Calgary takes majority control of 2026 Winter Olympic Games bid committee

It's only a month old, but Calgary city council has already made changes to the ownership structure of the committee exploring a 2026 Winter Olympic Games bid.

But some councillors were concerned that although the city has allocated up to$5 million to fund the committee's work, city council doesn't actually have final say.

So rather than being an equal partnerwith Tourism Calgary, council voted yesterday to take 75 per cent control of the committee.

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"What we had before was a 50-50 share but the dispute resolution made it very clear that council had the final say, and this just clarifies that a little bit, and I think all parties are satisfied with it," Mayor Naheed Nenshi told CBC News Tuesday.

He says council will want to see how the committee spends public money.

"Sorting out their budget is one of the first jobs of the bid exploration committee and while council will not have authority to approve or not approve the budget having already set aside the money, they will get a chance to see itprobably in the next couple of months," Nenshi said.

The committee will report back next year on the state of the city's existing sports facilities and the structure of an Olympic bid, including a potential cost.

Council will then decide whether or not to proceed.

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