Disappointed with the city's unsuccessful bids to host the 2016 or 2018 BC Summer Games, Coquitlam council has now set its sights on holding another large provincial event.
On Monday, council asked city staff to prepare an application package for the 2016 BC Seniors Games, a multi-sport festival that hosts about 3,500 competitors aged 55 and up. The last time the city held the seniors games was in 1991.
Coun. Craig Hodge, who chairs the city's sports council, recommended councillors support the bid and said Tuesday the 2016 games could fast-track many parks and recreation infrastructure and facility projects (Hodge is championing an indoor sports court for the City Centre).
Hodge also said the BC Seniors Games are beneficial for the city as they involve simpler logistics than the BC Summer Games. For example, younger participants need to be housed at schools and bused to and from competition sites while the older athletes tend to stay in hotels and have their own transportation.
As well, Hodge, a past Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce president, said the seniors event brings more economic spin-offs to the community than summer games as the competitors have more disposable income and dine out at restaurants.
"The seniors games are a premium event and we would be very happy to see them here," he said.
The next BC Seniors Games are in Kamloops from Aug. 20 to 24. In 2014, they will be hosted jointly by the city and township of Langley.
In January, the BC Summer Games Society announced Coquitlam was out of the running for its 2016 and 2018 events, choosing Abbotsford and the Cowichan Valley instead.
Coquitlam was hoping to be the 2016 host to time with its 125th birthday and the opening of the Evergreen Line. In addition, it had hoped that hosting the summer games would serve as a launching point for its new sports tourism strategy, highlighting new and upgraded venues such as the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex and Chimo Pool.
