

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press





Calgary will redefine its reputation as a winter sport powerhouse in the aftermath of a vote rejecting a bid for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In a city where recreational and international athletes ski, board and skate in the legacy venues from the 1988 Winter Olympics, the results of a plebiscite indicate that distinction doesn't warrant bidding for another games.

In the non-binding plebiscite, just under 40 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot, and 56 per cent cast a dissenting one.

A Calgary city council that was nervous and divided over bidding is expected to scuttle it Monday.

Calgary, along with the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., made Canada a player in the international sport community.

If a city synonymous with a successful games legacy doesn't want to them again, what Canadian city ever will?

"Sport in a positive sense really brings a country together," Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith said Wednesday. "I think it's just a part of us, our humanity. So I suspect we will see another bid from Canada."

Calgary's mayor does not want to pursue a bid for 2030, which the United States intends to do with either Salt Lake City or Denver.

"There's geopolitical reasons where it would probably be pretty unlikely Canada would successful in a bid for that particular games," Mayor Naheed Nenshi explained.

"There's a bunch of people who were basically saving up their powder for a 2030 bid, leaving 2026 relatively open.

"If Calgarians have spoken in this way for 2026, and we respect that decision, why would it be any different four years from now? It would take a lot to convince me that we'd want to put the community through this again for 2030."

Yves Hamelin relocated from Quebec, where he was head of the national short-track speedskating team, to Calgary in 2014 to oversee the Olympic Oval. His son Charles is a three-time gold medallist in short-track.

A sport system that would have been shaped by a home games on the horizon now must adjust expectations and plans, he said.

"For a while, there's definitely going to be an impact," Hamelin said. "Will this remove our appetite to do what's right, to support our community, support youth and the athletes that come out of this sport development? The motivation will always stay.

"We will always keep our eyes on making the sport system as best we can with what we have to do that. The games were just a tool, a leverage to really give an edge to our system. We're going to have to be more creative I would say."

Looking at Calgary through a sport lens, it is a city of facilities more than three decades old. McMahon Stadium is almost 60 years old.

While a new stadium and NHL arena weren't part of the proposed draft plan, McMahon and the Saddledome were promised an overhaul.

The oval, the sliding track and slopes of WinSport and the Canmore Nordic Centre that produce Olympic and Paralympic medallists need to be maintained, said Own The Podium chief executive officer Anne Merklinger.

"We need to develop a Plan B," she said. "These facilities are critical to our continued success in winter sport longer term."

A $500-million renewal of Calgary's '88 legacies was one piece of a proposed bid.

The other was economic revitalization of a city that has a commercial vacancy rate of 25 per cent, in a province that desperately wants pipelines built to the coast to get a competitive price for its oil.

Calgary was one of many North American cities that made a pitch for Amazon's second headquarters, but didn't make the shortlist.

The proposed draft plan from the Calgary 2026 bid corporation asked Calgarians to put in $390 million and said $4.4 billion in economic impact would come back to the city if it won the games.

Kyle Shewfelt, an Olympic gold medallist in gymnastics at the 2004 Athens Games, is a business owner in Calgary operating his own gymnastics centre.

For him, sport ranked second behind the economy when it came to what he thought another Winter Games would do for the city.

"My question now is, if 56 per cent of Calgarians didn't want this, what do they want?" he asked. "This was about a catalyst for our city to move forward.

"We're in a place right now where we're boom and bust because of oil and gas and that's all we wait for. I want to diversify this economy. I want us to pursue a big challenge. I want to be a part of that."

Calgary 2026 waged a public relations battle on social media that Vancouver's bid group did not face pre-Twitter.

Board chair Scott Hutcheson, a commercial real estate entrepreneur, is concerned that those with the power to greenlight mega-projects won't be able to stomach the social media berating.

"What biggest concern having gone through this process is how are we going to get big projects done in our community?" Hutcheson said.

