Officials and organizers from Fairbanks and the Arctic Winter Games inked an agreement Monday solidifying the Interior Alaska city as host for 2028.
The Arctic Winter Games International Committee initially selected Fairbanks as the 2028 location on July 31 and announced the decision publicly last week, but it wasn’t finalized until parties signed the agreement. The 15-page document got the signatures Monday of John Rodda, AWGIC president; John Estle, an AWGIC director from Alaska; Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins; and Fairbanks 2028 Arctic Winter Games Host Society Co-Chair Lisa Putnam and Secretary Charity Gadapee.
Following the 2026 Arctic Winter Games earlier this year in Whitehorse, Yukon, the AWGIC, then without a host city for 2028, had decided to temporarily change to a three-year cycle. But the Aug. 4 press release from the committee said a proposal from Fairbanks community leaders in the spring made it possible to return to the traditional two-year cycle.
Rodda said Monday that it’s all going to have to come together on a shorter-than-optimal timeline. He said they usually try to select a host city 30 months or so in advance. This time, it’s about 18 months. But Rodda said the committee did their due diligence to make sure Fairbanks can pull it off in March 2028, which will be the city’s fourth time hosting.
“The difference in this is that Fairbanks has a history: ‘82, ‘88 and 2014. We know they have capacity. Fairbanks is known for volunteerism. They have the infrastructure,” he said.
The Northwest Territories had been slated to hold the games in 2028, but withdrew its bid in 2024. Fairbanks last hosted the games in 2014, and they last came to Alaska in 2024, when the Matanuska-Susitna Borough hosted.
The inaugural Arctic Winter Games took place in 1970. The international sporting event and Indigenous cultural celebration attracts some 2,000 participants from countries across the circumpolar North. Sports include things like hockey and curling, as well as Dene Games, which feature events rooted in traditional cultural practices and values.
Hopkins, the borough mayor, said the area’s sports and events facilities have plenty of experience hosting large competitions, such as the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics. And he said the borough, which operates many of the larger local sports venues through its Parks and Recreation Department, will aim to plan any capital projects accordingly.
“So we’re pretty confident we’d be able to do it tomorrow, from our facilities, but we got two more years to make those improvements, and we’ll also be making sure the timing works out so nothing is accidentally closed,” he said.
Hopkins, who will be up for reelection in 2027, before the games, said venues will include public facilities across town, such as the Carlson Center, the Big Dipper Ice Arena, Birch Hill Recreation Area and school gyms. He said the games will likely lean on private facilities in Fairbanks for some events, like curling and downhill skiing.
Hopkins also said organizers will look to the borough Assembly for financial support to the tune of about $200,000 – and those aren’t the only public funds organizers will be hoping to receive.
They’re also requesting funds from the state, according to Karen Lane, the general manager for the host society, which is largely responsible for securing and handling funds, according to the agreement.
Lane said some of the big steps between now and 2028 include asking for $2 million from the Alaska Legislature, on top of $500,000 they’ve already received, in addition to other community fundraising efforts.
Then there’s also the major task of recruiting a couple thousand volunteers. As of Monday, Lane said they’d got about 50 volunteers confirmed.
“We’re just starting out,” she said.