Put some rings on it: The province is considering a bid to bring the Olympics to Alberta

Keep your Canada swag on standby, sports fans. On Tuesday, during a press conference at WinSport, the provincial government confirmed that they are considering a bid to bring the Olympics to Alberta, most likely to the city of Calgary.

“The question certainly has been raised,” said Alberta’s Minister of Culture Ron Orr. “Is it a possibility? We’re certainly open to that.”

“There is a small group of individuals who have put together some proposals for a future opportunity and we will certainly be looking at those as they come and as it becomes appropriate to talk about details.”

As some of you may remember, Calgarians voted against putting in a bid for the 2026 games – but the city has changed a lot in the 4 years since.

Just this week, the government announced that it would put $17.5 million toward upgrading the Frank King Day Lodge at WinSport, which could make a difference when in it comes to whether or not people believe the city is ready to hold an event that size again.

“The City Of Calgary has almost all the amenities that it would need for games at this stage. And, of course, this kind of redevelopment would obviously add to that,” continued Orr.

As of right now, however, WinSport has not been a part of any official discussions – but they haven’t said “never.”

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“Any time we enhance and build a new facility that can be used for a world-class event, such as an Olympic bid or a World Cup or an X-Games, it enhances our city’s ability to attract those events,” said WinSport’s president and CEO Barry Heck.

“Does this open the door for a potential future bid? Yes, perhaps,”

As always, we’ll be keeping an eye on this one. After all, there’s no telling what might happen when it comes to the Olympics in Canada, Alberta or anywhere else in the world.

We’re certainly on our toes.