"How are we going to get our community to agree to do big projects? How are we going to get our politicians to have the strength, with social media as strong as it is, to say 'yes' for big projects?

"I empathize with politicians because they're up against a different wave of negativity. Who is going to step up and lead these projects? And at what social risk?"

The International Olympic Committee is left with two of the three cities it invited to be candidates for 2026: Stockholm and Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

IOC executive Christophe Dubi visited Calgary multiple times touting a low-risk, high-reward scenario should Calgary get the games.

The IOC, like Calgary 2026, did not convince the majority of voters.

"It comes as no surprise following the political discussions and uncertainties right up until the last few days," the IOC said in a statement.

"It is disappointing that the arguments about the sporting, social and long-term benefits of hosting the Olympic Games did not sway the vote."

----

With files from Canadian Press sports reporter Gregory Strong.</s>A Calgarian arrives to vote in a plebiscite on whether the city should proceed with a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY — The results are in, and a majority of Calgarians are saying “no thanks” to a potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The city conducted a non-binding plebiscite today to gauge public opinion on whether or not there is sufficient interest to submit a bid. Out of 767,734 eligible voters in Calgary, 56 per cent (171,750 of 304,774 total votes) said they don’t want the city to throw in its hat for the games.

“We really wanted this dream for Calgary to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Mary Moran, CEO of Calgary 2026. “We learned so much about our community. We learned so much about each other.”

The plebiscite’s result is non-binding on city council, which has the final say on whether Calgary will proceed with a bid.

The results won’t be declared official until Friday. Council is expected to address the results Monday.

By comparison, 387,306 voted in the 2017 civic election for a 58.1 per cent turnout.

Calgary was the host city of the 1988 Winter Olympics. The venues from those games formed the foundation of a 2026 bid, for which Calgarians were asked to state their appetite.

The plebiscite’s result is non-binding on city council, which has the final say on whether Calgary will proceed with a bid.

The results won’t be declared official until Friday. Council is expected to address the results Monday.

While a firm ‘no’ vote Tuesday was definitive in terms of what action a nervous council will take, a ‘yes’ vote was still subject to the decision of a group of people divided on 2026.

A bid was nearly scuttled before the plebiscite.

Ten votes out of 15 on council were required Oct. 31 for a motion to pass on abandoning the plebiscite. Eight voted in favour of that motion which would have generated a cascade of other motions shutting down the bid.

Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi voted for continuing with a bid, saying the proposed host draft plan and budget is a good deal for the city.

The Alberta government made its funding of a bid conditional on a plebiscite and provided $2 million to pay for it.

“We fought many, many obstacles along the way,” said Scott Hutcheson, board chair of Calgary 2026. “We had three government partners that stepped up with billions of dollars to invest in this dream.”

Elections Calgary told voters to not wear Olympic-themed clothing to polling stations as that would be considered campaigning. Returning officer Laura Kennedy said some people were asked to adjust their attire before voting.

The bid corporation Calgary 2026, led Moran and Hutcheson — a commercial real estate entrepreneur and former national-team skier — was mandated to “promote a responsible bid.”

Calgary 2026 was hampered by the tardiness of what the cost-sharing agreement would be between the federal and provincial governments and the city.

An agreement that was supposed to be ready for public consumption mid-August wasn’t clear until Oct. 30.

In the estimated $5.1 billion price tag to host the games, the public investment ask was $2.875 billion and down from an initial $3 billion.

The province committed $700 million, while the Canadian government said it would provide $1.45 billion.

The city of Calgary was asked for $390 million, and was credited with the $150 million already committed to improving an area that would be a games hub.

While no order of government offered to be a guarantor against debut, Calgary 2026 built $1.1 billion in contingency funds into its budget to mitigate financial risk.

The International Olympic Committee invited Calgary, Stockholm and a joint Italian bid from Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo to candidate cities for 2026.

