Prince George will take a stab at welcoming the province's best athletes in five years.
On Monday night, city council approved the preparation of a bid for the 2020 B.C. Summer Games.
The decision also came with a go-ahead to use up to $10,000 from the city's major events reserve fund for the design and printing of the bid package.
The city last hosted the Summer Games in 1990 and bid intakes for the 2020 or 2022 provincial event is scheduled for next year.
"To me, it makes sense. It's about showcasing our community and showcasing our pride,because people in Prince George are proud of our community," said Coun. Brian Skakun, adding the city could give Kamloops a run for its money as the go-to place for sporting events. "Prince George isn't too far away; we've got great facilities, great volunteers. We could easily pull this off and do a great job selling Prince George again."
A successful host city receives $600,000 from the B.C. Games Society to hold the event, with the expectation that the host city would put up $45,000 in cash and $50,000 worth of in-kind support, like facility rentals.
A local host society or board typically raises an additional $50,000 in cash and another $350,000 to $750,000 of in-kind support from the private sector.
Coun. Jillian Merrick said she was initially hesitant about supporting the bid.
"I think we put a lot of energy and investment into sporting and I think it's time to look at other areas of the community and then I look at the price tag, $45,000, it's negligible compared to what we deal with on a daily basis," she said.
The capital dollars for the B.C. Summer Games are nowhere near what was required for the 2015 Canada Winter Games, said community partnerships manager Brad Beckett.
Any upgrades would be relatively minor overall, but nothing specific has been identified yet, he said.
Upgrades are already being planned for Masich Place Stadium, which was built in 1990 for that year's Summer Games. Last month, the city received a $250,000 grant from Northern Development Initiative Trust for the project and is looking for another $3.2 million from the joint federal-provincial gas tax fund to complete its financing.
