A debate is expected Tuesday about whether the City of Calgary should proceed with a bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
Last Monday, Calgary council heard a recommendation from the Calgary bid exploration committee that said the city could support a bid on the Games, but the group did not take a position on whether the city should.
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On Tuesday, city administration will return after examining the group’s findings in light of recent changes by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the bidding process and timelines.
Some details on new host city requirements have not been released by the IOC.
Calgary Olympic bid committee chair Rick Hansen said without that information from the IOC his group will not be able to make a final recommendation on whether Calgary should make a bid to host the Games.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said last week he expects council will vote to delay a decision until all facts can be analyzed.
Last Monday, council voted 13 to 2 against a motion to hold a plebiscite asking for public input on a potential bid.
In June the bid exploration committee said it would cost $4.6 billion for Calgary to host the games, but it believes the Games would generate about half of that amount in revenue, leaving a cost of $2.4 billion.
According to Hansen, the committee should be able to examine the new recommendations by the IOC and make a final recommendation by early 2018, as opposed to the original deadline of fall 2017.
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