Stadiums and Arenas of Canada part 2

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by tomthumb2

^^^ Calgary will have a lot of obstacles to overcome, one of the biggest being the Wicked Witch of the North

Yes, I have heard she is solely responsible for the price of oil falling below $50 a barrel and the inevitable economic fallout in Alberta.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by Rollerstud98

Bob/Luge track is slated to undergo renovations regardless. Removing the ammonia refrigeration system and putting in a system with zoning ability rather than entire track, this is not a direct result of using ammonia though. Bob/skeleton start is being removed and all starts bob/luge/skel will be from Mens Luge start now, which will increase the technical aspect of bob/skel for first few turns. My brother spent a lot of years in the Luge(2 olympics) program and knows more what is happening than I do. But for the most part I think the track itself is still fine. Hosts all world cups still.

Ski jumps something to do with the outrun on the 90m tower not being up to snuff anymore and being unable to modify due to underground utilities in the area would require a new venue to be built I believe.

Thanks for that. With a new venue for ski jumping I imagine the costs would rise significantly. Land acquisition, digging new bowl, completely new infrastructure. I wonder where they would build it?

[tomthumb2]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

Yes, I have heard she is solely responsible for the price of oil falling below $50 a barrel and the inevitable economic fallout in Alberta.

Well she certainly hasn't helped - can we leave it at that? (sorry, don't want to derail the thread)

[khabibulin]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

So if Calgary won presumably...
- downhill skiing at Nakiska again or switch to Lake Louise?

This one will be tricky as I understand that it is impossible (or too expensive) to bring Nakiska up to current IOC requirements for downhill facilities. And having an Olympic event in a national park is just not going to happen.

[tomthumb2]

Originally Posted by khabibulin

This one will be tricky as I understand that it is impossible (or too expensive) to bring Nakiska up to current IOC requirements for downhill facilities. And having an Olympic event in a national park is just not going to happen.

They have the World Cup in Lake Louise - why not the Olympics?

[khabibulin]

Originally Posted by tomthumb2

They have the World Cup in Lake Louise - why not the Olympics?

World Cup has been going on for many years at lake Louise and would be difficult politically to stop at this point. There was a proposal to have the 1988 Olympic downhill events at Lake Louise but the Minister of the day said no.

Just like there is little to no chance that a new golf course, or ski hill, or Banff Springs like hotel will ever be built in a national park again, even though there are existing ones there now.

[esquire]

I like this pic from a news story of NMS looming over downtown Regina:

[FutureSmith]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

The article did point out that with the likelihood of LA receiving the 2028 summer olympics chances are remote with Calgary winning the 2026 winter bid as the IOC tries to avoid having back-to-back summer/winter olympics on the same continent.

Not fair to say really. With South Korea in 2018, Japan in 2020, and Beijing in 2022, the IOC has proven more willing to double (or triple) down on a continent.

It's a symptom of the Olympics proving less capable of attracting a sufficient number of candidates. For the 2020 games, the only two left in the competition was China and Kazakhstan. LA and Paris will likely get handed the next two summer Olympics because things are so dire. No one can afford to host these super events anymore.

They may prefer not to put back-to-back games in one region, but it seems beggars can't be choosers...

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

I'm not just gonna lay down when someone claims Toronto is the centre of the universe. We get enough of that over here

That's your paranoia brought on by your inferiority complex towards Toronto forumers. The only boasting was from your side. In hindsight, it probably would have been better to let you folks live in bliss over your NFL ready stadiums and so no than to offer some reality to the situation.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by FutureSmith

Not fair to say really. With South Korea in 2018, Japan in 2020, and Beijing in 2022, the IOC has proven more willing to double (or triple) down on a continent.

It's a symptom of the Olympics proving less capable of attracting a sufficient number of candidates. For the 2020 games, the only two left in the competition was China and Kazakhstan. LA and Paris will likely get handed the next two summer Olympics because things are so dire. No one can afford to host these super events anymore.

They may prefer not to put back-to-back games in one region, but it seems beggars can't be choosers...

No one wanted the games. The desperate IOC convinced Beijing to step forth.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

That's your paranoia brought on by your inferiority complex towards Toronto forumers. The only boasting was from your side. In hindsight, it probably would have been better to let you folks live in bliss over your NFL ready stadiums and so no than to offer some reality to the situation.

The funny thing about your comment is that Toronto also doesn't have a NFL-ready stadium.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

No one wanted the games. The desperate IOC convinced Beijing to step forth.

I say that a one-game boycott of the Olympic Games (both summer and winter) would remind the IOC that the world doesn't exist to serve them.

