City hall has one more flag in front of it.
To commemorate the 2015 Canada Winter Games, hosted by Prince George, City officials and council members gathered Thursday morning to raise a flag celebrating the success of hosting the event. It also looks ahead to the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta, in February.
Mayor Lyn Hall recounts the importance of hosting the 2015 games, saying without it, the city may not have the same opportunities.
“The [2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships] coming here, I think that is a result of us being able to host such a successful 2015 Canada Winter Games. Large sporting organizations take a look and see that we’re able to pull that off and that we have the capacity to do it.”
Recent developments, such as the new Masich Place Stadium, open the door for more events to be held in PG. Hall notes the city is not just a place for potential sporting events, but others as well.
“Whether it be sporting activities, arts and cultural performances, we have those venues,” he explains.
“We can attract and we can accommodate national competitions, national events; we see that at CN Centre with things like concerts, I really think that we’ve hit our stride.”
A torch will be relayed across 48 communities in Canada and will stop in Prince George December 8th. The PG relay, one of seven in British Columbia, will go through the downtown core, starting and stopping at the PG Civic Centre. It will also include activities to celebrate local amateur sport. This is the first time the torch will be relayed coast to coast.
A few torchbearers have been announced for the PG relay, including Hall, PG-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond, Cariboo-PG MP Todd Doherty, Myrna & Tony Cable, Alyson Gourley-Cramer, Mandi Graham, Justin Hampole, and Northern Development Initiative Trust CEO Joel McKay.