We Are Winter- P.G.'s Theme for 2015 Games Bid
By 250 News
Thursday, June 03, 2010 04:00 AM
Skiing, snowboarding, skating and hockey, form one of the displays at the open house last night
Prince George, B.C. - “We Are Winter” that is the City of Prince George theme for its bid to host the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
Amid displays of well lit snow flakes, and sporting event posters, the Prince George Bid Committee outlined some of its plans for the Games to members of the public last night. “We are still in a competitive environment with two other communities who I am sure have put together very good bid packages,” says Mayor Dan Rogers, “But this is an opportunity for us to share as much as we can about what the expectations are, what the community can expect, and give the community an opportunity to get involved.”
In competition with Kamloops and Kelowna, Prince George is doing everything it can to make sure the games are held in P.G.. “One of the big pieces that is an attraction to get these games is the opportunity get Federal and Provincial money to help build our infrastructure” says Les Waldie, co-chair of the Games bid committee..jpg)
There is a total of about a $19 million dollar capital infrastructure improvement associated with the Games, most of that money would be spent on the Kin Centres. The City will get about $6 million dollars of that from the two senior levels of government, and the City will be expected to come up with about $11 million, a further $1.5 million would be raised privately.
Will the expenditure for the Games be a tough sell? Waldie says the boost to the regional economy will be significant “We think that getting an opportunity to have a $70 to $90 million dollar influx into this community is really important and really worthwhile. If we want to get that, we are going to need to spend some money to do it. The plus of course is that this will be a legacy that will last long past the Games.”
The Games will bring together more than 3,400 athletes from over 800 communities across Canada. There will be 19 national caliber sport competitions and 120 thousand visitors over the 17 days of competition.
There is another facet to the Games, the cultural aspect. The Games will bring 39 participants with the National Artist Program, and Waldie says Prince George may just borrow some of the entertainment type events experienced by the folks who visited Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics.
The Evaluation Committee for the games will visit Prince George August 9th. While the visit will primarily look at facilities and the overall plan for the Games, Waldie says the Committee will also be looking to see how residents view the Games “They need to see that this City is behind this. So we’re asking people to sign up, saying if we get the Games, I’m prepared to volunteer. If we can demonstrate that to the Evaluation Committee we know that is going to be really helpful.”
The Bid Committee has already set up a page on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/pg2015 ) and is hoping to see plenty of people sign up to be a future volunteer. You can sign up at the Four Seasons Pool, Aquatic Centre, P.G. Library or at the City Hall Service Centre.
For more information, you can contact the Bid Committee office at: 250-561-7644 or send an email 2015wgames@city.pg.bc.ca
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Posted by: gus on June 3 2010 6:35 AM