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The government of Alberta has pulled its support for a bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games due to rising costs.
A joint bid was being considered by the Canadian province, centred around the cities of Edmonton and Calgary.
Tourism Minister Joseph Schow said the bill was estimated at C$2.6bn (£1.5bn) - a burden “too high for the province to bear”.
Last month Australia pulled out of hosting the 2026 Games in Victoria due to budget blowouts.
The initial plan was to host the games over 11 days in August 2030 with competitions and events spread between Calgary and Edmonton, as well as the Tsuut’ina Nation and Enoch Cree Nation.
In a statement Mr Schow said: "The corporate sponsorship model and limited broadcast revenues for the Commonwealth Games would have put 93% of those costs and risks on taxpayers.
"We committed to remain transparent with Albertans about the costs of hosting international sporting events and clearly demonstrating a return on our investment for the people and communities in Alberta.
“That is why we have made the decision not to continue pursuing the bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.”
Alberta’s provincial government said it had committed up to C$2m to explore the feasibility of hosting the Games - and the city of Edmonton another C$1m, according to Reuters.
Commonwealth Sport Canada previously said it expected to complete the feasibility study in August when a decision would be made on whether to submit a formal bid.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s office told Canada’s national public broadcaster CBC the bid was finished without support from the province.
“The provincial government’s decision to withdraw from Alberta’s 2030 Commonwealth Games bid process effectively terminates the bid and the City of Calgary’s participation,” the statement said.
Don’t quote me on this but I think the Olympics in Vancouver were actually net positive for cash. But the commonwealth games do not draw as many tourists.
Ditto for TV revenue most likely
Well, yes but no but yes?
The Olympics organization, VANOC, recorded a profit. That means the cost of hosting the games (building out the sports facilities, managing staff, yada yada) was offset by the gains from licensing and sponsorships and merchandise.
However, the Olympics drove a flurry of infrastructure investment into Vancouver with the Canada Line, Sea-to-Sky Highway, and Vancouver Convention Center. These are key pieces of infrastructure for the Lower Mainland and have easily paid themselves back since then, but not over the time period of the Olympics.
Despite this, VANOC does not consider the increased tax revenue from excess tourism spending, nor the economic stimulus it provides to local businesses nor the lasting impact of advertising Vancouver as a spot for tourism. That’s because VANOC is a distinct entity from the government and does not get to share in these revenues.
Honestly? For an event like the Olympics, people from Vancouver should be clamouring to host again. Given that the VANOC has shown that the games themselves can be profitable, the main cost is the excess spending on infrastructure that Vancouver desperately needs anyway.