The IOC will accept bids in early January. The election of the host city is in Lausanne, Switzerland, in June.</s>CALGARY -- Calgarians have headed to the polls to declare whether they want the city to host a second Winter Games.

The question "are you for or are you against hosting the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games?" was posed to them Tuesday in a plebiscite to help determine whether the city should move ahead with a bid.

As of 1 p.m., nearly 131,000 votes were cast, including through advance polls and mail-in ballots. There were 767,734 eligible voters in Calgary on the 2018 list that was provided by the province of Alberta.

Returning officer Laura Kennedy said plebiscite-day voting was on track to match the turnout for the 2017 municipal election.

"It's going very, very well," Kennedy said. "I'm very pleased with how well it's going."

Calgary was the host city of the 1988 Winter Olympics.

The legacy venues from those games form the foundation of a potential second bid, which would now include the Paralympic Games.

While the result of the vote is non-binding on a city council that has the final say, the vote will influence council's decision.

The plebiscite was a condition of the Alberta government providing money for a bid. The provincial government is paying for the $2-million cost of the plebiscite.

In an estimated $5.1-billion total price tag to host the games, the public investment asked of three orders of government is $2.875 billion.

What a cost-sharing agreement between the federal, provincial and municipal governments would look like wasn't clear to the public until Oct. 31, which was less than two weeks before the vote.

The city has been asked to contribute $390 million, while the province has committed $700 million and the Canadian government $1.45 billion.

The bid corporation Calgary 2026 says games revenues will cover the remaining cost.

No order of government is providing guarantees against cost overruns, but Calgary 2026 has built $1.1 billion in contingency funds into its draft hosting plan.

Calgary 2026's plans includes $502 million to upgrade legacy venues from the '88 Games to get them Olympic-read again.

The two new sport venues proposed are an indoor fieldhouse and a 5,000-seat ice arena.

No new stadium or NHL-sized arena is in the draft host plan, although there have been overtures between the city and the Calgary Flames to re-start talks on a new arena.

Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi feels the current proposed plan and financial agreement is good for the city and thus supports a bid.

"I really want people to make their decision based on what's before us because we know that's solid and that's certain and even that, I think leads to lots of benefits for Calgary," the mayor said.

The International Olympic Committee will accept bids from 2026 candidate cities in January. The election of the host city is in June.</s>Residents to choose in a non-binding vote on Tuesday whether they want city to bid on 2026 Olympics

An artist’s rendering of a refurbished McMahon Stadium in Calgary is seen in this handout image. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Calgary 2026 Bid Corporation)

Scott Hutcheson carries a volunteer medal from the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary with him these days.

His parents, Bob and Jane, relocated from Ontario for a month to donate their time at the Nakiska alpine ski venue during those games.

Bob recently sent the medal to his son, who hopes Calgarians feel its value as much as he does when they vote Tuesday in a plebiscite on whether or not they want the city to bid on the 2026 Winter Games.

“That’s what it’s about,” Hutcheson said Monday. “Giving your spirit, giving your all to a community. That’s what he did.”

The board chair of the bid corporation Calgary 2026 feels the plebiscite will be a close race between those who want to host another Winter Games eight years from now, and those who don’t.

“I think it’s a jump ball,” Hutcheson said. “Depends who votes, depends who gets out.”

READ MORE: The cost of Calgary hosting the 2026 Winter Games

The result may be non-binding on a Calgary city council that has the final say on a bid, but it will heavily influence its decision.

“Vote, regardless of where you stand,” Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi said. ”Let’s make sure there’s a really high voter turnout so there’s an unambiguous decision on this.

“I hope people vote ‘yes’. I think there are many, many great reasons to keep this process going and to not let this opportunity pass us by.”

The cauldron atop the Calgary Tower began igniting last week at 8:26 p.m. for 20 minutes 26 seconds. The tower is a symbol of the ‘88 Olympics, as the relay torch was a replica of it.

