As the City of Calgary continues to explore a potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, the federal and provincial governments remain non-committal on their respective financial contributions to the bid.
City officials met with Christopher Overholt, the CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee, on Thursday but details regarding the discussions have not been confirmed.
Earlier this week, city council voted in favour of continuing to explore a bid and agreed to set aside half of the estimated $2 million required to keep the idea alive pending a commitment from other levels of government.
On Thursday, Premier Rachel Notley says her government is reviewing the reports and has yet to reach a decision on a funding commitment.
Federal Sports Minister Kent Hehr says the federal government will need to review the numbers before moving forward in a responsible manner.
Some members of city council say exploring a bid without guaranteed financial backing is dangerous.
“It’s a slippery slope,” said Ward 4 councillor Sean Chu. “At what point of the slope do we say ‘We can no longer go back’? Is it when we spend $10 million, $20 million or $30 million? After that we have to say we keep going because we’ve already spent this much money.”
City council hopes to have a commitment from the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta by early 2018.
The City of Calgary estimates an official bid would cost between $25 million and $30 million.
With files from CTV’s Jordan Kanygin
