City reverses claim that province and feds are helping fund Olympic bid
Posted Mar 18, 2018 4:38 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The City of Calgary is backing away from a claim that federal and provincial government funding has been secured to help pay for a winter Olympic bid.
On Friday, the city posted to its website that funding had been secured to help proceed with the 2026 Winter Games bid.
Now, the city is correcting that statement, saying that while signs are positive – no financial support has been secured from either level of government.
It’s estimated that bidding on the games would carry a $30 million price tag – split three ways between the city, province and Ottawa.
Even with that, taxpayers could be on the hook for as much as $2.4 billion to host the games.
The release adds that city administration will recommend the city should bid on the games.
And while the final decision to proceed is with council – Ward 11’s Jeromy Farkas says Calgarians should have a say.
“We’ve asked all these questions — how much is it going to cost, what are the logistics — but we haven’t actually asked Calgarians if they want this thing. I think it’s time to hit pause and really answer some of these warranted questions around cost and the feasibility, but also some of the security concerns.”
Farkas says he plans to introduce a motion this week to put the Olympic question to a plebiscite or binding referendum.
