Calgary could look to the province’s capital for use of some of its sports venues in a bid for the 2026 Olympic games, according to the city’s mayor.
Even though the city said earlier this year there are no plans for a joint-bid between the two cities, Naheed Nenshi said Tuesday that Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson has offered up some of that city’s sports facilities if needed.
Nenshi said it’s good to know it’s an option, but that the discussion is a little premature.
“We can’t make any decisions until we have that master facilities plan because we really need to know what we’ve got and what we don’t have,” Nenshi said.
“If we move forward with the Olympics, I absolutely think there would still be an opportunity for partnership.”
Nenshi believes the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would welcome facility sharing for the 2026 games, as it has done in the past.
“One thing I really liked about the London and Rio games was that the soccer tournament, for men and women, wasn’t actually in the host city. It was all over the country. So I think that’s kind of a neat idea for men’s and women’s hockey with all the NHL arenas around the country.”
“The challenge of course is security and the fact that it’s a very large country,” Nenshi said.
While Calgary has most of the facilities needed to host another Olympics, it’s no secret that Calgary needs a new NHL-sized hockey arena, and possibly other venues.
“I’ll tell you one thing, if we don’t have a field house, we’re going to need a really big venue for curling. So, you know, there may well be an opportunity to go up the road for that,” Nenshi said.
Nenshi said a facilities partnership with Edmonton is a “second-tier decision” that can be made after the city decides whether to bid on the games.
Initially Calgary city council planned to make a decision by the end of July on whether to submit a bid, but the mayor said that decision could be put off until after the October municipal election.