Real estate entrepreneur Scott Hutcheson has been named chair of Calgary’s 2026 Olympic bid corporation.
Hutcheson, active in Calgary’s arts, culture and sports scenes, is the co-founder and executive chair of Aspen Properties, board chair of Arts Commons, co-chair of Winterstart and chair of the board of Winsport.
“I am impressed by Mr. Hutcheson’s sound leadership, wealth of experience in guiding organizations and passion for serving Canadians and communities,” Kirsty Duncan, minister of Science and minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, said in a statement Thursday.
The Calgary 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Bid, also known as Calgary 2026, is due to begin work that includes clarifying the bid vision and details and developing more accurate cost estimate. Delivering a bid book to the IOC in January 2019 is also part of the mandate, if the decision to go ahead is made.
Also to be completed: appointments of vice-chair, CEO and directors.
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Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said city council is in support of Hutcheson as Calgary 2026 board chair.
“He understands the opportunities and challenges ahead of us and is an excellent representative of Calgarians and our wider community.”
Nenshi says there are still questions to be answered but “with a board chair in place, we can confidently engage in thoughtful public discussion and deliberation.”
Public engagement about the potential bid is expected to take place in Calgary in the coming months, as well as a plebiscite vote.
Almost a year ago, the Calgary Bid Exploration Committee estimated the cost to host the 2026 Games would be $4.6 billion.
Hutcheson will be formally installed at the first meeting of the board of directors.
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