FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) – Fairbanks has been chosen by the Arctic Winter Games International Committee to host the 2028 Arctic Winter Games.
The committee, comprising two representatives from each geographical area that participates in the games, originally planned to hold the games in Northwest Territories, Canada, before switching gears when it became clear that the hosts would not be able to pull of an event in the expected timeframe, according to Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins.
The news gives the Fairbanks community one and a half years to prepare for the upcoming event, less than the typical three years which locations have to get things in order.
Hopkins expressed excitement over the opportunity to organize and host the games.
“We did it once a decade ago and we’ll be able to do it again,” he said. “I have all the faith in this community that we can step up.”
The Arctic Winter Games, usually held every two years, bring together teams of athletes and cultural representatives from eight different circumpolar regions across the world, including Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia.
Games include hockey, volleyball, speed skating, table tennis and cross-country skiing.
Planning for the event is being done by the Fairbanks 2028 Arctic Winter Games Host Society, which when fully formed, will be composed of between 11 and 14 staff members, overseen by a Board of Directors which includes representatives from a variety of entities around the Interior, including Usibelli Coal Mine, Explore Fairbanks, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the school district and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Karen Lane, General Manager of the host society, said this group began forming in July in order to hit the ground running if the community was accepted to host the games.
Now, their responsibility is to raise the $6 million it costs to host the games, plan events including the opening and closing ceremonies and organize an army of 2,000 volunteers to help festivities run smoothly.
“Volunteering, not only do you get to meet people from everywhere, you get to meet Fairbanksans, too, that you maybe have never met before, and it’s just exciting,” Lane said. “Right now, you can still find people in the winter wearing their coats from 2014, their volunteer coats.”
Fairbanks last hosted the games in that year, and Lane said many of the same venues from 2014, including the Carlson Center, the Big Dipper Ice Arena, school gyms and Birch Hill Recreation Area, will host games and events in 2028.
When the event kicks off in March 2028, over 2,000 Arctic athletes from across the northern world are expected to arrive in Fairbanks, along with another 5,000 friends, family, volunteers, tourists and spectators.
“It’s just like a big celebration. It’s exciting. There’s a lot of excitement in town, you know? We put out welcome signs. When people come to the airport, they get greeted with bands and music and just welcoming everyone,” Lane described.
Organizers expect these visitors to have an $8 million impact on the community by buying local food and souvenirs and staying in hotel rooms across the Interior.
Athletes themselves will be housed at schools across the borough.
Hopkins specified that in order for the event to be successful, “We’ll need a little bit of additional funding from the assembly and a fair bit of additional funding from the state legislature and the governor at the time to make sure that the games are supported from the state level and the local level.”
On Monday, a representative from the Arctic Winter Games International Committee will meet with the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the host society to sign an official agreement designating Fairbanks as the host location.
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