September 2017
In 2013 I joined then Mayor Sam Katz and Olympic great Catriona Lemay Doan at the Forks for the announcement that Winnipeg had been granted the 2017 Canada Summer Games. Many people feared the Games were too small time for Winnipeg - that as the largest city ever to host the Games we would see little interest from the public and the event would " get lost" in the big city. Four years later and we can say "this is not a small time event - this is a big deal".
The Games ( in week 2 as I write this) have been a smashing success. Attendance has been huge. My sons and I have hit 14 venues to date - and seen Mayor Bowman at several of them. We are spending about 1/40 of what Toronto spent on the 2015 Pan Am Games and we are getting upgrades to major sports facilities ( Pan Am pool, U of M track) new facilities ( Sports for Life Centre down town) , and an economic impact of an estimated $160 million. We even had the same act - Serena Ryder - at the Opening Ceremonies as Toronto did!
So enjoy the Games, knowing we do not have a Montreal Olympics-style debt to deal with, and appreciating the legacy the Games will leave.