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Canmore Could Boost Calgary's 2026 Winter Olympics Bid

Calgary's looking at hosting the games for a second time.
The mass start of the men's 30 km skiathlon race is seen during the Cross Country World Cup in Canmore, Alberta, December 16, 2012. REUTERS/Todd Korol (CANADA - Tags: SPORT SKIING)
Todd Korol / Reuters
The mass start of the men's 30 km skiathlon race is seen during the Cross Country World Cup in Canmore, Alberta, December 16, 2012. REUTERS/Todd Korol (CANADA - Tags: SPORT SKIING)

Calgary's potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics is picking up some support within the province — and a possible co-host.

Canmore Mayor John Borrowman reached out to both Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and the Calgary Sports and Tourism Association to say Canmore "would be very happy to work with them as a co-host," CBC News reported on Sunday.

The City of Calgary voted last week to spend $5 million on an exploration committee to look at the feasibility of hosting the Winter Games for a second time.

The city previously hosted the games in 1988.

Skiers loop around the track during Ski Tour Canada's FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Canmore in March 2016. (Photo: Trond Tandberg/Getty Images)

Canmore Nordic Centre held the cross-country skiing events during the 1988 games; Calgary's Canada Olympic Park hosted bobsled. Ski jumping and luge; and skating and hockey took place at the Olympic Oval, Saddledome and Max Bell Arena.

While all of those venues still host sports competitions, the Canmore Nordic Centre's facilities have been kept most up-to-date.

When it comes to cross-country skiing, it's “second-to-none,” sports consultant Stephen Norris told the Calgary Sun.

Borrowman said he expects Canmore officials will be meeting shortly to discuss a potential bid.

“We’ll be doing studies, of course, to show projected benefits to the town, over and above the pure excitement and thrill,” he told the Rocky Mountain Outlook.

The host of the 2026 Winter Games will be chosen in 2019.

With a file from The Canadian Press

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