Rick Zamperin: Hamilton should investigate a 2030 Commonwealth Games bid

The City of Hamilton should submit a bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games.

On Wednesday, city councillors on the General Issues Committee voted 7 to 6 against investigating a potential bid to host what would be the 100th anniversary of the Games.

There aren’t too many people left around these parts, or anywhere else for that matter, who would have attended the first Commonwealth Games — back then known as the British Empire Games — when Hamilton played host in 1930.  You’d have to be in your 90s to have any recollection of how the brainchild of Hamilton’s M.M. Robinson played out in the early days of the Great Depression.

The vote at GIC doesn’t end the debate.  Mayor Fred Eisenberger and councillors Tom Jackson and Robert Pasuta were unable to attend the meeting but will be able to speak to the topic at next week’s city council meeting. Whether they’ll be able to turn the tide and have city staff study the idea remains to be seen.

The cost implications are certainly the biggest sticking point, especially when you consider that Hamilton’s aging infrastructure needs urgent attention, the $1-billion LRT has yet to be constructed, and the Pan Am Games Stadium turned Tim Hortons Field fiasco is still very fresh in everyone’s mind. Oh yeah, and there’s still litigation on that front.

So let’s talk cash. How much would hosting a Commonwealth Games cost?

The Victoria, B.C. 2022 Commonwealth Games bid committee had a budget of $955 million. Mind you, part of that money was earmarked for a new stadium and an arena, which we already have. Victoria requested the provincial and federal governments contributed $400 million each, while sponsorships would cover the bulk of the remaining $155-million cost.  Sadly, for Victoria, the new provincial government in British Columbia didn’t support the plan because of uncertainties.

The Commonwealth Games Federation would most certainly be interested in celebrating its 100th anniversary in its original host city.

Thirteen years from today, with inflation added in and probably the cost of a venue, or two, or more, let’s go with a nice round number and say Hamilton’s budget would be $1 billion. Hosting some of the world’s best athletes and showcasing our city to more than a billion TV viewers has to be worth something.

We all know that knowledge is power. So I recommend city councillors ask staff to look into a 2030 Commonwealth Games bid to give everyone a clear picture of what it would cost, and how it would benefit, the Ambitious City.