Gold medallist in the women’s halfpipe Cassie Sharpe, of Canada, celebrates during the medals ceremony at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Charlie Riedel

Calgary considers bid for 2026 Olympic Games

Calgary’s mayor says hard evidence — and not warm, fuzzy emotions over Canada’s strong showing at the Pyeongchang Olympics — should drive discussions over a potential 2026 Winter Games bid.

Naheed Nenshi says he understands how excited everyone is about Team Canada’s record 29-medal hardware haul.

But Nenshi says cooler heads should prevail and that’s why there was little public discussion about Calgary’s potential 2026 bid while the Pyeongchang Games were on.

The Calgary Bid Exploration Committee has pegged the cost of holding the Games at $4.6 billion, with revenues covering about half that.

Nenshi says city council should have a firm idea of whether a bid will go ahead by the end of June, but Calgary must signal by the end of March if it wants to continue talks with the International Olympic Committee.

Coun. Jeromy Farkas says the 1988 Olympics put Calgary on the map and the prospect of hosting again pulls at his heartstrings, but he’s skeptical a 2026 bid makes financial sense.