It was an investment that would change the city forever. One hundred million dollars for the local economy, one hundred hours of national broadcast exposure, and a brand new sporting facility to be enjoyed by the entire community. Lethbridge threw everything it had into winning the Canada Winter Games bid, but is walking away with empty hands.
“We didn’t plan for failure,” said Mayor Chris Spearman. “No, we planned for success.”
But we did lose, and the price tag for the bid process won’t be covered by the millions of dollars that could have been made as hosts.
“Well the City Council committed to spend $250,000. I don’t think that money was poorly spent,” said Spearman. “We learned a lot through the process, we raised the profile of Lethbridge, and we put together a quality bid. You’re not always successful. There are no guarantees.”
Also gone with the bid is the promise of a new ice rink facility to have accelerated status. Provincial and federal funding from the games would have helped to build and upgrade existing facilities.
“It would have brought in six million dollars for capital funding, and 8.6 in operational funding,” said the mayor.
It’s not just money the City is losing out on without the Games, but also valuable, real-life experience for the city’s students.
“The students would have been involved in a number of program areas,” said Michel Bechard, Executive Director of Public Relations and Communications at Lethbridge College. “Feeding the athletes and all the Game’s participants over the course of the games, that would have been out of here and our students would have been involved along with staff making that happen.”
The college would have been the hub of the games; headquarters to the thousands of athletes and coaches competing.
“This would have been the site of the Games village,” said Bechard. “So it would have meant people, all the athletes living in our residences, all the food and a lot of other activities right here on campus.”
Although Lethbridge was not given the honour of hosting the games, the city’s strongest advocate maintains that the blood, sweat, tears and dollars were worth it.
“There was no loss associated with this,” said Mayor Spearman. “It’s a stepping stone to the future.”
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