The tower is an asset in Hutcheson’s commercial real estate company, but the former national alpine team skier says he’s not using it to ignite ‘88 nostalgia in Calgarians to favour another bid.

The pro-bid Calgary Hotel Association is sponsoring the lighting of the tower in the run-up to the plebiscite, as well as cauldrons at WinSport and the Olympic Oval, he said.

It became easier to do that, Hutcheson said, after the proposed cost-sharing agreement between the three orders of government became public less than two weeks ago.

“The bid is understood. That momentum is exciting, but it’s late,” he acknowledged. “If it were done three months ago, it would have left way more time to talk about what this means from an investment standpoint.”

In an estimated $5.1 billion total price tag, the federal government has committed $1.45 billion and the province $700 million.

The city’s share would be $390 million. Hutcheson wants Calgarians to see it as a small investment for a big return.

“I never expected this small an investment to work from our city at $390 million,” Hutcheson said. “I never expected they’d put that little an amount in and we’d be able to get the federal government and the province both in for a remarkable number that works. This deal to me is way better than what I would have pencilled in months ago.

“I respect that not everybody is going to want to vote ‘yes.’ But I would ask those that vote ‘no’ to make sure they have another community project in their mind that will make a difference. ‘No’ doesn’t build a community.”

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter</s>(Reuters) - Calgary’s hopes of hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics were dashed on Tuesday after citizens voted resoundingly against the western Canadian city’s plan to bid for the Games.

More than 56 percent of voters said ‘No’ in the plebiscite, a surprisingly lopsided margin after both sides had expected a close call in the city which hosted the 1988 Winter Games.

After witnessing a high turnout, with more than 304,000 ballots cast in a reflection of the interest in the poll, the unofficial results had 132,832 opting ‘For’ and 171,750 ‘Against’ Calgary making a bid to host the Games.

The outcome was another blow for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has seen interest in hosting Games fall dramatically as the size and cost of staging the multi-sport event has sky-rocketed.

The Calgary vote leaves Sweden’s Stockholm and an Italian bid involving Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo as the only candidates left in the race.

Swiss city Sion, Japan’s Sapporo and Graz in Austria all withdrew earlier this year, while Turkey’s Erzurum was last month eliminated from the bidding process by the IOC, which will elect the winning bid in June 2019.

“It (result) comes as no surprise following the political discussions and uncertainties right up until the last few days,” the IOC said in a statement.

“We understand the disappointment of all those involved in the candidature... who fought so hard for the Olympic project.

“It is disappointing that the arguments about the sporting, social and long-term benefits of hosting the Olympic Games did not sway the vote.

“We will continue our cooperation with Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo and Stockholm in order to ensure the best possible host for the Olympic Winter Games 2026.”

BID FINISHEDWhile the Calgary vote was non-binding, the 15-member city council is expected to respect the outcome when it meets on Monday to decide whether to move the bid process forward.

Calgary 2026 and Canada Olympic Committee (COC) acknowledged the people had spoken, with the former saying it would wrap up operations in the next few weeks.

“We know that this was very divisive, but it’s time to put that behind us,” Calgary bid chief Mary Moran told supporters.

“This all began with great promise: a chance to bring the Olympics and Paralympics home to Calgary and Canada.

“A chance to re-establish our city on the world stage — put us back on the map... It all made sense, and it still makes sense.”

However, those in the ‘No’ camp were jubilant at the result.

“I think that people had enough of the establishment, telling us what to do, what to think,” local councillor Sean Chu said. “They tell you to spend millions, billions, it’s good for you.”

The COC, meanwhile, said the vote represented a missed “unique opportunity” to bring a renewed vision to the Games.

“The Canadian Olympic Committee respects the results of tonight’s plebiscite in Calgary, but we are disappointed with the outcome,” COC said in the statement.

“The opportunity to welcome the world to Canada, where people can experience the uniting power of the Games and within our nation’s culture of peace and inclusion, would have offered countless benefits to all.”

