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Halifax’s bid committee has much work to do and challenges to conquer before it learns in the fall of 2007 whether metro will host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, or whether the event will be awarded to competitors Glasgow, Scotland, or Abuja, Nigeria.
It’s still not known how much money the municipal, provincial and federal governments will contribute to the planned $750-million to $785-million cost of the proposed Halifax Games, or how much will be donated by the private sector.
What is known, however, is that Hamilton was the last Canadian city to be in the running for the Commonwealth Games — it lost the race for the 2010 sports spectacle to New Delhi, India — and its bid for that event came in at $715.9 million.
According to a report of the Commonwealth Games Federation’s evaluation commission for the 2010 Games, Hamilton and New Delhi were each deemed "capable of staging a successful Commonwealth Games." The commission didn’t try to compare bids, only "analyze each city individually."
But the evaluation committee’s 2003 report noted that the proposal from Hamilton, Canada’s choice to host the next Games after Melbourne, did have its weaknesses (as did the Indians’ plan). Halifax Regional Municipality, which narrowly lost the domestic competition for the 2010 Games to Hamilton, beat the Ontario city and two others in December.
Among the findings of the federation’s team assessing the hosting of the 2010 event are comments about such crucial elements as sports venues, transportation, security, financing, legacy and public support. Hamilton’s bid, the evaluation report said, enjoyed strong support (87 per cent) from the local community.
A recent poll paid for by The Chronicle Herald showed 75 per cent of respondents in metro back Halifax’s bid for the 2014 Games. That figure is down from 90 per cent support in a survey in December.
Should Halifax eventually land the 2014 Games, the extravaganza would be the largest of its type in Nova Scotia’s history. The city does have a record of hosting medium-sized events, including international sports competitions and political meetings.
With respect to transportation, the evaluation report for the 2010 Games said Hamilton officials were planning a "Games transportation authority some 24 to 30 months prior to the Games which will provide a mechanism for co-ordination with external transport agencies and to manage local resources."
Halifax Games organizers take note: start metro’s transit plan early, because the federation’s assessment team felt Hamilton’s proposed transportation scheme "appears to be late in the planning task. The evaluation commission would support the earlier creation of the agency so that a co-ordinated and integrated approach is taken from the start of planning."
As for international travel, that element of the proposed Halifax Games could be expensive. For 2010, organizers in New Delhi committed more than $115,000 to each of more than 70 Commonwealth Games associations for travel expenses, a senior official from Halifax’s bid committee said Friday.
On security, Hamilton’s 2010 plans called for resources deployed by the city’s police force, Barrie City Police, Niagara Regional Police, Halton Regional Police, the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP. Private security personnel were also to be used, the federation’s report said.
"The (Lake Ontario) shoreline will be patrolled and monitored by multidisciplinary security forces," it said. In metro, Halifax Harbour is likely to be guarded by the Canadian navy and police personnel staffing small watercraft.
Regarding finances, the evaluation report said the City of Hamilton "has agreed to underwrite any deficit that may arise from the (2010) Games." Scott Logan, CEO of Halifax’s committee bidding for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, told The Chronicle Herald earlier this month fiscal controls are in place and that the committee will act responsibly.
"I have no expectation whatsoever that there’ll be a deficit," he said.
With respect to the Games’ legacy, the federation’s evaluation commission said Hamilton’s bid for the 2010 event included a "significant economic impact" estimated at more than $1.4 billion on the local economy.
In Halifax, organizers of the planned 2014 Games have said the event will generate about $2 billion worth of spinoffs for metro and its environs. |
