Members of Salt Lake City's Olympic Exploratory Committee met formally on Monday for the first time since being formed last month "to assess the possibility of bidding on the 2026 or 2030 Winter Games," according to Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. Fraser Bullock, the committee's co-chair and the COO of the Salt Lake 2002 Organizing Committee, said, "We have to nail it. Nobody around this table wants anything to do with a Games that doesn't have a surplus. ... If we can't get there, we shouldn't do it. We don't want to just break even." Bullock estimated that hosting the Winter Olympics could cost as much as $1.5B, "not including federal security costs," but said that Salt Lake "would have to get that number down" to about $1.2B. Perhaps the "biggest issue facing Salt Lake organizers" is the 2028 Summer Olympics in L.A. With the possibility of a dual award from the IOC, officials in Utah "have to consider the possibility of a bid" for '26. Utah Sports Commission Head Jeff Robbins said, "We're focused on 2030, but we're ready, willing and able to do whatever is required" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 11/20).
ALBERTA ASSESSMENT: In Toronto, Carrie Tait reported Calgary city councilors on Monday voted to give municipal bureaucrats C$1M ($782,400) to "continue research into bidding for the Games." Calgary's administrators will "likely receive" another C$1M "if they are able to persuade Ottawa and Edmonton to fund the bidding process." Calgary has already spent C$5M ($3.9M) exploring "whether to compete for the world's premier winter sporting celebration." It will cost between C$25M ($19.6M) and C$30M ($23.5M) for the bid, including the money Calgary has already spent, according to city staff. The city expects the federal government would cover "up to" 35% of that bill (GLOBE AND MAIL, 11/20).
