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Editorial: Dream big on Games plan

People who dream big are the people who make things happen. David Black and the other organizers of Victoria’s Commonwealth Games bid are that kind of people.
New_Centennial Stadium.jpg
Opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games at Centennial Stadium, Aug. 18, 1994

People who dream big are the people who make things happen. David Black and the other organizers of Victoria’s Commonwealth Games bid are that kind of people.

On Wednesday, the bid committee released its projected budget for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. It’s a heart-stopping $955 million, and it’s an ambitious plan to spread the competitions across the capital region.

As during the 1994 Commonwealth Games, the eyes of the world would be on Victoria, when 6,500 athletes and 1,100 officials from 71 nations or territories gather. Black expects to exceed the audience of 1.5 billion predicted for the 2018 Games in Australia.

The bid faces many hurdles, not least of which is the fast-approaching deadline.

The withdrawal of 2022 host Durban, South Africa, for financial reasons left the Games federation scrambling for a new site, which means timelines are compressed. The bid must be submitted by Sept. 30, and the winning city will have only four and a half years instead of seven to prepare.

To make it work, Victoria would use a combination of existing facilities and new construction, and three sports would be hosted on the Lower Mainland.

There would be boxing at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, judo and wrestling at the Q Centre, netball at UVic CARSA Gym, field hockey at UVic, mountain biking at Bear Mountain, triathlon at Elk Lake, lawn bowls at Juan de Fuca, beach volleyball in front of the legislature and three-on-three basketball at Ship Point in the Inner Harbour. Rugby sevens would be at B.C. Place in Vancouver, and badminton and table tennis at the Richmond Oval.

As with the 1994 edition, these Games would leave the region with new facilities that would enhance sports and life for residents. They include a regional stadium in the West Shore, an arena for gymnastics that would later become an Olympic-size ice rink, and an athletes’ village and officials’ village near Costco in Langford that would later be converted to housing.

All this will cost a lot of money. The committee wants $400 million from the federal government and $400 million from the B.C. government, neither of which have committed.

Greater Victoria municipalities will be asked for $25 million of in-kind services.

All levels of government have yet to sign off on the proposal. Now that they can see a budget, they have something concrete on which to base a decision.

Municipal councillors, provincial MLAs and federal ministers don’t have a lot of time to study the plans, but they owe it to taxpayers to read the proposal with a critical eye.

The big question, of course, is what happens if there are cost overruns. Those have plagued major sporting events, and Victorians have only to look at the Johnson Street Bridge replacement, now more than 50 per cent over budget.

Black made the mistake of saying: “There is no risk whatsoever of an overrun.” Anyone tempted to make such a promise should remember former Victoria mayor Dean Fortin talking about the bridge and former Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau’s extravagant pledge regarding his city’s Olympics. No matter how it’s cooked, crow tastes awful.

Security in the age of terrorism is an important issue. Black doubts it will cost more than $50 million, but the pricetag for security at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games was about $140 million, and the Vancouver Olympics hit $1 billion.

Also on the committee’s wish list, but not part of the budget, is adding a lane each way to the Trans-Canada Highway between the West Shore Games cluster and McKenzie Avenue. How is that going to happen when we can’t get enough workers and asphalt to extend the bus lanes on Douglas Street?

Still, as in competition, hurdles can be overcome, when the payoff is worth it. For the athletes of 2022, the payoff is obvious, but the benefits spread beyond the track or the stadium.

The 1994 Games brought out 14,000 volunteers. For most of those volunteers, it was a thrill that has lasted down the years. They created a solid team that went on to make the 1996 Indigenous Games a rousing success.

The 2022 Games would need 20,000 volunteers, who would rekindle that feeling and build another experienced team.

The legacy of 1994 was more than the Commonwealth Pool and the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence. The “drag-up” effect on the kids of the region has been one of its greatest dividends.

Youngsters can go to the pool and see national-team swimmers training. They can go to PISE to see more top-level athletes working out. Cyclists, triathletes and rowers are on the roads, trails and water. The opportunities and inspiration for young people are golden.

The new facilities and the legacy fund would build on that foundation, particularly in the West Shore, where so many young families live.

The concerns of those who worry about cost overruns and about spending money that could be devoted to social problems are real. They cannot be swept aside. The committee will have to be transparent, accountable and careful stewards of public money.

The odds are against Victoria as we compete against Liverpool, Birmingham and Kuala Lumpur, but the committee is staffed with people who know how to turn dreams into reality. It’s possible — if the community gets on board.