Sometimes, no matter how large the wording the writing on the wall remains steadfastly unread.
Where governments are concerned this stubbornness is ingrained: once a process begins the chance of it being subsequently cancelled or materially altered is on par with the odds of a Canadian team winning the Stanley Cup.
So, the decision by Alberta to decisively sever its interest in hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games is deserving of a place on a rarely-used podium, one reserved for responsible use of citizens’ tax dollars.
Because, we were headed for a multi-billion dollar nightmare only a blind man could fail to see coming. Look no further than what happened in the state of Victoria, down under in Australia last month.
It had planned to stage the 2026 edition of these Games, but pulled the plug after estimated final costs ballooned to more than $6-billion (Canadian) from an initial projection of about $2-billion. So, now no country, region or city is stepping up to play host. Oops.
In fact there was only one place even interested in hosting the 2030 version of this 12-day event that takes place every four years: Alberta. We were contemplating splitting venues between Calgary, Edmonton and the Tsuut’ina Nation.
So, it wasn’t really a bid at all. That was just face-saving semantics. If we wanted it, then it was ours, seeing nowhere else was daft enough to step forward. That alone should have given ample pause for thought, even before the bombshell announcement from Australia.
Anyhow, credit where credit is due: the Danielle Smith regime showed a welcome decisiveness last week in pulling potential funding, effectively killing any hope of staging the event here.
“We promised to remain transparent with Albertans about the costs of hosting international sporting events and clearly demonstrating a return on our investment for the people and communities of Alberta.”
“In the case of the 2030 Commonwealth Games, the numbers just didn’t add up for our government to commit taxpayers’ money with the games estimated to cost $2.68 billion,” said the statement released by the government.
This didn’t sit well with the committee working on the Games bid of course who released a statement of their own staying they were disappointed with the unexpected decision.
“In less than a month we were going to share the plan with the public and were eager to have an open dialogue about community priorities, advancing Reconciliation and building a vision as Albertans that we could collectively work towards,” is how they framed it.
Oh boy, thank goodness this plan is now deep-sixed.
Tying a 12-day-long sporting event to reconciling with Indigenous folk as well as building future visions is a perceived mandate with open-end spending written all over it.
Yes, it is sad Alberta won’t host the world, or at least a slice of it. After all, this is one of the most welcoming places on Earth and we’ve a history of success in putting on similar large-scale sporting events - the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, were wonderful occasions resulting in long-lasting infrastructure improvements in those cities.
But sadly those days are long gone, as costs have spiralled out of control, leaving taxpayers with massive bills in their wake. It’s why the Commonwealth Games of 2030 is now joining the 2026 event on the potential scrapheap.
Maybe that would be a good thing. Isn’t it time to rethink these gratuitous gravy trains with their grandiose visions and outrageous costs and instead return to a simpler model of international sporting competition.
Congratulations Alberta, in helping to bring this one step closer.
Chris Nelson is a syndicated columnist.
