Prince George City Council has approved funding for a site visit for the 2030 Special Olympics Canada Sumer Games.
The City ultimately decided to bid for the 2030 Summer Games, and on June 12th, it was announced Prince George was shortlisted to host the 2030 Summer Games.
“Representatives for Special Olympics Canada will be coming to Prince George in early October, likely October 8th and 9th,” said Manager of Event Services Debbie Heywood.
“As we learned from the site visit for the 2015 Canada Winter Games, being able to showcase the spirit of Prince George with the “wow factor” creates a lasting impression on those representatives. In order to create this, we’re requesting a combination of cash and in-kind support of up to $30,000 from the site visit from the Major Reserve Fund.”
According to Heywood, this would include transportation, as well as activities within town.
“Our experience in 2015 was, we need to put on a show,” said Director of Civic Facilities and Events Andy Beesley.
“That is what got us the 2015 Winter Games, is when they got here we gave them a fantastic reception. Probably going to incorporate some of our community partners at the CN Centre to give you a little hint about that because there is a Cougars game on one of the nights they’re here. We are going to do basically a show around town. We’re going to show off Prince George, we’ll probably need transportation, food, beverages, and then a little show at each venue. There’s ten different venues, and we want to make sure we stop at each one and show the bid committee that they can’t say “no” to Prince George.”
Heywood said hosting the games would bring more than 1,700 athletes, plus coaches, family, and friends to compete in 10 sports, and would also bring a direct economic impact of more than $8 million.
City Council unanimously voted to approve the $30,000 funding for the site visit.
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