It’s been revealed that Hamilton officials say they were asked and agreed 13 months ago to be Canada’s bid city for the 2014 Commonwealth Games after they lost the 2010 Games to Delhi, India.
The Halifax newspaper Chronicle Herald reports that Jagoda Pike, chairwoman of Hamilton’s 2014 bid that lost to Halifax Thursday, said Friday that Commonwealth Games Canada made the offer in November 2004.
Pike said Hamilton officials met with two Commonwealth Games Canada directors, including its president Claude Bennett, and accepted the offer, but by last March word got out that the national body might have to back out and open the process to other bidders, and in June the organization announced an open bidding process.
Pike, who also chaired Hamilton’s failed bid for the 2010 Games, is the publisher of the Hamilton Spectator, which broke the story on the offer Friday.
Pike said, “it’s a bit remarkable that it didn’t come out earlier, because our city council has known about this since March”.
She said, “obviously we were unhappy initially, as you could imagine. Then we decided for the good of the Commonwealth Games movement and for the good of Hamilton, if we wanted to try to bring the Games back again we had to refocus and get our bid going”.
But although they won the domestic bid the last time, the Chronicle Herald reports that Hamilton officials were not overconfident. Pike said, “I think we did put together a fabulous bid. We gave it our absolute best shot and obviously weren’t successful. We’re disappointed, but we wish Halifax well”.
Commonwealth Games Canada refused to release how the cities were rated, only saying there were 14 categories of competition.
The Spectator reported the categories included facilities, organizing committee, operations and “winnability” – the ability to win the international bid competition. According to the Spectator Halifax scored first in 10 of the 14 categories and second in the other four. Hamilton placed first in six categories (with two ties), second in five and third in three categories, but Pike wouldn’t confirm those figures.
She said, “the only thing I’ll tell you for sure is we have been talking about the winnability factor…Hamilton did actually score on top in that one.
“How is it that you can get the top score in winnability but not be the city to go forward?”
Pike said Hamilton will ask that question at a debriefing with the national body in January.
Fred MacGillvray, chairman of the Halifax bid committee, said he hadn’t heard of the deal involving Hamilton until he was contacted by The Chronicle Herald Friday. He said news of such a deal didn’t shake his faith in the bid process, “not a bit” he said.
“I can tell you, unequivocally, the integrity of this process this time around was beyond reproach”.
Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly said the Hamilton officials’ allegations “surprised” him and that he considered the domestic bid process an open, fair-minded system based on merit.
Donald Boulanger, spokesman for Canada Heritage, the department that oversees Sport Canada, said it’s “absolutely untrue to say that Sport Canada or the Government of Canada interfered to make sure that another city than Hamilton would be chosen”.
Commonwealth Games Canada “was in charge of the bid process and the selection of the city…all we did is strongly encourage that a domestic bid process occur. That’s all we did”.
