Edmonton, Calgary vie for national honour
Alberta only province bidding for world fair
Gordon Kent
The Edmonton Journal
Friday, June 05, 2009
Expo 67 featured a number of innovative projects, including Habitat.
CREDIT: Gordon Beck, Montreal Gazette, Canwest News Service, File
Expo 67 featured a number of innovative projects, including Habitat.
The first deadline for making a bid to host Expo 2017 has passed, leaving Edmonton and Calgary as the only Canadian cities in the running.
Calgary's interest only surfaced last week, while Edmonton has been working on its proposal for more than a year. Here are some of the details:
What does Edmonton want?
The city began looking two years ago into holding a world's fair, and decided last fall that hosting the smaller "recognized" event scheduled for summer 2017 -- Canada's 150th birthday -- would make the most sense.
This three-month exposition would be a similar size to the one held last year in Zaragoza, Spain, which attracted 104 participating countries and 5.7 million visitors.
Edmonton estimates 1.2 million people would make 4.7 million trips to the site, with 70 per cent of them likely to live within a 10-hour drive.
Canada's two previous world's fairs were in a larger category, Montreal in 1967 (50.3 million visits) and Vancouver in 1986 (22 million visits).
What would Expo 2017 look like?
The site can cover a maximum of 25 hectares, or about the size of Mill Woods Town Centre.
While details of the possible bid are still being completed, one likely location is the University of Alberta's South Campus, which has an LRT station and vacant land awaiting development.
Three themes being explored for Edmonton are energy, learning and knowledge, and global migration, multiculturalism and diversity.
The theme would be presented through arts and cultural events across the city, as well as pavilions sponsored by Canada, the provinces, foreign countries, non-profit groups and companies.
How much will it cost?
Like most other details, work on this key piece of information won't be finished before the end of July.
A conceptual report last fall gave a preliminary price tag of $1.6 billion-$3 billion (2008 dollars), adding that the Edmonton Economic Development Corp. (EEDC) had calculated a $1.8-billion-$2.6- billion Alberta-wide economic impact.
Funding will have to come from all three levels of government, private sponsors and admission fees.
Producing a business case for the fair and a national bid will cost about $2.3 million.
The city has put in half that money and is waiting to hear whether the province will cover the other half as requested.
The total cost of making it all the way to an international bid is estimated at $22.5 million, although that could change as further details are completed.
Why bother?
Hosting Expo 2017 would give Edmonton international exposure that would help attract investment, tourism and skilled labour, but it would also leave a legacy that will continue to benefit the city and the province once the show is over.
The fair could bring in money from other levels of government to speed up expansion of the U of A, as well as roads, transit, housing and other improvements that are already part of long-term plans.
Potential post-Expo uses for the site include homes, a research centre or a park.
However, there are risks of rising costs, construction delays and lack of workers (Zaragoza used 40,000 volunteers). That's why the city wants to be sure it has provincial support and a good chance of winning with a viable bid before it decides whether to proceed next fall.
What has Edmonton done so far?
The conceptual report and money for the next stage of the bidding process was approved by city council last October.
Officials have gone to two general assemblies of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which will choose the Expo 2017 city in 2012.
Mayor Stephen Mandel led a delegation last summer, including Aboriginal Relations Minister Gene Zwozdesky and Tory MLA Thomas Lukaszuk, which met BIE officials and visited the Zaragoza Expo.
Mandel also talked to organizers of the 2010 Shanghai Expo during a February trip to China.
Leadership on the issue is now shifting to a volunteer bid committee board being assembled under its chairman, retired Stantec CEO Tony Franceschini, and representatives so far from the city, EEDC, the U of A, and local businesses.
There are also 60 to 70 people on four subcommittees working on the theme, the site, communications and marketing, and public involvement.
Members of the public will get their say through open houses and focus groups starting later this month. A report giving details of a possible bid will go in September or October to the province, and to city council for a final decision.
How will Calgary's last-minute expression of interest affect Edmonton?
That's not clear. Although Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier said it might be possible for the two Alberta centres to make a collaborative bid, Mandel has ruled out the idea, saying it would be hard to present a theme and split visitors between two cities.
Both cities must apply to Canadian Heritage by Nov. 30 if they want to be Canada's Expo nominee.
gkent@thejournal.canwest.com
© The Edmonton Journal 2009
Copyright © 2009 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
http://www2.canada.com/components/pr...01bb7&sponsor=