. But it’s not always the case.
We have a new stadium here in Hamilton as a direct result of the 2015 Pan Am Games. Milton has a velodrome for the same reason.
The University of Toronto has a swim centre, too. The possibilities for other infrastructure that could’ve arrived tied to 2030 — even though organizers had scaled back the scope of what was originally planned — were there.
McMaster had talked about a new pool. This city could sure use one. We probably would’ve seen new track facilities built at Mohawk Park that would’ve received great use. Some existing arenas surely would’ve been updated. Some new ideas might’ve emerged.
If all this could’ve been done without asking the city to fork out tens of millions of dollars it doesn’t have, as seemed to be the plan, great. The results would’ve been a quality leave-behind for local athletes and others in the community.
And there quite easily could’ve been spinoff projects that followed. One report cited $1 billion or so in economic benefits from all of it. You wonder if Games construction could have also expedited other ventures in town that are planned, but aren’t underway yet.
All this said, we shouldn’t even be having this conversation today.
If we were going to host a Games, Hamilton should’ve been chosen for the 2010 version. You may recall we pushed hard for those yet the people who make such decisions decided to award them to New Delhi. It was a magnificently bad choice. Those Games were plagued by construction delays, cost overruns, claims of corruption and more.
Had they made the better decision, we’d be two decades into our legacy and no longer concerned about the other stuff. But times change. Money gets tighter. Needs grow in other areas. Peoples’ focus moves elsewhere. Today it seems the window for any thought of a multi-sport games in Hamilton has closed.
For better or for worse.