Calgary's WinSport confirmed that he had died of corticobasal degeneration, a rare, progressive, degenerative neurological disease that primarily affects speech, motor function and balance.

As a member of the Calgary Booster Club in 1978, Niven, along with Frank King, were the first two to raise their hand when officials began soliciting interest in bringing the Olympic Games to Calgary.

"They were really the key drivers to get the bid going, they were the sort of force behind it," said Alf Fischer, who was involved in Alberta Alpine skiing and worked with Niven throughout the Games, later becoming his business partner.

"He had quite an impact on the city and made Calgary a formidable sports city.

"The legacy of high-performance sport and the legacy of Olympic sport would not be the same without Bob’s vision and his ability to get it done."

Niven led Calgary’s fourth bid to get the Winter Olympics following unsuccessful campaigns for 1964, 1968 and 1972.

Niven and King consulted former Olympic sprinter Ernie McCullough, the founder of the Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA) and politician Arthur Ryan Smith, who had worked on previous bids, for guidance on the project.

In October 1979, CODA secured the support of the Canadian Olympic Association, as they were then called, for Canada's official bid to host the 1988 Winter Olympics, winning over a competing bid by Vancouver with a vote of 27–9.

Calgary's bid was ambitious, as the city lacked winter sports facilities, and everything would have to be built from scratch.

CODA proposed constructing all new venues, arguing that if Calgary was awarded the Games, Canada's inventory of training facilities would increase significantly.

CODA then spent two years building local support for the megaproject, selling CAD$5 (£3/$3.75/€3.50) memberships to approximately 80,000 of Calgary's 600,000 residents.

Calgary also secured CAD$270 million (£162 million/$201 million/€188 million) in funding from the Federal and Provincial Governments.

Civic leaders, including then-Mayor Ralph Klein, travelled around the world to lobby International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegates.

The arrival of the National Hockey League's newly relocated Calgary Flames from Atlanta in 1980 drove the city to construct an arena that would later be named the Olympic Saddledome, demonstrating to the IOC Calgary's determination to host the Games.

Niven’s efforts paid off at the IOC Session at Baden-Baden in 1981 when Calgary beat its rivals, Falun from Sweden and Italy’s Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Cortina were eliminated in the first round of the election before Calgary polled 48 votes to Falun’s 35 in the second round.

After the vote, Niven, a businessman in the oil and gas industry, spent 12 years in various volunteer roles at Calgary 1988, including as vice-chairman of the Organising Committee, dedicating his time to ensure the success of the Games.

He also made significant contributions as chairman of the CODA, which now operates as WinSport, the organisation said.

Fischer claimed that Niven's legacy is visible across the city through facilities and buildings that he had a hand in developing, including the Saddledome and the Olympic Oval.

The training centre at Canada Olympic Park, long-known as a "medal factory" for Canadian winter athletes prior to the opening of the Markin MacPhail Centre, bears his name as the Bob Niven Training Centre.

Niven was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

"Bob was a true Calgary sporting icon, who selflessly devoted so much of his time to amateur sport,” WinSport said in a statement.

"[He] was instrumental in Calgary hosting the 1988 Winter Olympic Games and ultimately the reason for WinSport existing as it does today."

Reflecting on the 1988 Winter Olympics in a Calgary Herald opinion column in 2018, Niven wrote it was difficult to pull the event together due to financial problems, but claimed the Games succeeded through the city’s support.

"The 1988 Olympics were a stunning success and Calgary now serves as a model to the world," Niven wrote at the time.

Niven, who died on May 26, leaves behind his wife Margie and daughters Christina and Jennifer.

A celebration of life for family, friends and colleagues is scheduled to take place in Calgary on June 12.

King, who served as chief executive of Calgary 1988 following the successful bid, had died at the age of 81 in November 2018.