A hearty round of applause broke out after city council voted unanimously at its Monday, Feb. 24 meeting to formally approve Prince George’s next major sporting event bid for the 2030 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games.
On top of approving the bid, which must be submitted to Special Olympics Canada by March 1, council also approved up to $400,000 in spending and $100,000 worth of in-kind donations from the city’s Major Events Reserve Fund and for taking on the responsibility for any deficits incurred by the event.
Once the bid is submitted, representatives from Special Olympics Canada will visit the city in late spring for an assessment and the winning bidder will be announced in the early summer.
It is estimated that the event would bring around 1,700 participants to Prince George for athletics, basketball, bocce, 10-pin bowling, gold, powerlifting, rhythmic gymnastics, soccer, softball and swimming competitions.
The city’s bid was endorsed by both the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George’s board of directors and School District 57’s board of education at their most recent meetings.
There was a sizeable supporters’ section in the gallery for the Special Olympics bid decision that included former mayor Lyn Hall and former BC Liberal MLA Shirley Bond — respectively the co-chair and director of public relations for the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games being held in Prince George.
With so many in attendance just to find out whether council would approve the bid, the discussion was moved to the top of the agenda.
Introducing the discussion on the bid, director of civic facilities and events Andy Beesley called the community’s support ahead of the vote “awe-inspiring.”
He said it was “nothing short of a miracle” that both city staff and members of the community were able to put together a bid package in only a month.
Beesley said he believes that PG’s bid for the games is as strong as the successful bid for the 2015 Canada Summer Games, which took nine months to put together.
Referring to Canada’s recent cathartic victory over the United States in the Four Nations Face-Off hockey tournament, Beesley said a successful bid is a win that Prince George really needs.
Debbie Haywood, the city’s manager of event services, said the 2025 BC games would be a strong foundation for preparing for the 2030 games and that the lessons learned would help the city be a better host for the national event.
She read comments from local Special Olympics athletes who talked about how the program have helped them realize their potential, make friends and maintain healthy lives.
Possible venues for the games include UNBC, Duchess Park Secondary School, the Strike Zone, the Canfor Leisure Pool, Masich Place Stadium, the CN Centre and more.
A report prepared by city staff said that the economic impact of the 2030 Summer Games, should Prince George’s bid be successful, would be around $8 million for Prince George alone and more than $12.5 million across all of Canada.
While Special Olympics Canada does not require a specific financial commitment, it does require host cities to act as guarantors in case the event runs a deficit. Prince George was required to do the same when it hosted the 2015 Canada Summer Games.
However, a deficit is unlikely, according to staff.
“Special Olympics Canada has confirmed that there has never been a deficit for any Games; the majority have had a healthy surplus where 70 per cent of the legacy stays with our local Special Olympics,” the staff report said.
Haywood said the province has committed to providing funds should the bid be successful and additional funding may be possible to obtain from the federal government. On top of that, she said the last two cities hosting the national games earned more than $1.5 million from sponsorships alone.
Mayor Simon Yu expressed confidence in the city submitting the winning bid.
At one point, Coun. Kyle Sampson asked those in the gallery there to support the Special Olympics to put up their hands. More than 20 people raised their hands.
Coun. Cori Ramsay asked how many communities are expected to bid. Haywood said Special Olympics organizations in each province can endorse a single bid from a community for each national games — Special Olympics BC will be endorsing Prince George’s bid for the 2030 national summer games.
After the vote approving the bid, councillors, Special Olympics athletes and organizers posed for a photo together.
