Toronto’s Economic Development Committee voted Monday against Toronto bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The five member committee voted unanimously to forgo a Toronto bid.
According to a report prepared for the city by Ernst and Young, bidding for the Olympics in Toronto was estimated to be between $50 million and $60 million. It would cost $1 million to do a study alone. Hosting the Games would cost between $3.3 billion and $6.9 billion.
Toronto’s Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly released a statement Monday saying that “now is not the right time” for Toronto to pursue an Olympic bid. He added that he would be okay with an Olympic bid sometime in the future but suggested that the 2028 Games might be a more realistic target.
Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford was also against Toronto bidding for the 2024 Games. He said it could be years before Toronto is in a position in which it is able to legitimately entertain the possibility on the Games, telling reports “realistically I would say 15 years at least”.
