The Newsy Neighbour Magazine
April Issue 114
Article Provided By: Jock Wilson of JockTalk
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman strutted through Southern
Alberta last month and insulted Calgarians saying the Saddledome is an
"antiquated, inefficient building" that "doesn't hold a candle
to new arena's like Edmonton's Rogers Place." The New York lawyer
proclaimed Calgary needs a new arena "yesterday."
Comments like this is why I try to avoid the commissioner
like the plague. Bettman doesn't speak for Calgarians or Albertans, he speaks
for 31 wealthy NHL owners. A Calgary owner (Murray Edwards) who doesn't even
live in the city anymore.
Is the NHL going to pay for the new building, Gary? How
about you, Mr. Edwards?
It was very clear from callers to my radio show that a new
downtown Entertainment Center would be a welcome addition, however the majority
do not want tax dollars to pay it. Calgary Mayor Naheed Neshi took it one step
further.
“It’s both vital and important
according to Mr. Bettman,” Nenshi said. “You know, we have many things that are
vitally important. We are in an economic downturn; a lot of people don’t know
where their next meal is coming from. I’ve got a lot of priorities to work
with. Public money must be spent for public benefit.”
The arena debate highlights
even a bigger issue that could soon be facing Calgary and Southern Alberta. Should
Calgary bid on the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games? The Calgary Bid
Exploration Committee is currently working on a master plan that it will
present to the city in July. The mandate of the committee is to evaluate
whether an Olympic bid is feasible, prudent or even realistic.
The 2026 Calgary Olympic Master
Plan must have transparency and detail a lasting legacy for our venues,
economic opportunity, sport development, social development and cultural enrichment.
Obviously, this will come with a huge price tag!
VANOC president John Furlong
tried to spin a balanced budget for the 2010 Games in Vancouver and Whistler. Maybe
this was the case if you don't include the 2.1 billion dollars spent on the sky
train from the airport to downtown, 2 billion on the sea to sky highway to
Whistler, 883 million on the convention center, 663 million on the False Creek athletes’
village and almost 1 billion on security. In most cases (everything except
security) this was money well spent with a lasting legacy for Vancouver and
Whistler.
If Calgary does move forward
with a 2026 bid, do we do it on the cheap? Or do we do it with a vision for a
lasting legacy? This comes with a cost!
Who wouldn't want to see a
train from the airport to downtown? You know our mayor would love to speed up
construction of the green line LRT and a new athletes’ village would double
down as affordable low cost housing after the games. Sooner or later, there
will be a new arena project on the table, we may as well do this in conjunction
with an Olympic bid. We also have aging Olympic facilities and if we want our
legacy to continue as a leader in winter sport development, these facilities
are going to need major upgrades. Either that or we are going to have to shut
them down.
In my opinion, there are three
key threats when it comes to hosting the 2026 games.
1. Will our National Park be
receptive to hosting the Alpine events at the Lake Louise Ski Resort? While
Nakiska can be used for ski cross, boarder cross events and maybe slalom
events, Mount Allen was a terrible choice and a huge waste of money for the
alpine events in 1988. If the Park says no, then we may as well stop discussion
right now.
2. Are we really going to spend
millions on a temporary Ski Jump facility? The Canmore Nordic Center is still a
world class facility for Biathlon and Cross Country events but the jumps at
Winsport are obsolete. There are lots of rumours on where this temporary
facility would be built including the hill on the SAIT campus.
3. Security Costs. While former
police chief Rick Hanson may have a few ideas on how to save in this
department, this will be a huge number that will be tough to stomach. Speculation
says the cost could close in on 1 billion dollars. Costs like this are why most
democratic countries are steering clear of the Games. Countries like Russia,
Korea and China don't have to be accountable to their tax payers. I did have a
great suggestion from one of my listeners on Sportstalk on Newstalk 770. Why
not pass some the security costs on to all competing nations? The host nation
would pay the biggest tab but some costs could be shared by competing
countries.
While most of our venues will
be re-purposed for a 2026 bid, we will need a new hockey arena, athletes’
village in Calgary and Lake Louise, a broadcast center and major upgrades on
the Olympic Oval and the Sliding Center.
Could a 5-billion-dollar price
tag be just the starting point? Will all 3 levels of government be on side? There
is a reason why countries like Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, France and
Poland have all backed away from potential bids.
Russia in 2014, Korea in 2018,
Beijing in 2022. Does the IOC really want to go to Kazakhstan for 2026? I think
not, but there may not be any other options. The costs of hosting an Olympics
is getting out of hand.
If you haven't done so already,
I urge you check out the website shouldcalgarybid.com. Have your say and fill
out the questionnaire.
Personally, I would love to see
Calgary host the 2026 Olympics. I also understand it has to make economic
sense.
About Jock Wilson:
Jock has been involved in the Calgary sport media scene for over
30 years. He hosts the Calgary Stampeder football broadcasts on Newstalk 770
and is the host of Sportstalk from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
Email: jock@am770chqr.com
Twitter: @sportson770
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