Sports in Canadian culture

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

Shockingly, for a country of our size and latitude, there are only two cities that could possibly host a Winter Olympics. My guess is Calgary will host the Games again in the relatively near future given the small pool the Olympic Committee has to choose from. I've read that 2022 is looking quite sketchy, incidentally.

Due to security costs I cannot see Canada going after the games any time soon. They will be going back to the US and Oslo is going after them for 2022.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Airboy

Due to security costs I cannot see Canada going after the games any time soon. They will be going back to the US and Oslo is going after them for 2022.

Kazakhstan 2022. Book it.

Then either Barcelona or America 2026. I'd only like to see the Americans host it over Canada if they finally managed to get their Anchorage bid to work.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Kazakhstan 2022. Book it.

Then either Barcelona or America 2026. I'd only like to see the Americans host it over Canada if they finally managed to get their Anchorage bid to work.

An Anchorage Olympics would be unreal

[esquire]

Quebec mounted a pretty serious bid for the, what was it, 2002 Winter Olympics? How did they get around the downhill issue that time? With all the hills around Quebec I'm frankly surprised that it would be a problem...

[artvandelay]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

An Anchorage Olympics would be unreal

The Winter Olympics have grown to the point where it's tough to host them in smaller cities like Anchorage. You now need two large arenas, one for hockey and another for figure skating / short-track. Plus a secondary hockey arena and a curling venue. Smaller cities simply will not be able to support these facilities after the games making it hard to justify the investment.

[artvandelay]

Originally Posted by esquire

Quebec mounted a pretty serious bid for the, what was it, 2002 Winter Olympics? How did they get around the downhill issue that time? With all the hills around Quebec I'm frankly surprised that it would be a problem...

I don't know if FIS has changed its regulations since 1988 but Nakiska hosted the alpine events with a vertical of 2,556' and Le Massif is essentially the same with 2,526' vertical. Although if Calgary hosts again I think Lake Louise would be a better location to host skiing.

EDIT: This explains it - apparently they added 500 vertical feet at Nakiska for the downhill by having the course start at the actual summit:

A temporary surface lift to the gusty top of the mountain was used for the men's downhill event. This poma can be seen from the top of the "Gold Chair" and is sometimes used for avalanche control. The starting gate of the men's Olympic downhill was at 2,412 m (7,913 ft), 154 m (505 ft) above the present lift-served summit.

[MonctonRad]

Quebec City is the next logical choice for a Canadian Winter Olympics bid.

I image the next North American bid would go to the USA (? Denver). Might not see another Canadian Winter Olympics until 2042 or so. I will be dead.

[Mr.Wolf]

Quebec City doesn't have enough hotel rooms.

The Loews Le Concorde closed two weeks enough.
We still have a Fairmont, a Delta and the Hilton but that's about it.

You can't accommodate everybody with these three hotels and dozens of bed and breakfasts.

The province can't afford it anyways.

[blueandgoldguy]

Would love to see the Olympics in Quebec City but it's not going to happen.

The tallest mountain in the region that could be used for the downhill skiing is approx. 1000 feet too short to be considered adequate. Nowadays the IOC expects a vertical of either 3000 or 3500 feet for the downhill event - the mountain near Quebec is lacking by 1000.

Last I heard Quebec proposed using the mountain at Lake Placid for downhill skiing but I can't see the IOC agreeing to that given the distance and that it is in another country - might as well have the entire Olympics at Lake Placid in that case.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by Mr.Wolf

Quebec City doesn't have enough hotel rooms.

The Loews Le Concorde closed two weeks enough.
We still have a Fairmont, a Delta and the Hilton but that's about it.

You can't accommodate everybody with these three hotels and dozens of bed and breakfasts.

The province can't afford it anyways.

Quebec City doesn't have enough hotel rooms? That surprises me. I would have thought the city would push above its weight with regards to accomodations seeing as it is regarded as a bit of a cultural mecca with European-style architecture dating back to the 1700s and 1800s, a thriving arts scene and fashion scene. I thought they draw quite a few tourists there from abroad, yes?

Edit: Did a quick check and tripadvisor shows 96 hotels in Quebec City vs. 98 in Calgary. Obviously that's not the most accurate assessment and I should probably do a little more digging, but would it not be fair to say the two cities are in the same ballpark when it comes to accomodations?

[Mr.Wolf]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

Quebec City doesn't have enough hotel rooms? That surprises me. I would have thought the city would push above its weight with regards to accomodations seeing as it is regarded as a bit of a cultural mecca with European-style architecture dating back to the 1700s and 1800s, a thriving arts scene and fashion scene. I thought they draw quite a few tourists there from abroad, yes?

Edit: Did a quick check and tripadvisor shows 96 hotels in Quebec City vs. 98 in Calgary. Obviously that's not the most accurate assessment and I should probably do a little more digging, but would it not be fair to say the two cities are in the same ballpark when it comes to accomodations?

Quebec City has a lot of small, intimate hotels situated in the older parts of the city.

There's about 11 000 rooms in Calgary according to its tourism board. There's no way Quebec City is anywhere close to that number.
Le Concorde was one of the biggest and now it's closed.

[MonctonRad]

Why did the Loews close?

What are they going to do with the building?

[Mr.Wolf]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Why did the Loews close?

What are they going to do with the building?

The reason was never truly told but it must be financial issues.

Right now, Les Résidences Soleil have offered to buy the building and transform it into a retirement home. The city has stated it will do anything in its power not to let this happen as its just meters away from all the nightlife action.

The restaurant would become the cafeteria.

Quebec City has 4000 hotel rooms.

[GreaterMontréal]

Hotel rooms ? I don't think Lillehammer had a problem. And it's small town of 26K.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Moot point anyway - ain't no mountain high enough.

Is Edmonton a possibility? How far is it from the nearest Olympic-quality ski hill?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

Moot point anyway - ain't no mountain high enough.

Is Edmonton a possibility? How far is it from the nearest Olympic-quality ski hill?

Far. Drive to Calgary, then another hour to Banff. Of course there is Jasper too to get away from Calgary's shadow, but it's basically the same distance (around 4 hrs.) heading west. I don't think Edmonton is a realistic choice as a winter games site.

It's a pity that Quebec City doesn't have a ski hill up to the task of holding the Winter Olympics. There is a sports culture and winter culture in Quebec that would make it an excellent host for the games. Apparently it's the only thing really holding them back:

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2010/...ter-games-bid/

[Dr Awesomesauce]

^It is a shame. It would be a tremendous spectacle but alas, they'd have to add at least 100m to the top of Mt Ste Anne or Le Massif to make a go of it. I'm no engineer but I don't think that's feasible. The IOC concurs, btw.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

^It is a shame. It would be a tremendous spectacle but alas, they'd have to add at least 100m to the top of Mt Ste Anne or Le Massif to make a go of it. I'm no engineer but I don't think that's feasible. The IOC concurs, btw.

They could dig a 100m deep hole at the bottom...

[Runt]

Great article at Grantland on Carleton Basketball.

[FrankieFlowerpot]

Goodbye Bills in Toronto

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/art...5-7b2594f22c6c