IOC Confident in Savings Opportunities for Calgary 2026

(ATR) The International Olympic Committee believes the estimated cost of CAN $4.6 billion (US $3.47 billion) for Calgary to host the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will shrink.

The Calgary Bid Exploration Committee (CBEC) presented the findings ofa months-long study to the Calgary city council on Monday.

CBEC revealed that about half of the cost, or CAN $2.2 billion (US $1.66 billion), would be covered by revenue from the Games.

The remaining CAN $2.4 billion (US $1.81 billion) in funding would need to be raised to account for the full Games cost, according to the figures published by the city of Calgary.

By comparison, the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver cost CAN $7.7 billion (US $5.8 billion).

CBEC says the cost was mitigated by plans to upgrade existing venues from the 1988 Winter Games rather than building new facilities.

As part of its budget estimates, CBEC is including costs that would arise after the Games are over. A contingency fund of CAN $450 million (US $339.1 million), with an additional CAN $135 million (US $101.7 million) in endowments for sports programming, would be used to cover facility operations post-Games.

"One of the things we identified from looking at some prior Olympic Games was the failure to account for post-Games operation and maintenance of facilities in their budgets," said CBEC chair Rick Hanson.

"While this adds cost, our Board felt it was a necessary addition to a prospective budget."

The IOC believes the budget presented by CBEC is merely a starting point and will be lowered in the weeks and months to come.

"While we have not seen the detail of Calgary’s draft budget, we remain confident that by working together to refine operational planning, that opportunities exist for significant savings," the IOC said in a statement.

"We understand that Calgary’s estimated budget has been modeled on the experience of Vancouver 2010, and did not benefit from the new approach of organizing the Games, which emphasizes efficiencies and sustainability in the context of a city’s long-term planning as a part of the Olympic Agenda 2020 framework. The benefits of this approach can be seen in the over US $2 billion savings made on the Tokyo 2020 revised construction budget, as well as the operational budget of Beijing 2022, which currently sits at US $1.6 billion.

"In addition, a working group composed of winter sports specialists and International Federation experts are looking into ways of reducing the operational budget of the Olympic Winter Games. These efforts could not be taken into consideration by the Calgary team in their deliberations, but they will certainly result in a positive impact on Calgary’s budget. We look forward to continuing to work with the Committee as it refines its project."

Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) Chief Executive Officer Christopher Overholt applauded CBEC for its "thorough work".

"We are pleased to see high levels of public support for the bid fueled by the overwhelmingly positive legacy of the 1988 Games that helped cement Calgary as a global leader in winter sport. As CBEC works toward its final recommendations, we remain committed to working with the public and stakeholders at all levels to determine whether the right conditions exist for a 2026 bid to become a reality, for Calgary and for Canada," Overholt said in a statement.

The Calgary city government would welcome a shrinking of CBEC’s estimate that currently shows operating costs will exceed operating revenues by CAN $425 million (US $320.3 million).

"I’m going to have to take a lot of convincing to be told we should be running an operation deficit in that range while other parties like the IOC and the COC actually make a lot of money off of sponsorship and TV rights," Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi told Canada’s National Post.

"The risk cannot be entirely held by the host city in my opinion."

IOC proposals aimed at lowering the cost of bidding beginning with the 2026 Olympics will be put forward at the Extraordinary IOC Session on July 11-12 in Lausanne.

CBEC will present its final recommendations to the Calgary city council on July 24.

Written by Gerard Farek

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