To the editor,
I am disappointed with the press coverage the 2014 Commonwealth Games bid has received. Every time I pick up a newspaper there is an article about how much this is going to cost. It is unfortunate that this is the only aspect most journalists have chosen to focus on and that they have not taken the time to stop and think what hosting these games could mean to this city. If we win the bid, for two weeks in the summer of 2014 the world will be focused on Halifax. Our city will be shown on televisions around the world. The rest of the world will have the chance to see what it means to be a Haligonian. For an area that relies on tourism as a large portion of its economy I would think the benefits of this would be obvious.
Millions of people will descend upon our city and they will spend money here. The money that we receive from the provincial and federal governments, which will far exceed what the city itself will contribute, will be money that our city would otherwise not have access to. This will go directly into improving our city. The games are a chance to put in a lot of infrastructure that we would otherwise not have the money for. This is the ideal chance for us to improve our public transportation system. Then there’s the construction of the proposed 50,000-seat stadium. This will allow Halifax the opportunity to host more big events, from concerts to other major sporting events. The next time the Rolling Stones or another mega-band decided to come to Halifax (U2, anyone?) we won’t have to tear apart the Common to do it.
These games will leave a legacy long after they have gone. Currently, Atlantic Canada lags far behind the rest of the country in terms of top-notch sports facilities. Many of our top athletes must go elsewhere to train and compete. After these games we will have some of the best facilities in the country and we will be able to set up national training centers for a variety of sports: No longer will our best athletes have to leave, but rather we will have athletes moving here to train. More importantly, however, these facilities will also be available to the community.
This is a chance for us to be a part of something.
By Chris Algar
This article appears in Dec 7-13, 2006.