607 replies to this topic

[spanky123]

You're apparently looking for a physical legacy ... (which is indeed there if you look for it.)

 

But more importantly from my perspective is to acknowledge the amazing legacy left in the form of folks memories and attitudes.

Ask any Commonwealth Games volunteer (for example) about their experience, and almost to a tee they'll tell you if was one of the best times of their life, and that they'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

But as Shoeflack pointed out, those physical remnants and legacies that you seek are around as well ... with the touchstone for the '94 games being the still flourishing Saanich Commonwealth Place.

 

We here on the left coast changed in a most positive way, and for good as a result of EXPO86, The Commonwealth Games '94, and the Vancouver Winter Olympics ... sometimes the real legacy of a special event isn't seen simply in bricks and mortar.

 

The people who could afford tickets and the elite who got them for free have great memories. The rest just got the bill.

[Nparker]

...The 1994 games were disgraceful IMO because they left such a pitiful legacy...

+1

[Cassidy]

Sorry gents, but my recollection of the 1994 Commonwealth Games is far different than your own.

different too is my reflection the positive impact the games had on the Capital Region.

 

Horses for courses I guess!

[VicHockeyFan]

Victoria is bidding.

[Nparker]

[aastra]

Some people say temporary venues are the best way to go for these sorts of events.

[spanky123]

Victoria is bidding.

 

I am confused, is David Black running his own competitive bid to that of John Simmons or are they working together?

[VicHockeyFan]

I did not even know until today Black was involved.

[spanky123]

Reading the Black Press news release it is pretty funny. $100M for student housing at UVIC, $80M for low income housing and $80K for athletes. 

 

http://www.vicnews.c...cross-victoria/

[aastra]

$180 million in new student and low income housing by 2022? The equivalent of 10 copies of 834 Johnson?

[Bingo]

I did not even know until today Black was involved.

 

He probably knows a way to convert a temporary venue into an oil refinery.

[spanky123]

Well the budget was not released by Black or the Mayor. The elephant in the room, which was not present in 1994, is the security costs which are estimated at $1B. There is no ROI or legacy for that and it is the reason why cities have pulled out of the games. The sooner this gets shut down the better. 

[Nparker]

... There is no ROI or legacy for that [security costs] and it is the reason why cities have pulled out of the games...

Truth.

[AllseeingEye]

Well the budget was not released by Black or the Mayor. The elephant in the room, which was not present in 1994, is the security costs which are estimated at $1B. There is no ROI or legacy for that and it is the reason why cities have pulled out of the games. The sooner this gets shut down the better. 

Oh yeah......+100 on this; "security" in this instance does not mean adding a few middle-aged, slightly over-the-hill, part time weekend warrior-type 'guards' down at the Leg.

 

It means systematic, rigidly enforced and radically upgraded and enhanced measures implemented very likely at every domestic airport connecting directly to YYJ; it means enhanced measures at YYJ itself, at YVR (especially), at all Canada-US border points at least in BC, BC Ferries, Black Ball ferries, Harbor Air, local waterways and will involve local and federal police agencies and the CAF - not to mention all that O/T incurred by those bodies in addition to organizations like the BC Ferry Operations/security team...the whole smack: consider that just one aspect of the security apparatus for the 2018 Australia-Gold Coast Games includes deploying Black Hawk attack helicopters along the regional coastal + inland waterways. That results in some really, really big government invoices and intra-department chargebacks folks.....

 

The bill for the Security aspect alone of any successful Games bid will be, rest assured, giga-normous......

[Nparker]

...The bill for the Security aspect alone of any successful Games bid will be, rest assured, giga-normous......

There have to be better ways to spend taxpayer dollars to attract tourists to Victoria.

[VicHockeyFan]

There have to be better ways to spend taxpayer dollars to attract tourists to Victoria.

 

I think there is too.  Let's have a one-month-long festival in June.  

[johnk]

As a taxpayer I want nothing to do with these circuses.

[Hotel Mike]

There were many intangible benefits from the 1994 Commonwealth Games. This huge corps of volunteers materialized to help with many aspects of the games. I saw at close range how energized many people were...often retired folks with time on their hands, itching to contribute something, and with a lifelong accumulation of skills and know how. With the concerts each night at the Leg there was also a sense of celebration and community. It's hard to generate that kind of spirit in Victoria, but the Commonwealth Games delivered it.

[Nparker]

...It's hard to generate that kind of spirit in Victoria, but the Commonwealth Games delivered it.

As I have said before, the world today (and presumably 2022) is not the same as it was in 1994. Any "intangible benefits" of hosting these games has to be weighed against the enormous cost of providing security. I just cannot see how spending precious taxpayer dollars for a 2-week party can be justified in light of these considerations.

[Bingo]

There were many intangible benefits from the 1994 Commonwealth Games. This huge corps of volunteers materialized to help with many aspects of the games. I saw at close range how energized many people were...often retired folks with time on their hands, itching to contribute something, and with a lifelong accumulation of skills and know how. With the concerts each night at the Leg there was also a sense of celebration and community. It's hard to generate that kind of spirit in Victoria, but the Commonwealth Games delivered it.

 

Perhaps, but at the time we were not expecting to pay for a new bridge, sewage treatment, E&N trail, bike lanes, interchanges and other big ticket items that are still lurking just off the radar.