The six-member committee that will select a Canadian city to bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games was in Ottawa Friday, Halifax Saturday, are off to Hamilton on Sunday and the Regional Municipality of York (York Region) on Monday.
The four cities will make their formal presentations on Tuesday and Wednesday and the winner will be announced Thursday in Toronto.
David Adames, executive director of Tourism Hamilton, said it was “game time” on the eve of Hamilton’s inspection. “This is the first introduction for the bid review committee to our team. This is their chance to get the true flavour of the city”.
The review committee will spend eight hours in Hamilton, reports the Hamilton Spectator. There will be a presentation of the proposed new venues, followed by a tour of the city’s existing facilities. Just where the proposed venues would be located is a closely guarded secret.
Adames said the four contenders have been ordered by Commonwealth Games Canada to not publicly reveal details of their bids in order to maintain Canada’s competitive advantage against potential international rivals.
Spectator publisher Jagoda Pike, who is chair of the Hamilton bid committee, said Hamilton’s past experience as the Canadian representative for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which were awarded to Delhi India, may be a crucial advantage in the home stretch this time. “We haven’t sat back and depended just on the 2010 bid. We’ve had a chance to improve on a 2010 domestic bid and a 2010 international bid, so this is our third kick at it. The bid is very strong”.
Adames said he expects to field questions about the Hamilton bid committee’s vision of what the 2014 Commonwealth Games would mean for the city.
The bid review committee will make its recommendations for the Canadian candidate to the board of directors of Commonwealth Games Canada for a final vote.
