955million dollar budget for Commonwealth Games bid includes new arenastadium

Victorias 2022 Commonwealth Games bid committee have now provided some rough budget numbers and facility requirements, such as a new arena and stadium.

Victoria's 2022 Commonwealth Games bid committee has now provided budget numbers and facility requirements, such as a new arena and stadium.

Starting with the numbers - Bid Committee Chairman David Black gave a budget total of $955-million dollars. However, that total does not include certain major budget items such as security.

The committee is asking the federal government for $400-million dollars, plus all security costs. They're asking the B.C. Government for $400-million dollars plus a required overrun guarantee. Victoria area municipalities will be asked for $25-million dollars worth of in-kind services. The rest would be made up from commercial revenue associated with the games. The budget includes $60-million for an athlete's village in Langford, $42-million for a new stadium, $30-million for a new arena, and $35-million for the Commonwealth Pool (scroll down for full breakdown).

The new arena referenced would have a similar seating capacity of the Save On Foods Memorial Arena, although some of that seating can be temporary. Apparently the existing memorial arena doesn't have the correct dimensions for some of the events. The new regional stadium is needed to host the opening and closing ceremonies and track and field. Details, such as where such facilities would go, have not been ironed out.

Black says they're partnering with a developer on an athletes village to be built in Langford, which would eventually turn into new housing on the market. He says it would amount to $600-million dollars worth of new housing with most of that cost covered by the developer.

Black says fixing the Colwood Crawl is another wish list item. He wants to convince the provincial government to add extra lanes to the Trans Canada Highway, saying it would cost little compared to what the province spent on transportation for the Olympic Games. The cost is not included in the bid budget.

One of the major hurdles will be convincing the new NDP government and finance minister Carole James, who has concerns. "The biggest one being the amount of money, the shortness of time of the bid and the unlimited cheque that the province has the sign saying they will take on any cost overruns of the games," said James.

James says she is giving the bid committee another couple weeks to try and hammer out more details. Black says he'll work hard to convince the province that their bid is sound, and he also admitted that they could make due with less than the full $400-million if needed. Any federal money would likely be matching funds and will depend on what the province does.

All of that convincing has to happen soon. The bid deadline is September 30th, although Black says they’ll likely ask for an extension.

Budget numbers from the bid committee's business plan: