Under the banner of Hamilton 100, the city in the province of Ontario was planning a bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, which would have been 100 years after it hosted the first edition of the event in 1930, when it was called the British Empire Games.

The 1930 Games saw 400 athletes from 11 countries compete across six sports, contesting 59 events.

Following a request from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to consider going for the 2026 edition instead, Hamilton 100 rebranded itself to the Hamilton 2026 Commonwealth Games Bid Corporation, as reported by The Canadian Press.

Spokesperson for the Bid Corporation Louis Frapporti said the coronavirus pandemic was also part of the thinking with changing their bidding plans.

"We are looking at a landscape of incredible economic suffering and looking ahead as business people to what we know will be the case," said Frapporti.

"This presents, in a bizarrely serendipitous way, an immediate path to economic revival and resurgence."

Hamilton's 2030 bid had the backing of the Federal, Provincial and Municipal Governments, but Frapporti said he was hopeful of getting similar support for their 2026 plans.

"The federals have indicated willingness for 2026, but the bid can't go before city council until the province signs on again," Frapporti said.

"Are we the city that never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity, which is what we're labelled as, or are we the ambitious city that people like to talk about?

"This is the fundamental question right now."

Hamilton's 2026 proposal is scaled down financially compared to its 2030 version, with an estimated cost of CAD 1 billion (£587 million/$714 million/€655 million) to stage the Games in 2026, compared to the projected price tag of CAD 1.5 billion (£880 million/$1.07 billion/€983 million) for the edition four years later.

The scaled down proposal plans for a reduced investment from the city, regionalised infrastructure and working alongside Toronto and Milton to deliver some of the venues.

A report published last week by the CGF highlighted examples of how the Games could boost revenue growth in a region by creating jobs, helping tourism and accelerating development projects linked to the multi-sport event.

The report, produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers, claimed hosting the Commonwealth Games has boosted gross domestic product in a host city or region by between £800 million ($980 million/€900 million) to £1.2 billion ($1.47 billion/€1.35 billion).

The report is based upon research and data from four editions of the Commonwealth Games that took place this century, with Delhi 2010 excluded, due to "less complete evidence."

The next edition of the Commonwealth Games is due to take place in Birmingham in England in 2022, with hosts for future events to be announced at the CGF's General Assembly, scheduled for later this year.