Council has decided to send a letter of intent to bid on the 2026 Alberta Summer Games.

The RMWB received a letter back in April 2023 from the province’s Minister of Culture to bid on the opportunity to host the 2026 Alberta Summer or Winter Games.

The letter will have to be sent by June 30, 2023, and a Bid Committee will have to be created to guide the bid process.

The RMWB Parks branch has $20,000 from the 2023 Budget to bid on multi-sport games but it is unclear how much the municipality will spend.

The bid will have to be submitted by August 31, 2023.

Following the bid submission review, staff will tour eligible communities in September 2023 for an assessment of strengths and weaknesses.

The successful community will be officially announced in November 2023 by the Minister of Culture.

If the RMWB is successful in the bid, they will also be responsible for the cost of staging the Games.

The Government of Alberta provides $420,000 in funding to support operational aspects but these are reported to typically cost between $2-4 million.

The RMWB hosted the Alberta Winter Games in 2018.

They report to have contributed $2.3 million in grant funding, with a return of $7.4 million brought to our region.