Beijing is hosting the next Winter Games in 2022.</s>Are you for or against the city hosting the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games? That is the question being posed to Calgarians on Tuesday as citizens will head to the numerous polling stations dotted across the city to have their say.

The polls for the Olympic plebiscite are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know to vote in Calgary’s Olympic plebiscite

While the result of the plebiscite is considered non-binding, the provincial government has put strict a contingency on its potential financial contribution: there’s no money without a yes vote.

No matter the result of the plebiscite Tuesday night, Calgary City Councill will still have to vote on how it will move forward — whether it continues to pursue a bid or chooses to put an end to the years-long process.

WATCH: Linda Olsen talks to Global National reporter Eric Sorensen, who covered the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, about the differences between then and now.

Calgary, Stockholm, Sweden and a joint bid from Milan and Cortina d’Amprezzo, Italy, were named by the International Olympic Committee as candidate cities to bid for the Games. The IOC will select its winning city in June.

Global News will have up-to-the-minute details on developments throughout the day.

Tune in live to Global Calgary’s special online coverage of Decision 2026 here, starting at 10 p.m.</s>The question “are you for or are you against hosting the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games?” was to be posed to them Tuesday in a plebiscite to help determine whether the city should move ahead with a bid.

Tabetha Boot carries lawn signs during a rally in support of the 2026 Winter Olympic bid in Calgary, Alta., on November 5, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Calgarians head to the polls to declare whether they want the city to host a second Winter Games.

The question ”are you for or are you against hosting the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games?” was to be posed to them Tuesday in a plebiscite to help determine whether the city should move ahead with a bid.

Calgary was the host city of the 1988 Winter Olympics.

The legacy venues from those games form the foundation of a potential second bid, which would now include the Paralympic Games.

While the result of the vote is non-binding on a city council that has the final say, the vote will influence council’s decision.

The plebiscite was a condition of the Alberta government providing money for a bid. The provincial government is paying for the $2-million cost of the plebiscite.

In an estimated $5.1-billion total price tag to host the games, the public investment asked of three orders of government is $2.875 billion.

What a cost-sharing agreement between the federal, provincial and municipal governments would look like wasn’t clear to the public until Oct. 31, which was less than two weeks before the vote.

The city has been asked to contribute $390 million, while the province has committed $700 million and the Canadian government $1.45 billion.

The bid corporation Calgary 2026 says games revenues will cover the remaining cost.

No order of government is providing guarantees against cost overruns, but Calgary 2026 has built $1.1 billion in contingency funds into its draft hosting plan.

Calgary 2026’s plans includes $502 million to upgrade legacy venues from the ‘88 Games to get them Olympic-read again.

The two new sport venues proposed are an indoor fieldhouse and a 5,000-seat ice arena.

No new stadium or NHL-sized arena is in the draft host plan, although there have been overtures between the city and the Calgary Flames to re-start talks on a new arena.

Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi feels the current proposed plan and financial agreement is good for the city and thus supports a bid.

“I really want people to make their decision based on what’s before us because we know that’s solid and that’s certain and even that, I think leads to lots of benefits for Calgary,” the mayor said.

The International Olympic Committee will accept bids from 2026 candidate cities in January. The election of the host city is in June.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>Calgary, along with the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., made Canada a player in the international sport community

Dave King, left, Linda King, right, son and daughter of Frank King, wearing 1988 Calgary Olympic jackets react to the results of a plebiscite on whether the city should proceed with a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Calgary will redefine its reputation as a winter sport powerhouse in the aftermath of a vote rejecting a bid for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In a city where recreational, domestic and international athletes ski, board and skate in the legacy venues from the 1988 Winter Olympics, the results of a plebiscite indicated that distinction doesn’t warrant bidding for another games.

In the non-binding plebiscite, just under 40 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot, and 56 per cent cast a dissenting one.

A Calgary city council that was nervous and divided over bidding is expected to scuttle it Monday.