[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by tomthumb2

Well she certainly hasn't helped - can we leave it at that? (sorry, don't want to derail the thread)

For the sake of pop culture references, it was the Good Witch of the North who gave Dorothy the red shoes of the Evil Witch of the East after the witch of the East became subdomiciled by Dorothy's entrance into Oz. The North/South divide in Oz was considered provident and benevolent.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by wave46

I say that a one-game boycott of the Olympic Games (both summer and winter) would remind the IOC that the world doesn't exist to serve them.

That would be smart. I'm sure that message would come as quite a shock to some IOC members.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by wave46

I say that a one-game boycott of the Olympic Games (both summer and winter) would remind the IOC that the world doesn't exist to serve them.

There have been boycotts of the Olympics before and they resolved essentially nothing.

I'm sure the Canadian athletes that barely survive financially in non-Olympic years and only make their money during Olympic years will support your decision to boycott the entire essence of their amateur sports and their livelihoods so that you can feel better about showing the IOC who's boss.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by JHikka

There have been boycotts of the Olympics before and they resolved essentially nothing.

I'm sure the Canadian athletes that barely survive financially in non-Olympic years and only make their money during Olympic years will support your decision to boycott the entire essence of their amateur sports and their livelihoods so that you can feel better about showing the IOC who's boss.

Is it about the athletes though? The billions and billions spent? The venues that often sit empty afterwards?

Boycotts of the previous Olympics have often been nation vs. nation (1980/1984). Not of the Olympics themselves.

Many of these organizations that have previously been representing the 'common person' have lost touch. The IOC, FIFA, the NFL. They serve to extract dollars from government under the guise of sport.

Amateur athletes will always struggle. That's the point though - they're not professionals. They do it for the love of the sport, not the money or fame. That was the original point of the Olympics.

[itom 987]

Ice District
Edmonton June 24, 2017 by Thomas Huizinga, on Flickr

[Horus]

Originally Posted by wave46

Many of these organizations that have previously been representing the 'common person' have lost touch. The IOC, FIFA, the NFL. They serve to extract dollars from government under the guise of sport.

And as long as they continue to find willing suckers to fund their largesse, it will continue. As we have been seeing though, that pool is diminishing.

Calgary's bid aspirations make no sense. The report already identified a $2.2B shortfall, even after expected ticket sales and TV revenue. How does that possibly make any sense to pursue?

It is refreshing to see places like LA coming forward and saying that we will host your Games, but on our terms.

[speedog]

Originally Posted by Horus

And as long as they continue to find willing suckers to fund their largesse, it will continue. As we have been seeing though, that pool is diminishing.

Calgary's bid aspirations make no sense. The report already identified a $2.2B shortfall, even after expected ticket sales and TV revenue. How does that possibly make any sense to pursue?

It is refreshing to see places like LA coming forward and saying that we will host your Games, but on our terms.

There's all kinds of numbers being floated all over the place - operating deficit is forecast to be $425 million. Numbers as reported by the Calgary SUN from the bid committee's report...

THE COST

The price tag for a 2026 Olympic Games is $4.6 billion, in 2017 dollars, and the event would not be profitable, council heard Monday. By comparison, the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C. cost $7.7 billion nearly a decade ago.

In Calgary, the committee has designated $450 million for facilities, a figure that doesn't include a new arena or a new fieldhouse. The $4.6 billion price tag also includes $460 million for accommodations, $610 million for security, $40 million for the bid itself, and $2.6 billion in "games operating costs."

With $2.2 billion forecast to come in from revenues via tickets, sponsorship and the International Olympic Committee, taxpayers would be on the hook for $2.4 billion of public funding. The committee has forecast higher operating expenses than revenues, resulting in a $425 million deficit.

Hahn said Tuesday the federal government has a policy of funding two major multi-sport events every 10 years and could contribute $1.2 billion to the event.

"That would take the $2.4 billion, if you just do the straight math, down to half of that. And then $1.2 billion would be required to be funded by other levels of government or other sources as you might find them," Hahn said.

Any way one wishes to slice it, there's a lot of monies being proposed to be spent and there will be many magical ways that promoters will come up with to make it seem much less harmless than it may prove to be. The 1988 Olympics have long been touted as not losing money by many but I would dare say that if all costs were actually added up, that year was a money loser as well.

[speedog]

Originally Posted by wave46

Is it about the athletes though? The billions and billions spent? The venues that often sit empty afterwards?

Boycotts of the previous Olympics have often been nation vs. nation (1980/1984). Not of the Olympics themselves.

Many of these organizations that have previously been representing the 'common person' have lost touch. The IOC, FIFA, the NFL. They serve to extract dollars from government under the guise of sport.

Amateur athletes will always struggle. That's the point though - they're not professionals. They do it for the love of the sport, not the money or fame. That was the original point of the Olympics.

Was that really the point of the original Olympics because I suspect there was no such thing as professional athletes in the sports represented back in the time of the original Olympics.