Corbella: Frank King’s kids urge Calgary to say Yes to 2026 Olympics

Frank King’s Olympic legacy extends around the world but on Wednesday, three of his most significant legacies — his children — are waiting in a 20-minute-long line at an advance poll to vote Yes to proceed with Calgary’s bid for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Steve King, 49, is wearing the well-worn Olympic jacket he wore as a running escort alongside the Olympic torch relay back in 1988.

“We’ve got a chance to do it again,” says Steve, who was 18 during the 1988 Olympics that his late father is credited with being the driving force behind.

“I read someone’s comment and I thought it was one of the saddest things I’d ever read. Someone said they were voting no because we’ve already had our glory days and that’s past. How could you possibly feel that way?” says Steve, who not only looks like his dad but sounds like him, too.

“There’s no limit on the amount of glory we can have and why would we not want to share that with the next generation?” he says, as his siblings and Calgary 2026 president, Mary Moran, wait their turn to vote at Central Memorial Library.

Linda King Maslechko, 56, said the ’88 Games and Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympics showed that Canadians are capable of delivering financially successful Games.

“But the 2026 bid is unlike anything else before it,” Frank’s eldest child pointed out. “And the reason is we have a legacy of facilities, a legacy of expertise and a legacy of spirit that will help us to build a new modern Games where we can reduce, reuse and reinvent.”

That legacy is largely owed to her dad, who spearheaded the bid and then the running of Calgary’s 1988 Games. He is credited with many innovations, but perhaps the most significant was setting aside funding for the facilities built for those Games to keep them working for these past 30 years.

Frank King died in May at the age of 81 while training for a world seniors’ track-and-field event. His wife of 60 years, Jeanette, noted that he died with his runners on. He was going for it.

Dave King, 52, says his dad would want to tell all of Calgary to go for the Games again.

“I think my dad would say, 1988 was a tough road as well. The economy was tough, there was a lot of a negativity around the bid for the ’88 Games. And we all know how that turned out. No one says now that the ’88 Olympics was a mistake. No one. So, let’s learn from ourselves. Let’s go for it.”

The Olympics make a lot of sense financially, as well, says Dave.

“From a tax perspective, I think it’s time we got some of our tax money back. It’s our turn,” he says.

He’s right. While Calgary will pitch in only $390 million over eight years, it will receive $4.4 billion in funding from outside sources, including at least $1.1 billion from the International Olympic Committee, $1.435 billion from the federal government, which is specially earmarked for a large multi-sport event, and $700 million from the provincial government.

“My dad said to ‘go for it’ for every good thing in his life and he would say that again. I think his mind would be boggled that people are actually questioning it, to be quite honest,” says Steve.

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Later in the evening, Linda reached out via email to add some more thoughts about what her dad would have liked to say to Calgarians were he still with us.

She relayed the story recounted in May by John Furlong, president and CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games bid and organizing committee, in a column he wrote for Postmedia, reflecting on Frank King’s life and their first meeting.

“I hoped we could emulate Calgary, make Canada proud and inspire deep love of country and uncommon patriotism,” wrote Furlong. “During our first meeting, and countless questions, after a brief pause, he looked over at me and said, ‘Don’t try to emulate Calgary. Be better than us, take this as far as you can and do as much good as you can.’ “

“And today,” says Linda, “my dad would be saying exactly that: ‘You just have to go for it. And do it even better.’ He would never want us to accept anything less. It requires courage, resilience, innovation and thoughtful execution. He would never want Calgarians to stand down to those who are intent on negativity. They are not the ones who will lead this city through a recession, now or ever. Go for it, and do as much good as you can, he’d say, and that’s exactly the way he left this world.”

When it comes to his three kids, the fruit doesn’t fall far from the Frank King tree. Neither would this 2026 Olympic legacy. His successful torch is already in the hands of those who learned so much at Frank King’s side. And now the choice is up to Calgarians who will vote on Nov. 13.

It’s time to go for it.

Licia Corbella is a Postmedia opinion columnist.

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