Battle For Plebiscite Could Make or Break Calgary

This is the fourth in a series by Around the Rings analyzing the seven declared interested 2026 Olympic bidders announced by the IOC on Tuesday.

(ATR) A battle for funding for a bid committee and its stipulations could stall Calgary’s potential Olympic bid before the IOC has a chance to inspect it.

Calgary was one of seven cities to submit letters of intent to the IOC to participate in the upcoming dialogue phase. The city last hosted the Winter Olympics in 1988. For now, the main problem with the potential bid is just staying funded.

On April 16 Calgary’s city council will meet again to decide if it will accept the conditions from the Alberta provincial government to fund a bid committee during the IOC’s dialogue phase. Before that, a Calgary mayoral spokesperson confirmed to Around the Rings that a city council committee will vote on the "proposed engagement plan" for provincial funding on April 10. The first vote will not stop the plan from being debated and voted on by the full city council on April 16.

Confusion and miscommunications have plagued the relationship between the province and the city council over funding for a bid committee and conditions attached.

On April 3 Calgary City Councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart said she is reconsidering her vote on proceeding with an Olympic bid. The last vote by the council was 8-6 in favor of continuance, with Colley-Urquhart voting in favor. She said that a potential change of heart has come from being unaware about stipulations from the province calling for a plebiscite on hosting the Olympics as a condition for funds.

"I truly feel I’ve been deceived with the way all this Olympic detail has been rolled out and staged," Colley-Urquhart said on social media.

The misunderstanding seems to come from details in the province’s request. Even after cutting the city of Calgary’s budget the province of Alberta said it would contribute CAN$10 million to help fund the exploratory bid committee. The province then said that should the bid committee require more money or move from a bid to a candidature, a plebiscite on hosting would be required.

This condition caught some councillors off guard, and could complicate the IOC’s timeline. The dialogue phase runs through October, before the candidature cities are announced. Reports in Canada said that any plebiscite could take up to six months to see through. Questions remained on which body would fund the plebiscite.

"When the [government of Alberta] decided to fund $10m to the BidCo, we also stipulated that to move beyond the BidCo (or to commit to funding the provincial portion of the games) a plebiscite would have to be held," Cheryl Oates, a provincial spokesperson, confirmed to ATR on social media. "These decisions were made in tandem. The province wasn't willing to commit to this first without mapping out how we would move to the next step.

"We have put our criteria forward. With that information, we understand that the city will now make decisions in what it believes is the best interest of the project and its citizens."

As the city council deliberates, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi told reporters yesterday that he believes the province should "put money on the table" to pay for the plebiscite. He added that "it is hard to imagine" a way forward for a potential bid without provincial funding for an Olympics, thus avoiding a plebiscite.

"I’ve been very clear about this for a long time. I’m not opposed to a plebiscite," Nenshi said. "The timing has to make sense so citizens can make an informed decision."

Outside of the political process, a Calgary bid requires updates on many of the 1988 Olympic venues. However, a new ski jump would have to be constructed, and looming in the background could be a fight with the National Hockey League about a new indoor arena. The league has already said it would prefer Calgary update the Saddledome arena or risk losing its NHL franchise. However the IOC said such refurbishments would not be necessary. Alpine skiing for a potential 2026 Olympics could be held in Whistler, British Columbia, the site of the 2010 Olympic events.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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