The Kenai Peninsula wants to play with the big boys. The borough plans to bid to host the 2006 Arctic Winter Games.
Andrew Carmichael, head of parks and recreation for the city of Soldotna, outlined the plans at the Tuesday meeting of the Greater Soldotna Chamber of Commerce.
"The games are mini Olympics for the people of the North," he explained.
Carmichael was one of four peninsula people who traveled in March to the 2002 games divided between Nunavut, Canada, and Greenland. Although some of the delegation were proud parents of participating athletes, the group also went to learn about the games and begin lobbying games officials.
"Our expectations were far surpassed," he said.
Originally Soldotna planned to bid for the games on its own. But after learning about the scope, boosters now plan to have the peninsula as a whole submit a bid.
They have plenty of homework to do.
On Oct. 15, they will submit the bid paperwork. Carmichael estimated it will be 300 to 400 pages long. They are working with a consultant who has guided previous successful bids.
The primary focus is the comfort and well-being of the young athletes from Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia.
Carmichael said the committee working on the bid is confident that the Kenai Peninsula can demonstrate that it would be the best site.
Competition for the games will be fierce. Alaskans are in line to host the 2006 games, but Fairbanks, Juneau and the Matanuska valley each are planning bids of their own. The competing Alaska groups gave each other the cold shoulder at the March event.
"This bid thing is a serious business," Carmichael said. "They weren't happy to see us, and they knew we could kick their butts."
The Kenai Peninsula needs to woo the 13 members of the committee that oversees the games.
If the initial bid documents pass muster, the committee will tour the peninsula and its facilities. The final decision is expected in March 2003.
The 2004 Arctic Winter Games already have been assigned to Alberta, Canada. The games include indoor and outdoor sporting events plus associated cultural and social activities. They began in 1970 and have grown ever since.
Hosting them would be a huge endeavor.
"What do we need from the community? Three thousand volunteers, to start," Carmichael told the chamber crowd.
More athletic facilities could enhance the possibility of getting the games. Specifically, lack of ice space, a downhill ski slope and a multipurpose area suitable for games such as indoor soccer could be weak points of the application, but the peninsula has areas and resources that could develop such facilities between now and 2006, he said.
Any hassles and expense would be justified, he said.
"The economic benefits are immense, no doubt," he said.
Estimates from other towns that have hosted the event are that it brings about $4 million into the area economy from the influx of thousands of winter visitors.
But the benefits go beyond the monetary, Carmichael said.
Hosting the games would spur the development of recreational facilities residents could enjoy long after the games are gone. But even more importantly, the games generate a spirit of goodwill and camaraderie both among the international participants and among the involved residents of host areas.
"It brought the community together," he said.
