Calgary city administration: Olympic bid decision should wait until costs known
Calgary’s city administration has raised concerns over how bidding for the 2026 Winter Olympics could affect municipal finances, but says the idea deserves further examination.
A report highlighting some of the unanswered questions surrounding a potential bid is going before this week’s council meeting. It recommends the city not pursue a bid until some conditions are met rather than rejecting the notion entirely.
“While administration remains skeptical, we are willing to keep an open mind as there appears to be suggestions that mitigating strategies to these financial concerns and risks may be available,” the city report says.
Some of the conditions include that direct operating costs, excluding security, won’t be borne by taxpayers, that other orders of government shoulder security costs and that there be a financial structure that accommodates the city’s cash flow and debt level constraints.