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City hoping to bid as a region for 2018 Alberta Summer Games

After finding success hosting the 2010 Alberta Winter Games, the City of Cold Lake wants to see the summer games come to the region in 2018. During their regular meeting on Aug.

After finding success hosting the 2010 Alberta Winter Games, the City of Cold Lake wants to see the summer games come to the region in 2018.

During their regular meeting on Aug. 11, city council decided to approach the neighbouring municipalities of the Town and MD of Bonnyville to put in a regional bid for the 2018 Alberta Summer Games.

“Right now, putting in a bid submission makes a lot of sense because the economy's soft and it'll attract people to the Lakeland Region,” said Mayor Craig Copeland.

He added, “Our council is committed regionally. You can't do this by yourself, the City of Cold Lake is just too small, if the Town and MD of Bonnyville want to get involved then we're definitely in for it.”

Together the three municipalities had a successful bid for the winter games in 2010, which saw around 3,000 attendees and over 3,000 volunteers get involved in the regional event. With help from 4 Wing Cold Lake, the Lakeland 2010 Alberta Winter Games featured 24 sporting events with about 2,500 athletes between the ages of 11 and 17.

“The winter games were all about community spirit. The Winter Olympics were going on at that time in Vancouver, we had the torch relay, it was a great time,” said Copeland. “Where you saw (the economic benefits) was from the families of the kid athletes that were in it. The restaurants and the hotels see some uptake but you're really showcasing your community.”

Now that the province has had the opportunity to see what the region has to offer in the winter, Cold Lake City Council thinks it's time to show how the Lakeland can shine in the sun.

“I think we should definitely put a bid in for the summer games this time. We have that new track at Assumption (Jr./Sr. High) and it will give us a chance to showcase what we've got for the summer,” said Coun. Chris Vining.

The Energy Centre is also entering phase three of its upgrades, which includes a new artificial turf multi-use sports field. Copeland explained that if they were to win the bid for the summer games, the city would look at prioritizing some of those projects in order to have the new facilities utilized in the games.

In order to host the 2010 winter games, each municipality was required to come up with $200,000 however the costs could be slightly higher for 2018. The typical cost for hosting either the summer or winter games is $1.6 million, with Alberta Sport Connection providing bas financial support of $420,000.

“It'll be a lot of money no doubt but when you look at the economic return, the spin-off, for every dollar you spend you're going to get five or ten back,” said Copeland, who added that tourism has become a major focus for the city's economy.

“Council's always talked about what other options do we have after the oil industry slow down, so tourism has always been on our radar. Council has been reluctant to promote the City of Cold Lake because you couldn't get a hotel room in the city for years. Now our theme has been spending a little bit of tax payer dollars to stimulate the economy.”

Most recently the three municipalities, with support from 4 Wing Cold Lake, submitted a bid for the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games but were unsuccessful. City council feels they're ready to take another stab at it.

“I think it's great for the region. The last time we had a lot of people come out and a lot of people active in the games,” said Coun. Vicky Lefebvre.

Now that the invitation to bid has been extended, municipalities have until Sept. 15 to submit a letter of intent to bid, with the completed bid package subsequently due by Nov. 13.

At this point, the bid for the 2018 Alberta Summer Games is dependant on the Town and MD of Bonnyville's support.

“If the submission is made, is has to be made regionally,” said CAO Kevin Nagoya. “With the venues, the hotels and resources required, we would need a joint submission. We need the region together.”

City council voted unanimously to work with the Town and MD on planning and creating a bid submission for the 2018 Summer Games, and directed administration to submit a letter of intent.

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