Work will begin ‘immediately’ if the Olympic bid is successful, but there are still lots of decisions to be made
It will be a couple of years before the face of the Callaghan Valley will start to change should Whistler and Vancouver win the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
But plans will be worked on and permit papers begun as soon as the celebrations are over.
Vancouver and Whistler will learn July 2 if the International Olympic Committee has chosen their bid over Pyeongchang, Korea and Salzburg, Austria.
While starting work immediately has always been the plan, said George McKay, director of the Callaghan Valley Master Plan process, a recent IOC evaluation report pointing out that a project of this magnitude may face "challenges" has underscored the necessity of getting a head start on the venue work.
"What the IOC was really suggesting was that this is a fairly big project and we recognize that this is a major project," said McKay of the $100 million project.
"If you look backwards from having to be fully functional and operational from the date of 2010, the things that need to be done, and the works that have to be built, and the planning and approval process that it has to go through, it is a reasonably tight time frame.
"We will need to be diligent in using the time that we have available to us between now and hosting the Games in 2010.
"It is not a matter of it being seven years away and we can take our time and get after it later."
It will likely take until 2005 to finalize venue plans and get all the necessary paperwork in order.
Road upgrading, paving and construction, and site preparation will begin in 2005. Venue construction will begin soon after with the complex completed sometime in 2007. Clean-up and landscaping will continue into 2008.
It’s likely, said McKay, that regional and even national events will take place over the winter of 2008-09.
Then, as prescribed by the IOC, international events would be hosted in the winter of 2009 as test events and the Games in 2010.
As well as the venues for ski jumping, Nordic combined, cross-country ski events and the biathlon there will also be waxing huts built and some sort of permanent day lodge with washroom facilities and public space. Other facilities will be constructed but it has yet to be determined if they will be permanent or temporary.
The entrance to the Callaghan is also the preferred site of the bid corp. for the Whistler athletes Olympic village.
However, said McKay, there is flexibility in the plan and the site could be moved to the Cheakamus region if the community decides that’s what is wanted.
The current plan is for the athletes village and training centre to be left as a permanent legacy after the Games. The village would be used as employee restricted housing.
If built at the Callaghan site there is potential to develop housing for up to 8,200 in the future. Estimates place the cost of development conservatively at $70 million.
The Cheakamus south site is steeper and could house up to 3,000. Developing this area is projected to cost about $27 million.
The bid’s capital projects budget includes US $29 million for development of the athletes village. The money would come from the provincial and federal governments. The balance of the money needed to build the complex would be raised through third parties.
It is unlikely the site will be chosen before next year.
"We will probably have some idea late fall and then we will work through that decision and we want to tie it into our own decision on how we are going to deal with housing in our community," said Whistler Mayor Hugh O’Reilly.
This fall the community is expected to participate in the Whistler Comprehensive Sustainability Plan and from that the resort will plan its future.
There has been on-going debate about where future employee housing should be located and the final decision on that will likely impact the site of the Olympic Village.
However, the financial bottom line is that if the resort puts employee housing at the Callaghan it can take advantage of all the infrastructure which must be built to serve the 2010 Games Nordic Centre without having to pay for it directly.
"The Olympics brings with it a revenue stream which allows us to do more things as far as paying for infrastructure and without it some of these options may not be as doable," said O’Reilly.
The Callaghan is already a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts and there are several companies operating snowmobiling and other businesses in the area.
Parts of it are also logged and a company has mineral rights, too.
And the Squamish ad Mount Currie First Nations are also involved in the project. They have already drawn up an agreement with the provincial government outlining their interests in the area.
All of these interests have had to be taken into consideration as the master plan for the venue is developed.
The idea is for everyone to co-operate, said McKay.
"It is not our intention to go in and displace the use of the valley," he said.
"The bid sees the Nordic centre as being new to the neighbourhood and we want to fit in.
"The spirit is to find out what their business operation is, what the venue operation will be, and where are the areas of co-operation are. And if there are issues of conflict how do we deal with those.
"So there are no red flags. But (there is) lots of caution about how to do it right and who we have to work with. So again, we will be following best practices in terms of construction development and operating activity. We will be mindful of who has been there and who will be there in the future and we will try to fit in on a co-operative basis and make sure this works for everyone."
Callaghan Country has been operating in the valley for 21 years. Primarily a cross-country ski touring company, it has been steadily growing and will offer hiking and mountain climbing courses and activities this summer.
In 1996 it started construction of a lodge and business has been growing steadily.
"We have signed a letter of understanding that sets out the principles upon which the entities can move forward," said Brad Sills, co-owner of Callaghan Country and a member of the bid’s working committee on the project.
If the Games are awarded to Vancouver-Whistler the impact on Callaghan Country will be significant.
Sills admits right now the details of the impact are sketchy and probably won’t be truly understood until further planning is done post a positive July 2 decision.
"We are confident that the bid corporation and the crown will follow through on their commitments in terms of respecting the company’s ambitions and I’m sure we can work out whatever that is going to look like," said Sills.
"So hopefully we won’t get crushed by the elephant."
The Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment has been closely involved in the Callaghan project.
It is generally accepted that if the Games go ahead the valley will get developed, said AWARE director Eckhard Zeidler.
That has raised questions about maintaining biodiversity in the region. The answer, says AWARE, is to create the Olympic Wildlife Refuge in the Upper Soo Valley.
"We are taking the position that if the Callaghan is going to be developed… does it makes sense that we develop one valley with human activities and recreational infrastructures while simultaneously hammering the other valley through logging it right up to the end of the valley?
"What about the wildlife? Where does the wildlife go? What are we doing about migration routes and that sort of thing?
"So if they want to develop the Callaghan, which they are gong to, we feel quite strongly that there be some sort of mitigating activity going on and that would mean just leaving the Upper Soo alone."
AWARE will be proposing the establishment of the refuge area if the bid to win the 2010 Games is successful. (See story page 16).
Experts in Nordic events have said that the Callaghan valley may be one of the best sites for these events in the world.
The ski jumps will follow the natural contours of the land, as will the cross-country trails.
Extensive environmental studies have been undertaken and have already led to the redesign of the jumps due to hydrology issues.
But so far, said McKay, the environmental side of things looks good.
Developing the venue in as green a way as possible remains the goal. There is talk of using solar powered lights for trail usage at night after the Games are over, and geothermal energy for heat in the day lodge.
"Really, now all we can do is wait until the day of the decision," said McKay, an optimistic smile flashing across his face as he knocked on wood.
