(ATR) Neither the Canadian federal government nor the Alberta provincial government are racing to help fund a potential Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Calgary city council on Monday approved only half of a request for an additional CAN$2 million (US$1.57 million) toward preparing the city for a bid. The rest of the funds are to be released only if the province of Alberta and the Canadian federal government come on board and commit to sharing the cost for a bid committee by the end of the year.
The city of Calgary estimates that cost at between CAN$25 and CAN$30 million (US$19.5 million and US$23.4 million).
Rachel Notley, the premier of the province of Alberta, told reporters on Thursday that she hadn’t yet had a chance to "go through the pros and cons of the matter," according to the Calgary Herald.
Notley says she needs evidence that the people of Alberta would benefit from Calgary hosting the 2026 Games before making a decision on whether to support a bid.
The Canadian federal government is also making no promises, with Sports Minister Kent Hehr saying that Ottawa will need to research the costs of a bid before committing to any funding for it, according to CTV News Calgary.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi met with officials from the Canadian Olympic Committee on Thursday. The COC applauded the city council’s decision on Monday to move forward on a bid, saying in a statement it "will continue to provide all of its expertise to the City of Calgary to make this bid successful".
Sion, Switzerland is currently the only city that has officially begun the process to host in 2026.
The city of Sapporo and the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) announced on Wednesday that they will enter the IOC’s dialogue stage for 2026. Under new guidelines from the IOC, this stage allows interested cities to explore the benefits and opportunities of hosting the Games without submitting an official bid.
A bid by Stockholm remains a possibility but the Swedish Olympic Committee has so far failed to convince the city’s government that it’s a good idea.
The United States Olympic Committee says it is open to hosting either in 2026 or 2030, with Reno-Tahoe, Denver and Salt Lake City all showing interest. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the chairman of Salt Lake City’s exploratory committee, Fraser Bullock, said earlier this week that the 2002 Olympics host should not bid for a second Games unless a profit can be made.
Written by Gerard Farek
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