In a late evening vote, city council set up an exploratory committee with the sole purpose of learning more about the feasibility of the OIympics returning to Calgary.

In a 12-2 vote, council went forward with a recommendation from the Calgary Sport Tourism Authority (CSTA) to form a bid exploration committee at a cost of $5M to see if it would be beneficial to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

"Calgarians embrace the Olympic values and live the Olympic spirit. We believe that Calgary has the potential to be a strong and natural contender to repeat as host of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games," said Mayor Nenshi on Monday night. "However, there are lots of hard questions that must be answered so we can make an informed decision about whether or not Calgarians, as a community, want to bid for the games."

While the possibility of an actual bid is still quite far away, Nenshi says that it could create the opportunity to reenergize the city’s infrastructure and vault Calgary back into the spotlight as one of the greatest winter sports cities in the world.

He also says that it would make for a different way to revitalize the economy.

A recent independent study commissioned by the CSTA , showed that the 2026 Games have the potential to add about $3.7B in GDP to Alberta's economy along with $2.6B in labour income and 40,000 jobs.

Canadian Bobsleigh team member, Jesse Lumsden, says a bid for 2026 would inspire future generations to compete at the Olympic level.

“I think getting another Olympic games, especially back in to a city that has hosted before and successfully hosted, would be huge, especially for Calgary, we have a ton of infrastructure in place,” said Lumsden. “I think we saw the results of what happened when Vancouver got the bid and the medal haul that we were able to pull in and the funding and just the support in amateur sport all around that really grew in Canada over that period of time, to continue that from that legacy, I think is very important for sport in Canada.”

Lumsden says he also believes it would be cheaper to make upgrades to Calgary’s facilities than building new ones in another city.

“I think the biggest changes would need to be the ski jump tower because currently athletes are actually out-jumping the available space in the safe landing space that that tower has so that would be obviously a pretty expensive capital cost but so much cheaper than going to another city in Canada or another city that has never hosted before, the capital costs would be so much lower because that infrastructure is still really well maintained in the City of Calgary,” he said.

But not every councillor was on board with the process. Ward 7 councillor Druh Farrell and Ward 4 councillor Sean Chu both voted against the formation of the committee.

"We need to be very clear what projects we want done," said Farrell. "If we want to look at Calgary NEXT, do we want to look at the Green Line, or do we want to look at the Olympics? I would say, very clearly, that my priority is the Green Line."

The mayor also said that Calgarians throughout the city will be allowed to have a say in what happens next.

Shelley Brauer remembers the 1988 Olympics fondly. "It was absolutely awesome. I live right down the alley - I could hear the Opening Ceremonies from my house. I had two small boys."

She adds that she would love to relive the experience with her grandchildren. "I've got grandkids now; I would absolutely love for them to experience what their dads did."

Others in Calgary on Tuesday morning say the road towards a bid is a great idea.

"I think it's great," said one woman. "It would be a great boost to the city and why not? Ten year from now, we need that."

One man told CTV that it's also a good idea, despite the concerns over the hefty budget attached. "I know there are a lot of people concerned about the budget, but it brings so much to the city. It puts Calgary on the world's stage.

"I think there is benefits for years to come, for generations to come."

However, not everyone in Calgary is as enthusiastic. "I'm not sure. Usually Olympic bids cost a lot of money and cities end up going in the hole financially. I'm not sure if it's the right idea for Calgary."

The final report comes before council in July 2017.