The city won’t be playing official host to the 2016 Arctic X Games.

Local facilities, however, are slated to take a leading role, and Games officials are asking for support in the form of arena space for the event.

The request is valued at approximately $50,000.

City council was asked to support the bid for in-kind support, with hockey, figure skating and speedskating set to take place in city facilities.

Additionally, the Whitehorse Curling Club would hold curling. The Polarettes gymnastics facility would be the site for the gymnastics competition.

Dog mushing events would happen at the Mt. Lorne Recreation Centre for the multi-sport event, set to draw athletes from the circumpolar regions.

Facilities have already been tentatively booked in preparation for the Games, but in-kind support will have to be approved by council and accounted for in the 2016 budget.

Support arrangements with other groups involved are also being negotiated.

Other issues to be dealt with include whether dog teams will be transported to Whitehorse for their respective athletes or local dog teams will be used by athletes competing in dog mushing events.

Other sites around the city are also playing various roles with the Games.

Sport Yukon president George Arcand told council Monday evening athlete accommodation has been secured at Porter Creek Secondary School.

Yukon College is slated to provide food services, with food brought from there to the school every day.

A school bus contract is slated to be arranged for athlete transportation.

Development and planning for the multi-sport event began after it was announced in 2013 the six sports that will be part of the Arctic X Games were being dropped from next year’s Arctic Winter Games (AWG) set for Nuuk, Greenland.

As Linda Rapp, the city’s director of community and recreation services, stated in a report to council Monday night: “There was a very negative reaction from the sport community regarding the sports that would be cut and the loss of a multi-sport experience for 400 to 600 athletes.”

With that, work began to find an alternative for the six sports that were dropped from AWG.

Last month, the Yukon government announced it would commit $100,000 to the Arctic X Games to take place in Whitehorse, though not hosted by the city.

The host society is made up of Sport Yukon and the governing bodies of the six sports.

Though not affiliated with the AWG, the Arctic X Games will happen at the same time the AWG are underway March 5-12, the first week of next year’s spring break for Yukon students.

All contingents have confirmed they will be sending athletes, Arcand told council.

He acknowledged, however, that “there are some issues” for Alberta around depressed world oil prices, the province’s new budget and an election set for next month.

Similarly, Alaska is facing some budgetary issues due to changes in the oil industry.

As it stands though, all five contingents are slated to send athletes to the territory.

Along with Alaska, northern Alberta and the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut would be represented at the inaugural Arctic X Games.

In putting forward the recommendation that council supports the Games through in-kind support of facility use, Rapp noted in her report: “The city has always supported the AWG, and although these Games will not be officially linked to the AWG, the 400 to 600 participating athletes will always remember their multi-sport experience in Whitehorse.

“The Games will be a boost to the Whitehorse economy. Local businesses will see increased activity from the athletes, athlete care and comfort services that will be required and from parents and siblings that often travel to watch participating athletes.

“There is no other community that can take on the provision of this alternative to the AWG for these athletes.”

Coun. Jocelyn Curteanu said she’s pleased the 400 to 600 athletes left out of the AWG will get to experience a multi-sport event through the Arctic X Games.

Coun. Dave Stockdale, however, quickly argued that in-kind support for many events around town “all adds up for the city.”

He said he’d like to see just how much it costs the city over a period of time to provide the services it does through in-kind help. That can include anything from facility rental (as is the case here) to street closures and the administrative work to make those arrangements.

Valerie Anderson, the city’s acting director of corporate services, said she will provide some examples on the cost of in-kind services to council by next week.

Stockdale added that while major events can help the local economy, with more people in town spending money at local businesses, the city itself doesn’t always benefit directly from that cash infusion.

Similarly, Coun. Betty Irwin commented it’s “almost impossible” to quantify how much comes cash infusion comes into the city from a single event.

Council will vote next week on whether to support the Games through in-kind facility use.