According to Canada’s CBC, the Southern-Ontario hub of Windsor is revealing more details about their bid to host either the 2016 or 2018 World Championships.
Their consideration was revealed two months ago, when they joined cities like Eindhoven, Houston, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi among 7 confirmed bidders for the two meets.
The details of this bid make this a scary proposition for Windsor. Long course World Championships are hard enough to profit off of (they can just ask their neighbors in Montreal about that), but the short course event can be an even bigger money pit.
But the city of Windsor has swimming fever, and might thus be overlooking that fact.
They are working on construction of a $75 million aquatics centre, but that centre isn’t adequate to host the meet. Instead, they will attempt to use a temporary pool in the WFCU Centre that can fit 6,500 fans in a hockey format (its primary function).
The City Council, which met recently to discuss the bid, estimates that it will have to invest another $10 million into hosting the meet (though that seems low). They are relying on major support from nearby Detroit, whose airport sits 30 miles across the Canadian border. The Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau is interested in joining the bid, which would certainly attract much more international attention.
It’s hard to imagine how this bid would be successful, however. Windsor has somewhat of a tourism injury, but it is in the same boat as Detroit with regard to the closing of many auto plants and the toll that has taken on the local economy. Further, any cross-border cooperation in hosting this event adds a new level of complication.
What’s more, internationally it would be nearly impossible to fly directly into Windsor; this would mean most would fly into Detroit and either take a short-hop flight or ground transportation to the Canadian side (though that would mean a second trip through customs).
On the positive side, it would create a unique collaboration between two different countries, which would give some cultural diversity and drag in some extra enthusiasm and name recognition for the city of Windsor.
There is still much shouting to be done on the matter before FINA is even close to ready to name their choice, but I’d put even money that the meet doesn’t end up in Windsor. There are other options that might make better choices, including Toronto, who will already be revamping its facilities to host the 2015 Pan Am Games.
Ugh, Windsor is an ugly, flat city with absolutely nothing to see. Please reconsider. Also, I don`t think they even have a 25m pool there.
Quit trolling please
true, windsor is flat with a beautiful Detroit skyline but they do have a half dozen 25 yard indoor pools at the high school level. Some even have six lanes!!
Correction, 2nd week of September 😉
Windsor’s status as a bidder isn’t necessarily in stone as yet. The meeting held last night was to determine if City Council was interested in bidding. A final report is scheduled to come before City Council the 2nd week of December, at which time a final decision will be made on whether or not to move forward. At this point, community support could be described as tepid at best. Most are waiting to see the business case with some real numbers as opposed to the sales pitch we received last night.
Getting to Windsor from anywhere would be EZ Peezy and shouldn’t be on the list of the top 1000 things to worry about for the swimming community. Also, it’s great that the guy with “Windsor Auditor General” beside his name appears to be firmly on board, even monitoring swim websites. These are usually the guys who are last on board, aren’t they? (bet anyone a dollar he’s a committed masters swimmer or swim dad)
Having another North American bid is terrific news for North American based swimmers and I’m sure the Northern Michigan and Southern Ontario swimming communities would do a great job co-hosting this thing.
BTW, I found this line curious ” Instead, they will attempt to use a temporary pool in the WFCU Centre” I’m not sure what you mean by attempt? Manchester used temporary pools as will Houston (from your own post) as I’m sure some of the other cities will. There are actually some distinct advantages to hosting it in such a venue such as the jumbotron, lighting and other amenities that aren’t available in a traditional aquatic centre with enough seating to host the event.
A couple points to consider. For those flying from or through Europe, flying into Windsor via Toronto is not an issue, although not direct. Air Canada, Westjet and Porter (regional airline) all fly into Windsor. The time from Detroit Metro to downtown Windsor is approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Not exactly an unheard of time to travel from an airport to a city core.
The Aquatic Centre is slated to be completed in June 2013 in time for the International Children’s Games that Windsor is hosting in August of 2013.
Detroit and Windsor have a history of collaborating on events. We did so for the Superbowl, Final 4, Detroit Grand Prix and the 1st International Red Bull Air… Read more »
All good points. The Manchester Arena also has seating for 21,000 people, though.
I think the Detroit Marathon once went through Windsor.
Quick fact check here – The aquatic centre has not yet been completed – part of it is slated to be finished by next summer. And Detroit isn’t 30 miles away – you could throw a rock at it from Windsor across the river if you had a good arm.
Lindsay – just to clarify, the Detroit airport into which most international visitors would fly is 30 miles from downtown Windsor.