Article content continued

Don’t get me wrong. I am a huge fan of the Olympics, and especially the athletes, who remain the least regarded members of the so-called Olympics Family. I watched how the Olympics, from the actual bid to the Games themselves, changed our city. We shone on the world stage, and we did it without the interference of city hall and its battalion of bureaucrats.

I used to give a speech that Calgary was a medium-sized city with small-town values and truly world-calibre dreams. No one knew how good we could be until someone asked us to be great. Bid chairman Frank King, and his band of tough, hard-nosed visionaries, united Calgarians behind a vision for greatness. Together they turned vision into reality, and for that we should all be thankful. The legacy of athletes training here enhances our city.

I haven’t quite figured out the vision for the 2026 Olympics: no LRT to the airport, a minuscule arena for figure skating (the world’s most popular Winter Games sport) and no new modern arena. At the moment, it is all about the money, even though we want to spend billions. To me, that is sad.

This fragmented council has no idea what would be great for this city. History shows the tourism benefits of hosting the Games is always exaggerated. At least Vancouver in 2010 got a sparkling new convention centre, the No. 1 driver of increased tourism spending in any city. Not in the Calgary playbook. Too visionary.

The sooner we bench local politicians, the better chance we will have to reach greatness again. Let them focus on what services taxpayers’ need, and let the pros bid for and organize the Olympics.

Then a vision rather than an ego will begin to emerge.

Crosbie Cotton, former editor-in-chief of the Calgary Herald, is director at National Parks Ski Areas Association.