Moncton, Saint John take another step forward in bid to co-host 2029 Canada Summer Games

Canada Games council officials were in Moncton and Saint John this week to evaluate the cities' bid to host the 2029 Games. 

"There's a number of standards and criteria that we're looking at in terms of assessing the viability of the bid," Catherine Gosselin-Després, chair of the bid evaluation committee, said.

"Making sure that all the due diligence is done and then basically being able to be in a position to award — once all of that is completed. So that's what we're doing."Moncton and Saint John submitted their bids roughly a month ago. 

Bill MacMackin, co-chair of the joint bid committee, representing Saint John, said the Canada Games council will be assessing various aspects of the bid proposal— from marketing approaches to budgets. 

"It's more of a valuation of our team and the strategy we've built around the hosting, the athlete experience, the legacy we expect to leave both for the Canada Games, but also for our region and our capacity to deliver that as a host committee." MacMackin said.

WATCH | The Games are an opportunity to promote the province and region, says bid committee:

Moncton, Saint John under the microscope in bid to co-host Canada Games

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Canada Summer Games officials toured Moncton and Saint John this week to assess the cities’ viability to co-host the Games in 2029.

"So the financial, the marketing, the communications, the transportation pieces and all those aspects — they're kind of testing our plan to see whether we've got our act together and could deliver an excellent games."

The joint bid allows the two cities to share financial risks while taking advantage of a range of existing facilities — such as Saint John's Canada Games Aquatic Centre, which was constructed when the city hosted the 1985 Games.

The partnership also allows for a broader range of potential sponsors. 

The estimated cost is $40 million, with municipal, provincial and federal funding, as well as sponsorships.

The bid committee has previously said that the games are projected to benefit local economies by roughly $200 million. 

The Canada Games are slated to run for two weeks and will feature 16 to 20 sports. About 4,600 athletes, coaches and managers and more than 5,000 volunteers are expected to take part.

The winning bid will be officially revealed in April.