The Toronto Star reports Toronto city council has to decide again whether to pursue a bid for the Summer Olympic Games.
While a report to the city’s economic development committee sets out the pros and cons of a bid for the 2024 Games, the committee must decide if it should even begin the bid process by recommending a more detailed study.
In 2011 Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford rejected a possible bid for the 2020 Games citing fiscal concerns.
Toronto officials said the Olympics would increase the city’s international “visibility”, would “be a catalyst for trade development, cultural exchanges and investment attraction” and provide “an opportunity for urban renewal and investment in infrastructure which contribute to economic growth and job creation”.
Council also noted that there are “significant costs and risks” to pursuing “an incredibly complex and challenging project”, reports the Star. Council said it might not be possible to get all levels of government and key private-sector backers back on the same page after the bid failures of the recent past.
Toronto lost its bid for the 2008 Summer Games which was won by Beijing and placed third for the 1996 Olympics which was hosted by Atlanta.
The city hired Ernst and Young to produce a preliminary report on the 2024 Games. According to the firm, the cost of actually bidding for the Games is $50 million to $60 million and the cost of actually hosting the Games is $3.3 billion to $6.9 billion.
The committee is to vote on the preliminary report on Monday.
