The Canadian city is among three contenders to stage the Games in eight years’ time.

But with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) expected to name the host in fewer than 12 months, a report by Vancouver City Council has suggested that time is against it when looking to get behind a formal bid.

Karen Levitt, deputy city manager of Vancouver City Council, claimed that staff were currently "not in a position to provide a definitive recommendation" for Council bosses to back the bid for the 2030 Games.

"It is staff’s view that in order for Council to provide such a negotiating mandate to staff, Council would need to have a clear understanding of the proposed funding, operating, indemnification and governance models for the proposed BC [British Columbia] bid," Levitt wrote in the report.

"None of these are currently in place."

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee have outlined proposals for a British Columbia bid they support.

Representatives of the Lil̓wat7úl (Líl̓wat), xwmə kwəy’əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) people - making up the four host First Nations groups - are working with the two organisations.

But Levitt said that the Host Nations Exploratory Assembly - the group responsible for formulating the bid - had yet to publicly announce whether or not it recommend pushing ahead with the project and claimed that the financial, indemnification and governance models were "not yet known".

"The absence of a clear senior government commitment to indemnify the event represents a material difference in context for Vancouver, relative to the 2010 Games," Levitt wrote.

"Given the magnitude of the potential liability, it would not be feasible for the City to sign on as Host City for the 2030 Winter Games without being appropriately indemnified."

Levitt claimed that the timeline for the COC to submit a bid was "extremely compressed", leaving relevant parties with little time to negotiate legal terms.

"It is staff’s view that there is insufficient time for the requisite work to be done by staff to evaluate the potential benefits, costs and risks to the City, and to negotiate the necessary legal agreements by the COC’s deadline of December 2022," said Levitt.

It was revealed last week that staging the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Canada could cost up to CAD4 billion (£2.57 billion/£3.1 billion/€3 billion) including around CAD1.2 billion (£772 million/$928 million/€910 million) in taxpayers' money.

Costs for venues and security are estimated to be significantly lower than when Vancouver last held the Games in 2010, but the money required to fund the development of Athletes’ Villages is forecasted to be more.

The City Council report outlines a series of potential benefits of the 2030 Games, including reconciliation, economic and infrastructure and investment.

But Levitt admitted there were "substantial concerns" over the Council’s staff capability to host the Olympics and Paralympics with Canada also preparing to stage FIFA World Cup matches in 2026, the 2023 Laver Cup and the 2025 Invictus Games.

"City staff is currently facing an unprecedented workload, and at the same time, is dealing with the same pandemic-related staff attraction and retention issues that are ubiquitous across North America and other parts of the world right now," added Levitt.

"It is staff’s view that - without substantial incremental investments in staff resources - the City’s organisation does not currently have the capacity to take on the planning and preparation for the 2030 Winter Games."

The report also cited a municipal election scheduled in October as a complicating factor and suggested Vancouver City Council would not be able to endorse staging the Winter Olympics and Paralympics until after voting had taken place.

The 2030 Games are set to be the first Winter Olympics and Paralympics awarded under the new process whereby the IOC engages in targeted approach with selected countries, as opposed to traditional bidding races.

Its Future Host Commission identifies and proposes a preferred candidate to the Executive Board, which can then recommend the bid be put forward to a vote at an IOC Session.

Sapporo in Japan and Salt Lake City in the United States have also express interest in staging the Games in 2030, with the host due to be confirmed at the IOC Session in Mumbai in either May or June next year.

Sapporo appears the frontrunner, with US officials admitting in recent weeks that 2034 may be a better time for Salt Lake City to be host, given Los Angeles is set to hold the Summer Games in 2028.

A Barcelona-Pyrenees bid emanating from Spain has been abandoned in the wake of political infighting.

The full report from Vancouver City Council can be read here.