The idea of hosting this province’s summer or winter games ended up being a trial balloon that popped on the County of Wetaskiwin.
Council batted around the issue during a planning and development meeting on Mar. 14, after a letter search for a host site for 2022 was read two days earlier at their regular council meeting. At the time, councillor Josh Bishop wondered if the county and surrounding area had the resources to submit a bid.
So, recreation director Geoff Lynch was asked to provide a report, which was done at the Mar. 14 meeting — shining a light on what would be needed.
“Administration contacted Don Wilson, the director, Alberta Games and Marketing at Alberta Sport Connection to discuss the process and requirements needed to host the Alberta winter or summer games,” stated Lynch.
His report included a pair of documents outlining the bid requirements — most notable were having accommodation for about 2,800 athletes, coaches and officials along with food service facilities for at least 1,000 per sitting plus regulation size competition sites and providing between 2,500 and 3,000 volunteers to run the Games.
“The estimated costs to host an event of this size are approximately $1.6 to $1.7 million. There is an offsetting grant in the amount of $420,000 from the provincial government,” the report outlined.
“Administration has recognized that the current infrastructure within the County of Wetaskiwin and the City of Wetaskiwin would not support this major event but potential partnerships with surrounding municipalities would be a viable option.”
Assistant CAO Jeff Chipley, who has volunteered for previous Alberta games, said facilities are a huge issue — noting the area lacks any rugby pitches and just one ball diamond that meets the necessary standard.
He added that, even with partners, hosting would be very challenging.
Councilors decided to accept the report as information.