THUNDER BAY - Blair McIntosh couldn’t finish his sentence before he was bombarded with cheers.
The Special Olympics vice-president on Friday announced Thunder Bay was successful in its bid to host the 2020 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games.
“This a wonderful moment for our community,” said Paul Burke, the city's special events developer.
“It’s a win all-around.”
The news sent the crowd of about a dozen Special Olympic athletes gathered at Thunder Bay city hall for the conference call announcement into a frenzy.
“Thunder Bay showed that they wanted these games very badly,” McIntosh said. “The community support for this bid was tremendous.”
“I knew from the very get-go that we were going to nail it,” said Special Olympics ambassador James Matijasic.
The Heart of Gold campaign that lobbied for the Games to be held in the Lakehead was a success, and now Thunder Bay will have a lot to look forward to in the city's 50th golden anniversary year.
“The work starts next week,” Burke said jokingly.
“It was a lot, but I think we came through for the community of Thunder Bay. You saw it today - when our local Special Olympians are in the house the excitement is high.”
Those athletes are looking forward to the home-field advantage when they compete in three years.
“Since Thunder Bay was a small city, I never thought we could hold a big competitive event for 2020,” said basketball player Edwin McCauley. “2020 is going to be excellent.
In terms of economic impact, Burke expects a “much, much higher” total compared to the $5.4 million earned at last year’s games in Corner Brook, N.L., due to the addition of bowling.
He is predicting that 750 volunteers will be needed, a similar figure to the 2011 provincial games that were held in Thunder Bay.
"This community really comes together for Special Olympics," Burke said.