Quebec City taxpayers will pay $52,666 to each regular curling player in the region so that they have a great new center that will also be used for the Canada Games.
There are 750 regular curlers in Quebec and the center will cost $39.5 million. The bill for this center will be entirely borne by the taxpayers of Quebec City, since the Legault government refused to pay a subsidy which could reach $20 million.
It will be the new curling paradise and will be used for the presentation of the Canada Games in 2027. Located on rue des Rocailles, behind the Avril supermarket on rue Bouvier, there will be eight aisles, a geothermal heating system, a green roof, rest areas, bar, kitchen and ecological parking.
Construction will begin next spring and must be completed in January 2027. Delays and unforeseen events are therefore not options due to the Canadian competition, which gives rise to concerns about cost overruns. Seven months ago, the estimated cost was $28 million, by the way.
Cadillac
Curling stakeholders in Quebec speak of one of the “best” centers “in the world” and the “Cadillac” of curling centers.
The mathematical calculation is simple. If we take all 750 players and they each play for 1 hour 30 minutes, that means that almost all regular players in the region will be able to play at least once a day.
And this is without counting the three other centers in the region.
Other City projects will be delayed to ensure the construction of this center on time.
There is great excitement regarding the organization of the Canada Games. And after all the criticism from the population regarding the subsidy for the Kings, Formula 1 and the PGA, it would be frowned upon to denounce the granting of public funds for amateur sport.
But this one, honestly, leaves me doubtful in the difficult context of public finances, in the context of several of our arenas which are also struggling, in the context of several athletes of our Olympic level athletes in other sports which pay for their competitions, in the context that it is mission impossible to enroll our children in lessons to learn to swim in Quebec… And I could continue.
Bravo to the curling lobby
I am very happy for the curlers and the organizers of the Canada Games. It’s a masterstroke to have convinced the City. It is a “political choice,” confirmed the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand. But I have difficulty understanding this choice. Despite the criticism, he accepts it and emphasizes that he would do it again.
The municipal councilor of the mayor’s team, Jean-François Gosselin, said that Quebec “could have a quality sport-study worthy of the name” and that we would develop future champions.
I don’t really understand. I checked. There are no curling study sports in Quebec. There are some in racquetball, squash, ping-pong, fencing, weightlifting and handball. But not in curling. I can’t believe this is an urgent need.
Many will accuse me of not being interested in curling for writing such nonsense. But the reality is that curling doesn’t do well in Quebec. There are 10,700 regular players, which represents 7% in the country. For occasional players (10,000 in Quebec and 100,000 in Quebec), it’s around 5%. And it hasn’t changed a lot in recent years. Curling is popular in Canada, but not so much in Quebec for practice. It’s a fact.
An active city
The message from Quebec City is that we want to be an active city. It’s great. But I have doubts that $39.5 million for curling is what best serves this idea. Maybe it will suddenly create a huge curling craze. That would be fantastic. But I fear not.
An important reason, too, is that the construction of this center seems to be a condition for holding the Canada Games.
It’s really great that Quebec is organizing this for the first time since 1967. It’s always smaller cities that do it.
Two and a half years before the event, the bill has so far reached $60 million for Quebec. The last place to host the Canada Winter Games was Prince Edward Island and it cost $63 million. The previous city was Red Deer, Alberta. It cost $68 million.
The mayor estimated the economic benefits at $200 million last April. This week, he stressed at a press conference that it was more like $115 million. It is still often surprising and spectacular, the calculations for the economic impact estimates.
– With information from Stéphanie Martin, Curling Québec and Curling Canada.
