TORONTO—If Toronto Mayor John Tory plans to bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, he'll have to quell concerns in his own council about the financial risks involved.
The head of the city’s budget committee said Tuesday, Sept. 1, that now that the excitement over the Pan Am Games has faded, he is feeling more uncertain about supporting a possible Olympic bid.
“I’m taking a cautious step back now and looking at the numbers very carefully,” Gary Crawford said.
“There are a lot of unanswered questions at the moment that need to be answered: who’s going to be paying for the bid—$50 million to $60 million—where’s the support from the provincial [and] federal governments, that’s an absolute key necessity, and where the private sector is,” he said.
Though he hasn’t consulted all 43 of his council colleagues, Crawford said he’s heard others voice doubts.
“Everyone is being very cautious about moving forward and they’re not sure,” he said.
Cities looking to host the 2024 Games have another two weeks to officially register their interest with the International Olympic Committee, which secures them the right to submit a bid.
Tory doesn’t need council’s approval to send an application letter, but he does need it to move forward with a pitch.
The mayor said Tuesday he’s spoken briefly to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the possibility of a bid, but wants to confer with the remaining federal leaders and city council on the matter.
Tory also maintains he wants to carefully weigh the pros and cons before deciding whether to even submit a letter to the IOC.
“Concerns about finances are on my mind too,” he said. “That’s why I’m not just blindly saying let’s just sign a letter and go ahead with this.”
A municipal study previously estimated bidding alone would cost between $50 million and $60 million, and hosting the Games would cost between $3.3 billion and $7 billion.
