As the race to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games ratchets up, with today marking the final day of the candidate city briefing here, Edmonton has laid down a strong statement of intent in its overarching pursuit of the Games.

The Canadian city is one of two that indicated to the CGF its intention to bid for the Games on the March 31 deadline, with South African city Durban the other.

Speaking to insidethegames here, Simon Farbrother, the vice-chairman of Edmonton 2022, outlined how a bid to host the event makes "absolutely makes sense" to the city, explaining the strategic direction of the Games aligns well with that of the city.

"The Commonwealth is a third of the world, 50 per cent under 25, so there's huge opportunity there," said Farbrother, who is also Edmonton's city manager.

"It aligns very closely with the city's strategic direction which is a more urban, integrated society that is more multicultural.

"So in quite a few ways it just absolutely makes sense to us.

"Jot down on a piece of paper 10 or 11 reasons and they all align and so we're feeling really comfortable that the investment, and the time and energy makes sense."

If Edmonton was to secure the 2022 Commonwealth Games it would be the second time the city has hosted the event, the first being in 1978 ©Getty Images



In terms of benefits to the city itself, Farbrother highlighted the Games' "ability to leverage our infrastructure that we already have", "its ability to fast track some infrastructure that we need as a community" and its ability to "attract and retain a skilled labour force" as three key areas that would be majorly boosted by hosting the Games."

One such infrastructure that would certainly benefit from Edmonton hosting the Games is that of the new Velodrome, which is in planning to replace the existing facility built for the 1978 Games.

The new facility, which would become the first indoor Velodrome in Canada should it be completed, has drawn some concern over rising costs which could, according to reports, keep the brakes on the project for now.

Being awarded the Games in 2022 could, however, speed up this process, not only because there would a stronger need for a new facility, but also due to the added likelihood of finding external funding to complete the project.

"The city's had on the books a replacement of that Velodrome, we've done the design work, the costing, the detailed design," said Farbrother.

"And so we would anticipate it being in our capital plan over the next 10 to 15 years.

"Having the Games will accelerate that.

"But it's not as though the city is saying, 'we don't need a Velodrome', that has not been the conversation.

"It just comes down to priorities in capital investment.

"So there's an opportunity to accelerate that with the Games."

Hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games could see the construction of the proposed indoor Velodrome accelerated ©AVRA



After the huge success of Glasgow 2014 which, according to Farbrother, "put the Games back to where they should be", the Canadian still has his sights set high, adding that Edmonton will, of course, "aspire to be better".

He said: "We do that in everything we do as a city.

"Somebody looking back in 2026 should be saying, 'you know 2022 was the best Games, 2018 was the next and 2014 was the one after that', that should be the aspiration of us all. "

Hosting the 2022 Games will also be a way of "leveraging a legacy of a legacy", Farbrother claimed, as Edmonton looks to "build on the legacy of '78".

It will help build on the significant growth seen within the city since its first hosting of the Games more than 30 years ago, which grows by 30,000 people each year, and will "continue to be very much aligned with the strategic aspirations that we have as a city and it continues to build on infrastructure that we need anyway".

Farbrother added: "And so there are some very logical reasons.

"It has to work for our citizens, it is about our citizens and not about a project.

"And it needs to be aligned with building a great city."

Both Edmonton and Durban have until March 2, 2015, to submit their official bids for the 2022 Commonwealth Games with the final decision on the host of the Games due to be announced on September 2, 2015, during the CGF General Assembly in Auckland, New Zealand.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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