Games bid decision in January
Council to receive full committee report in early 2016
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, December 11, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A decision on whether the city intends to move forward with a bid on the 2023 Canada Winter Games won't happen until next year, according to Mayor Mark Heyck.
The city formed a committee earlier this year to study costs, risks and whether the city could feasibly host the Games.
That committee, led by the mayor alongside city councillors as well as First Nations, business, sport and education representatives was divided into sub-committees that looked at various aspects of a potential bid.
The sub-committees each produced reports that would form a single report to council. A draft of that report has been distributed among members of the whole committee for review.
"We're collecting comments to incorporate into the final report and the games committee will meet likely for the last time on Dec. 17," Heyck said Tuesday.
That meeting, at 9 a.m. in the lower boardroom at city hall, will be open to the public.
The final report is then expected to be provided to council and the public in January.
"We've got until the end of January to let the Canada Winter Games Council know if or if not we're going to proceed to a bid," Heyck said.
The report is expected to examine the estimated cost of hosting the games with and without additional taxes, such as an airport or hotel tax.
Earlier estimates have pegged the cost at about $35 million, which would include money from various sources, not just the city.
That figure doesn't include costs associated with building an athletes village and rebuilding the Ruth Inch Memorial Pool at estimated costs of $23 million and $30 million, respectively.
In the fall, the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce came out against a bid based on surveys of businesses. When asked by the chamber whether the city should host the Games, 53 per cent of respondents said no, 29 per cent said yes, and 18 per cent were unsure.
Several of the councillors elected Oct. 19 said they were not in favour of a bid based on what they've heard so far.
