The pitch is being made.
But before the athletes will even get their chance to compete, seven Alberta constituencies are hoping they’ll be the one to hit the ball out of the park and land the right to host the 2007 Western Canada Summer Games.
If they can connect, they’ll have the opportunity to showcase their community and receive an economic booster shot valued as high as $7 million.
Calgary, Red Deer, and the Edmonton-area communities of St. Albert and Strathcona County have all tossed their bids into the ring, as have Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
With the process moving into high gear – the Games’ selection committee is now visiting sites and evaluating the bids – communities are betting they have what it takes to be the winner, who is expected to be announced next month.
“The whole intent of this exercise is to allow the winning bidder to go the 2003 Games (in Manitoba) and start their steep learning curve,” said Steve Pritchard, Alberta’s representative on the Western Canada Games’ council.
The Games, created in 1973 as an opportunity for Western Canadian athletes to test their skills in Olympic standard competition, are held every four years. They’re dedicated to the development of excellence in sport by the four western provinces and three territories. Competitors are between the ages of 14 and 21.
Bid committees contacted by Business Edge estimate putting on the Games will cost between $2.3 million and $4.2 million. Red Deer forecasts its budget at $2.3 million, Strathcona County at $2.7 million, Calgary at $3 million and St. Albert at $4.2-million.
Upwards of 2,200 athletes, coaches, managers and officials are expected for the 10-day competition.
“This is a desirable event,” said John Forzani, chairman of Calgary’s bid committee. “My read of the situation is that the rest of the (bidding) communities in Alberta, although very fine communities, don’t have the same quality or quantity of facilities that Calgary has. However, there are certain cultural issues and the bid committee may want these games in a smaller centre.”
It’s size that has Red Deer optimistic that it will be the chosen as the site for the 2007 edition. St. Albert and Strathcona County officials echo those feelings when it comes to their own chances.
“Calgary’s facilities are excellent and their hosting powers are really good, but I think our size makes us an ideal candidate,” said Lyn Radford, chairperson of the combined City of Red Deer and Red Deer County bid.
“All our venues are quite easily accessible for families and spectators and we still have that small-town feeling.”
The scope of the event, said Bill Hole, chair of St. Albert’s bid committee, means that it might be more appropriate for smaller communities.
“I believe the size of our community is just one of the things we have going for us.”
Strathcona also believes it will have an edge because it is a smaller community. “It certainly will be a big thing for us where, perhaps, in a larger city it’s just one more thing going on that may not get its due,” said Margaret Marciak, team leader of the bid committee. “We just feel that we have all of the qualities it will take.”
Should St. Albert or Strathcona be selected, officials said economic benefits would also flow into Edmonton because of the city’s close proximity.
Ken Fiske, Economic Development Edmonton’s vice-president for Tourism, Events and Motion Pictures, said if that should be the case, EDE would go into support mode and provide either organization with any assistance, if necessary.
Red Deer said if it is chosen it will have a number of upgraded facilities. But those are plans that were already in place before a Games bid was considered, said Scott Cameron, food and accommodations co-chair for the 2007 bid.
St. Albert is also moving forward with pre-existing facility plans. Its recreation centre project, however, is bogged down in red tape as St. Albert and neighbouring communities disagree on a location. Hole said that should St. Albert be selected, it would likely expedite the project and fast track its timeline.
In Strathcona no new facilities will be built for the Games, said Marciak. Nevertheless, projects are being developed in the interim that could be used as possible venues, she said.
Calgary, meanwhile, is standing pat.
“Calgary has world-class facilities in place today, we could run these games this summer. We don’t have to wait to 2007,” said Forzani.
Sports for the 2007 Games will include athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, canoeing, cycling, diving, field hockey, rowing, rugby, sailing, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball and wrestling.
The last time Alberta hosted the event was in 1983 in Calgary.
