Commonwealth Games Canada rejects Edmonton’s request for bid extension

The City of Edmonton’s request for an extension to bid on the 2026 Games has been rejected by Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC).

On Friday, the city said the CGC didn’t approve its request to extend the first right of acceptance deadline to be Canada’s candidate city in 2026.

“The economic situation is still fragile,” Mayor Don Iveson said on Dec. 15, 2016. “It’s still early days for the new federal government thinking about their international events strategy, so we’ve asked Commonwealth Games Canada to give us six more months while we determine what our hosting strategy and bidding strategy will be for 2026.”

READ MORE: Edmonton to create ‘citizen panel’ to explore pursuit of major sporting events 

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At the same time, the city established a group – working at arm’s length to the city – to look at and recommend options for pursuing major sporting events like Commonwealth.

READ MORE: Could Edmonton and Calgary co-host 2026 Olympics or Commonwealth Games? 

Edmonton transferred its intent to bid for the Commonwealth Games from 2022 to 2026. At that time, CGC gave Edmonton “right of first acceptance” to be the Canadian bid city for 2026.

Putting on the 2022 games was expected to cost about $1 billion. Funding was primarily to come from the provincial government, which encouraged the city to put in a bid last spring. Later, however, provincial leadership changed — as did the state of Alberta’s economy.

READ MORE: Is Edmonton’s pursuit of the 2022 Commonwealth Games worthwhile?

The original expiry date for that right of first acceptance was Dec. 31, 2016 and the city asked for an extension to July 31, 2017.

“We understood there was a risk of refusal from CGC and their position is understandable,” City Manager Linda Cochrane said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We understood there was a risk of refusal from CGC and their position is understandable," City Manager Linda Cochrane said.

“We can still pursue becoming Canada’s Candidate City for 2026, but we may potentially be in competition with other Canadian cities. Given the financial commitments needed to host a major sporting event, we believe it’s prudent to take time for full study and consideration before making decisions about proceeding.”

The citizen panel is expected to be named in early 2017 and will submit a report to the city manager by June.