World Cup matches and an Olympic Games would put Canada front and centre in the sports world in 2026.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 successful bid to co-host the 2026 World Cup with the United States and Mexico coincides with Calgary travelling further down the road of bidding for the Winter Games of that same year.

The city has yet to greenlight a Winter Games bid, but a bid corporation B次元官网网址� Calgary 2026 B次元官网网址� is up and running as of this week.

CalgaryB次元官网网址檚 provincial sports rival Edmonton is a candidate city, along with Montreal and Toronto, to host CanadaB次元官网网址檚 10 World Cup matches in 2026.

The man chairing Calgary 2026 sees the awarding of World Cup matches to Canada as a good harbinger for an Olympic bid, should the city go for it.

B次元官网网址淲hat I think is positive about that bid is the international community wants to stage events in Canada,B次元官网网址� Scott Hutcheson said Wednesday.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 positive that Canadians would want to have those kinds of events, international events in Canada.B次元官网网址�

Calgary has until January, when bid books are due, to decide. International Olympic Committee members will vote on a 2026 host city in September 2019.

Tourism Calgary chief executive officer Cindy Ady believes the prospect of World Cup soccer matches in Canada can enhance the countryB次元官网网址檚, and potentially AlbertaB次元官网网址檚, sports profile when it comes to a possible Winter Games bid.

B次元官网网址淏eing considered a place where major sporting events could take place, I think it adds to our cache,B次元官网网址� Ady said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛, at this point, see any negative impacts.B次元官网网址�

Winter Games in February and March wouldnB次元官网网址檛 compete with summer World Cup matches for sportsB次元官网网址� fans attentions, but there might be hand-wringing over the potential cost of both in a single calendar year.

Canada has hosted, and paid for, major sports events in the same summer.

The 24-team womenB次元官网网址檚 World Cup, staged in six stadiums across the country, and TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Pan American/Parapan Am Games that drew over 6,000 athletes from 41 countries, were held within weeks of each other in 2015.

The Pan Am price tag was $2.4 billion, with the federal government kicking in half a billion dollars.

Canada Soccer said the combined cost of the womenB次元官网网址檚 World Cup and the 2014 under-20 womenB次元官网网址檚 World Cup was $216 million, with $15 million coming from the feds.

Canada will host a fraction of the 80 menB次元官网网址檚 World Cup matches in 2026, so costs will proportionally reflect that. The federal government has pledged up to $5 million.

An initial estimate for Calgary to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games was $4.6 billion, although financials, and what the taxpayersB次元官网网址� share would be, continue to be crunched.

The Canadian Press

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