Calgary, along with the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., made Canada a player in the international sport community.

If a city synonymous with a successful games legacy doesn’t want to them again, what Canadian city ever will?

“Sport in a positive sense really brings a country together,” Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith said Wednesday. “I think it’s just a part of us, our humanity. So I suspect we will see another bid from Canada.”

But the chair of Calgary’s bid corporation doesn’t think the city should immediately shift its focus to chasing the 2030 Winter Games. Scott Hutcheson says the city needs to decompress and re-assess.

“I don’t think its 2030,” Hutcheson said. “I think you’ve got to put your pencil down for seven years. You don’t put it down for three years.

“Use the work later, but you can’t put a city through this every four years. My view would be let it go, accept the result, move on and come back with a bid maybe in seven years.”

READ MORE: Olympic and Paralympic committees disappointed, but respectful of Calgary’s vote

Yves Hamelin relocated from Quebec, where he was head of the national short-track speedskating team, to Calgary in 2014 to oversee the Olympic Oval. His son Charles is a three-time gold medallist in short-track.

A sport system that would have been shaped by a home games on the horizon now must adjust expectations and plans, he said.

“For a while, there’s definitely going to be an impact,” Hamelin said. “Will this remove our appetite to do what’s right, to support our community, support youth and the athletes that come out of this sport development? The motivation will always stay.

“We will always keep our eyes on making the sport system as best we can with what we have to do that. The games were just a tool, a leverage to really give an edge to our system. We’re going to have to be more creative I would say.”

Looking at Calgary through a sport lens, it is a city of facilities more than three decades old.

WATCH: Calgarians say no to 2026 Olympic bid

While a new stadium and NHL arena weren’t part of the proposed draft plan, McMahon Stadium and the Saddledome were promised an overhaul.

A $500-million renewal of Calgary’s ‘88 legacies was one piece of a proposed bid.

The other was economic revitalization of a city that has a commercial vacancy rate of 25 per cent in a province that desperately wants pipelines built to the coast to get a competitive price for its oil.

Calgary was one of many North American cities that made a pitch for Amazon’s second headquarters, but didn’t make the shortlist.

Calgary 2026’s proposed draft plan asked Calgarians to put in $390 million and said $4.4 billion would come back to the city if it won the games.

Kyle Shewfelt, an Olympic gold medallist in gymnasitcs at the 2004 Athens Games, is a business owner in Calgary operating his own gymnastics centre.

For him, sport ranked second behind the economy when it came to what he thought a Winter Games would do for the city.

“My question now is, if 56 per cent of Calgarians didn’t want this, what do they want?” he asked. “This was about a catalyst for our city to move forward.

“We’re in a place right now where we’re boom and bust because of oil and gas and that’s all we wait for. I want to diversity this economy. I want us to pursue a big challenge. I want to be a part of that.”

The International Olympic Committee is left with two of the three cities it invited to be candidates for 2026: Stockhom and Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

IOC executive Christophe Dubi visited Calgary multiple times touting a low-risk, high-reward scenario should Calgary get the games.

The IOC, like Calgary 2026, did not convince the majority of voters Tuesday.

“It comes as no surprise following the political discussions and uncertainties right up until the last few days,” the IOC said in a statement.

“It is disappointing that the arguments about the sporting, social and long-term benefits of hosting the Olympic Games did not sway the vote.”

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>CALGARY – Scott Hutcheson carries a volunteer medal from the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary with him these days.

His parents Bob and Jane relocated from Ontario for a month to donate their time at the Nakiska alpine ski venue during those games.

Bob recently sent the medal to his son, who hopes Calgarians feel its value as much as he does when they vote Tuesday in a plebiscite on whether or not they want the city to bid on the 2026 Winter Games.

“That’s what it’s about,” Hutcheson said Monday. “Giving your spirit, giving your all to a community. That’s what he did.”

