What does this mean for Airdrie?

Residents of Calgary voted in yesterday's non-binding plebiscite whether or not put in a bid to host the 2026 Olympic Games.

The results indicated that residents of the city do not support the bid and hope that city council will not be moving forward in the process. Had the city voted to put in the bid and became the 2026 Olympics host city, Calgary would be spending approximately $5.2 billion to run it.

Peter Brown, Mayor of Airdrie, said he understands both sides of the vote but that there would have been many benefits for Airdrie if it was in favour.

"I'm not surprised by the outcome, but the opposite would have been great for all of our infrastructure and businesses. When you think back to '88, Airdrie was fully utilized for the athletes, families, and visitors to the Olympics."

Brown says another benefit of a yes vote would be a growth of jobs in our area and economic development.

"At the end of the day, I kind of wish the 'yes' side would have focused on more details of the jobs it would have created, the work that would have been done and those types of things. I think they would have had a better outcome."

The two other cities in the bidding to host the 2026 Olympics are Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and Stockholm, Sweden.