For the second time in less than two years, a local group will seek to persuade Hamilton city council to bid on the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
The group, “Hamilton 100,” will make its pitch to council Wednesday morning, despite a 10-5 vote in September 2017 to not even study a potential bid. After that vote, Mayor Fred Eisenberger said it was “very unfortunate” that council chose to make a decision without “all of the facts” in front of them.
Ward 4 councillor Sam Merulla was one of the more outspoken critics of the idea, calling a potential bid a “basket of lunacy” considering the city’s other priorities.
The “Hamilton 100” booster group is hoping some fresh faces on council will at least entertain the idea this time around.
The City of Hamilton has bid for the Commonwealth Games on three separate occasions, in 1994, 2010 and 2014. In those years, however, the games went to Victoria, B.C.; New Delhi, India; and Glasgow, Scotland.
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Hamilton has nostalgia working for it in 2030. It would be the centennial year for the Commonwealth Games, which were first held in Hamilton in 1930 as the British Empire Games on the site of what is now Tim Hortons Field.
The 1930 Hamilton games featured six sports (athletics, boxing, lawn bowls, rowing, swimming, diving, and wrestling), 11 countries, and 400 athletes at a cost of nearly $98,000. The 2018 Commonwealth Games held on the Gold Coast in Australia, meanwhile, featured more than 4,400 athletes (including 300 para-athletes) from 71 associations at a cost of around $1.6 billion (CDN).
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“I would not support these games if the business plan and the implementation did not result in a positive cash flow,” said local businessman and former international basketball referee Ron Foxcroft on 900 CHML’s Scott Radley Show. “I’ve seen Commonwealth Games completely transform cities.”
Foxcroft added that the funding from different levels of government could help infuse Hamilton with funding for what he considers “great needs.”
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Joining Foxcroft behind the push for the Commonwealth Games is Carmen’s Group CEO, PJ Mercanti. Mercanti told Scott Radley that international multi-sporting events can make money, contrary to popular belief.
“You see that when there is a private sector business-minded approach to international games, there is a much higher probability of success. We’re going to try to figure out a way to have the revenues generated from the games to essentially off-set the municipal tax dollars.”
The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held in Birmingham, U.K.. The host city for 2026 will be named this September with Adelaide, Australia and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea being the only two bidders.
Edmonton announced it was withdrawing its bid to host the 2022 games citing financial reasons and a global fall in oil prices. The bid team from the Alberta capital will focus on the 2026 event.
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