CALGARY — The fate of Calgary’s 2026 Olympic bid is now in the hands of people who are even less informed than the politicians and administrators who have spearheaded this five-ring circus.
Following a desperate, last-minute bid Tuesday night to reduce the security and housing budget to help make all the budget numbers work, city councillors held a testy, day-long debate revolving around whether to kill a process the city has worked on for several years. The majority of councillors believed a process rift with document leaks, misinformation, lack of information, secret meetings and endless mud-slinging had essentially run out of time.
Yet, an 8-7 vote to end the Olympic dream fell short of the 10 nay-sayers required, giving Calgarians a chance to vote in a Nov. 13 plebiscite on the wildly divisive issue. Instead of the 30-day window Calgarians were promised to have all the information available to make an informed decision, they’ll have two weeks.
For that shortcoming and embarrassment, several councillors apologized.
The “collective failure” of all three levels of government to get their funding ducks in a row before Tuesday’s eleventh-hour meetings is only part of a laughable process that has only served to heighten the mistrust and confusion amongst voters. Even Wednesday, councillors were still seeking clarity on whether the Olympic hockey tournament would be played in Edmonton’s shiny new arena. (It’s not – never was).
One councilor pointed out, if they can’t understand all the number-juggling of late then how are Calgarians expected to make sense of it all?
It’s still not clear where the curling will be hosted or where the athletes village / affordable housing will be built. Some think the Green Line light rail transit system is part of the bid (it’s not) and others are still in disbelief the two main legacy projects will be a fieldhouse and a 5,000-seat arena (which nobody thinks makes any sense).
One thing everyone is painfully aware of is that the bid would not include building a new event centre (read: NHL-sized rink) like the Saddledome that came with the ’88 Games. That still amazes people.
Minutes before casting his vote in a motion to try quashing Calgary’s Olympic dream, councillor Ward Sutherland made an emotional appeal to his constituents.
“Get off Twitter,” he said of a much-needed plea for Calgarians to dig for the facts with an eye on voting with their head, not their heart. “Talk to each other like the old world and try to have a conversation. Get the information.”
As councillor Druh Farrell pointed out, a plebiscite is only as good as the information provided.
The job done by the bid committee and its million dollar Vote Yes ad campaign has fallen short as Halloween discussions across town were filled with half-truths, frustration, questions, suspicion and accusations. Sprinkled in there was a touch of relief and plenty of surprise as some didn’t even know the bid had been “saved” the night before and voted on late Wednesday afternoon.
[relatedlinks]
The question now is whether there’s enough time for locals to get their questions answered, and who to trust to supply those answers. Have there been too many missteps along the way for people to trust these Games can be pulled off?
More importantly, can they be pulled off without the cost overruns that are synonymous with virtually every Olympic Games since the 1988 version here that put Cowtown on the map? Those who experienced those Games still take great pride in how the city and country came together for the two-week party that put on display the tremendous community spirit, western hospitality and volunteerism Calgary is known for.
There’s plenty at stake for a city and province in a massive economic funk that has 25 per cent of downtown offices vacant and no end in sight for a city desperate for pipelines to save its chief industry.
Some councillors voted to keep the dream alive based on the fact the process had come too far along to back down without the people’s voice.
Others cling to the possibility the $5-billion Games could be just the economic spark needed to help the city rebound. In a city built on the backs of entrepreneurs and their can-do attitude, a new generation includes those who want it nixed because the financial risk is too great. After all, it would be the city on the hook for cost overruns, sparking a bid addition that includes hopes of a $20 million insurance policy protecting the city against cost overruns up to $200 million. After that, we know who would be on the hook.
The vast majority have no idea what to believe anymore, and they can’t be blamed.
Despite their best intentions, the politicians and administrators involved have bungled this from the start, prompting one councilor willing to give up on the project to suggest “next time,” a bid should be taken out of city halls’ hands.
“(In 1988) the process was driven by the community and from the community,” said councilor Evan Woolley, who chaired the city’s Olympic committee yet still wanted it deep-sixed Wednesday.
“This is different. This has been driven by administrators and bureaucrats.”
And it has been a disaster — a train wreck that may ultimately have done so much damage the last 48 hours the whole thing could be derailed Nov. 13.
Of the scaled-back public ask of $2.875-billion, the city would be on the hook for $370-million in cash, as well as $150-million in money previously committed to improve Victoria Park and the Stampede grounds. They’d also pay the $20-million insurance premium.
The province held firm on their $700-million contribution, while the federal government will put in $1.423-billion in cash. It’s all part of what could amount to the opportunity of an era for the city, or one of the biggest financial mistakes imaginable.
It’s up to the masses to decide now.
And they can all be forgiven for feeling as uncertain about it as Eddie the Eagle hurtling down the 90-metre ski jump — a mothballed facade that still serves to remind us all of what could be here again.