The board chair of the bid corporation Calgary 2026 feels the plebiscite will be a close race between those who want to host another Winter Games eight years from now, and those who don’t.

“I think it’s a jump ball,” Hutcheson said. “Depends who votes, depends who gets out.”

The result may be non-binding on a Calgary city council that has the final say on a bid, but it will heavily influence its decision.

“Vote, regardless of where you stand,” Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi said. “Let’s make sure there’s a really high voter turnout so there’s an unambiguous decision on this.

“I hope people vote ‘yes’. I think there are many, many great reasons to keep this process going and to not let this opportunity pass us by.”

The cauldron atop the Calgary Tower began igniting last week at 8:26 p.m. for 20 minutes 26 seconds. The tower is a symbol of the ’88 Olympics, as the relay torch was a replica of it.

The tower is an asset in Hutcheson’s commercial real estate company, but the former national alpine team skier says he’s not using it to ignite ’88 nostalgia in Calgarians to favour another bid.

The pro-bid Calgary Hotel Association is sponsoring the lighting of the tower in the run-up to the plebiscite, as well as cauldrons at WinSport and the Olympic Oval, he said.

It became easier to do that, Hutcheson said, after the proposed cost-sharing agreement between the three orders of government became public less than two weeks ago.

“The bid is understood. That momentum is exciting, but it’s late,” he acknowledged. “If it were done three months ago, it would have left way more time to talk about what this means from an investment standpoint.”

In an estimated $5.1 billion total price tag, the federal government has committed $1.45 billion and the province $700 million.

The city’s share would be $390 million. Hutcheson wants Calgarians to see it as a small investment for a big return.

“I never expected this small an investment to work from our city at $390 million,” Hutcheson said. “I never expected they’d put that little an amount in and we’d be able to get the federal government and the province both in for a remarkable number that works. This deal to me is way better than what I would have pencilled in months ago.

“I respect that not everybody is going to want to vote ‘yes.’ But I would ask those that vote ‘no’ to make sure they have another community project in their mind that will make a difference. ‘No’ doesn’t build a community.”

No order of government has put up its hand to be a guarantor against debt. Calgary 2026 has built $1.1 billion in contingency funds into its proposed budget as insurance.

“If Calgarians make a decision to move forward, 50 per cent plus one vote, I will be respecting that decision,” Coun. Evan Woolley said.

“Each of our individual colleagues on council, because it is a non-binding decision, will have to make those decisions for themselves.

“No means no. Yes means we’ve got a bunch of work to do. We will move forward on that basis, but I can tell you that without more certainty from our federal and provincial governments around guarantees and helping us mitigate these risks, the city of Calgary cannot carry some of those risks on our own.”

Calgary 2026’s proposed draft plan earmarks $502 million towards upgrading the ’88 legacy venues, now over 30 years old.

WinSport, formerly the Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA), is a non-profit organization that oversees much of the legacy.

While the ’88 Games produced endowment funds to help pay for the continued operations and upgrades of venues such as the oval, the Canmore Nordic Centre and Canada Olympic Park, WinSport CEO Barry Heck says those facilities’ require a bigger investment to extend their lives.

“There are the legacy facilities from eighty-eight, that have served Calgary so extremely well for 30 years, has put us on the map, as a world-leading winter sport Olympic city, but they’re end of life,” Heck said.

“For us to keep delivering what we have for the next two or three generations, we need this renewal. Five hundred million is a lot of money, but it’s a fraction of what it would cost to rebuild these facilities.”</s>Out of 767,734 eligible voters, 304,774 voted and 171,750 said ”no.”

Members of the “Yes” campaign react to the results of a plebiscite on whether the city of Calgary should proceed with a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. The results are in, and a majority of Calgarians are saying “no thanks” to a potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games is destined to die after the majority of voters said ‘no’ to it.

In a plebiscite asking citizens if they want to host a Winter Games again after the 1988 Winter Olympics in the city, 56.4 per cent of those who went to the polls cast a dissenting vote Tuesday.

