Economist says keep in mind in 2026: Calgary’s 1988 games did not turn a profit

Call it creative accounting or what you will; one expert says the 1988 Olympic games in Calgary didn’t turn a profit, as many have reported.

University of Calgary Associate Professor of Economics and research fellow at the School of Public Policy Trevor Tombe has done the math and says they’re missing a few things including taxpayer funds.

“It’s not a question of making money or losing money, putting on the games, the games involved a lot of spending by governments especially for new facilities but also to operate those facilities during the games.”

Tombe says with Calgary exploring a bid for 2026, he’s heard a lot of people talking about the profitability of the games.

“It is true that the organizing committee brought in more revenue than it spent preliminary from a very large broadcasting rights revenue, over $300 million dollars but that figure excludes all the money that was spent by the federal, provincial and municipal governments on facilities.”

The facilities we saw built during the eighties came to a figure just shy of $400 million and he says the bulk of it was not funded by the Organizing Committee.

“The big difference between 1988 and what 2026 would look like is the scale, not only are there many more athletes now but the technology has also changed and the Ski Jump is a good example of this,” he said. “It’s just not up to snuff, the team doesn’t even train here.”

He adds another example is how the Saddledome may have to be replaced and how the bill would have to be foot by taxpayers primarily.

“Vancouver didn’t have to build a new stadium, they spent about $12-million renovating it,” he said.

Tombe says there’s been several studies undertaken on the economic impact of the games and adds some have found very little impact at all.

“We shouldn’t view the Olympics as a stimulant, it shifts it towards things like construction,” he said. “A flood of tourists coming into the city is also a very small amount, if you look at Vancouver, the amount of spending was only $85 million higher than that time last year. A very small increase in foreigner spending.”

“There is no economic or financial case to host the games, the question we need to ask ourself is whether those financial and economic costs are worth paying?”

“We should view the costs with full open eyes and ask ourselves whether those costs are worth paying? We shouldn’t think of the games as a way to make money but rather as a cost that we may or may not want to incur.”

Calgary’s report on the 2026 should be released next summer.