Winsport Canada shocked city won't buy land

Winsport Canada says it is shocked and disapointed by Calgary city council's decision to turn down a multi-million-dollar offer to purchase a parcel of land near Paskapoo Slopes.

WinSport Canada, the non-profit organization that operates Canada Olympic Park, wanted to sell the parcel of land to the city as parkland.   

City council debated the proposal behind closed doors on Monday before voting against the purchase.

The exact price wasn't made public, but Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the cost didn't make sense.

"Council pretty much decided that we weren't able at this time to reallocate funds from other priorities," he said.

In an email released to media on Tuesday, WinSport says it's worked on the proposal for three years and is now back at square one.

WinSport says it's spent three million dollars on reports and believes it has done everything the city wanted.

Last month the city turned down WinSport’s proposal to build a major big-box style retail development on the site.

WinSport can still pursue redevelopment on the land, but only within the bounds of a 2005 permit which envisioned offices, condos and smaller-scale retail.