“I believed in what the Olympic Games could do for our community, for our province and for our country,” bid corporation chair Scott Hutcheson said.

“I’m disappointed in the outcome, but I certainly respect the democratic process.”

READ MORE: Olympic decision time for Calgaryians in 2026 plebiscite

Out of 767,734 eligible voters, 304,774 voted and 171,750 said ”no.”

“Today, I have to say, Calgarians won,” said Coun. Sean Chu, who was against a bid.

The plebiscite’s result is non-binding on city council, which has the final say on whether Calgary proceeds with a bid.

The results won’t be declared official until Friday. Council is expected to address the results Monday.

A firm ‘no’ vote paves the way for a divided and nervous council to scuttle a bid.

“I think it’s a very strong message,” said Daniel Gauld of the No Calgary Olympics organization. “I think city council is going to have to listen to that.

“The provincial and federal funding will not be forthcoming with this decision today. I think it would be political suicide if they didn’t shut down this bid, so I expect we’ll be seeing that, hopefully.”

Bid supporters and bid corporation Calgary 2026 people gathered at restaurant near the Saddledome to await the results Tuesday.

Several athletes there were devastated when the result was announced.

“I feel really heartbroken and disappointed,” said Helen Upperton, a silver medallist in bobsled. “I have a daughter who would be eight in 2026. I did this for her. My question to Calgary is now what? What is the big dream, what is the big idea?”

A bid was nearly over before the plebiscite.

Ten votes out of 15 on council were required Oct. 31 for a motion to pass on abandoning the plebiscite. Eight voted in favour of that motion which would have generated a cascade of other motions shutting down the bid.

Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi voted for continuing with a bid, saying the proposed host draft plan and budget was a good deal for the city.

The Alberta government made its funding of a bid conditional on a plebiscite and provided $2 million to pay for it.

“Today was a success because Calgarians were given the opportunity to have their say on whether to proceed with an Olympic bid,” Alberta Minister of Culture and Recreation Ricardo Miranda said in a statement.

“This decision was never an easy one. Calgarians were provided the information they needed to make an informed choice and we respect their decision.”

Calgary 2026 was led by Mary Moran, who came from Calgary Economic Development, and Hutcheson, a commercial real estate entrepreneur and former national-team skier.

Calgary 2026 was hampered by the tardiness of what the cost-sharing agreement would be between the federal and provincial governments and the city.

An agreement that was supposed to be ready for public consumption mid-August wasn’t clear until Oct. 30.

“I have to work with city council every day and have for the last nine years and getting governments aligned is always a big challenge,” Moran said. “I wish we did it sooner, but we did the best we could with what we were dealt.”

“We always knew we had a short runway, but everybody knows we came out with a pretty solid budget on Sept. 11 and we always said a couple of numbers would change and they did. It’s just unfortunate it was complicated.”

In the estimated $5.1 billion price tag to host the games, the public investment ask was $2.875 billion and down from an initial $3 billion.

The province committed $700 million, while the Canadian government said it would provide $1.45 billion.

The city of Calgary was asked for $390 million, and was credited with the $150 million already committed to improving an area that would be a games hub.

While no order of government offered to be a guarantor against debt, Calgary 2026 built $1.1 billion in contingency funds into its budget to mitigate financial risk.

“I think building a dream and articulating that with our social-media type of environment today and a populist movement makes it more challenging,” Hutcheson said.

“With the right dream and with the right city and with the right program, the Olympics should bring lasting memories to a community and we weren’t able to do it this time.”

The International Olympic Committee invited Calgary, Stockholm and a joint Italian bid from Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo to be candidate cities for 2026.

The IOC will accept bids in early January. The election of the host city is in Lausanne, Switzerland, in June.

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Residents of the city of Calgary head to the polls to vote on a non-binding plebiscite to determine if the city should make a bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.