Seems Like No One Wants To Host the Olympics Anymore (1 Viewer)

[mquinnjr]

http://www.businessinsider.com/2022-olympics-host-cities-2014-5?utm_source=digg&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+businessinsider+(Business+Insider)

Also, from ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/International/host-2022-olympics/story?id=23897733

I remember going to South Africa for work a few years ago in 2012, and our co-worker who was driving us pointed at a stadium that hosted some of the 2010 World Cup satellite games near Cape Town. He said, pointing "See that stadium from the 2010 World Cup? We're knocking it down soon. Costs more to maintain than it's worth." I was shocked, and not well versed on the after effects of hosting a large-scale event like a WC/Olympiad. Makes sense, just never thought about it with a cost/profitability frame of mind.

I'm seeing more and more articles pop up on the subject of profitability of hosting an Olympics, etc. large scale event. I guess countries are deciding that hosting an Olympic games or other large event is a (generally speaking) financially bad proposition.

Is the solution to get sponsors to foot the infrastructure bill? You want to be the "official (insert product/industry) sponsor," you need to cover X% of infrastructure costs to have the privilege? I don't know where we go from here, wanted to see what the FFA had to say on it.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

 

[mquinnjr]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

I like this idea. If people/countries are in an uproar over it, well, you had the chance to host and declined. Same for sponsors

Plus, if events are decentralized, you could have closer-to 24/7 live coverage of something at almost-all times with the different time zones.

 

[grateful zed]

choose future sites that have the infrastructure to host it cost effectively.

 

[culdeus]

It's been long rumored that Salt Lake City was the ultimate long term destination for the games. It makes too much sense though.

 

[NutterButter]

choose future sites that have the infrastructure to host it cost effectively.

makes too much sense

 

[grateful zed]

if the runners ran naked like in the old days, it would boost the ratings and defray some cost.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

But there wouldn't be an Olympic Village, and we wouldn't hear about some French curler hooking up with the Jamaican bobsledding team.

 

[grateful zed]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

But there wouldn't be an Olympic Village, and we wouldn't hear about some French curler hooking up with the Jamaican bobsledding team.

i heard they had a supply of 100,000 condoms for the london games.

 

[TheIronSheik]

They should be using the same sites over and over. Places that had the Olympics could make small upgrades each time it was their turn again. The whole idea of building new facilities for 2 weeks is asinine.

 

[Slapdash]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

But there wouldn't be an Olympic Village, and we wouldn't hear about some French curler hooking up with the Jamaican bobsledding team.

i heard they had a supply of 100,000 condoms for the london games.

Right, even more reason to decentralize.

 

[mquinnjr]

They should be using the same sites over and over. Places that had the Olympics could make small upgrades each time it was their turn again. The whole idea of building new facilities for 2 weeks is asinine.

Absolutely. Just makes sense. Would love to see the IOC come away with this when they meet in a few weeks.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

But there wouldn't be an Olympic Village, and we wouldn't hear about some French curler hooking up with the Jamaican bobsledding team.

Setup villages filled with whores who are paid by the IOC? Wait, the IOC are whores... does that mean they'd be paying themselves even more?

 

[Arizona Ron]

They should be using the same sites over and over. Places that had the Olympics could make small upgrades each time it was their turn again. The whole idea of building new facilities for 2 weeks is asinine.

Makes sense on paper but good luck getting every other country to agree to that.

 

[DiStefano]

choose future sites that have the infrastructure to host it cost effectively.

You mean Kiribati is out?

 

[Arizona Ron]

They should be using the same sites over and over. Places that had the Olympics could make small upgrades each time it was their turn again. The whole idea of building new facilities for 2 weeks is asinine.

Makes sense on paper but good luck getting every other country to agree to that.

Also, even if you did it at the same site every four years the stuff still has to be maintained. I'm not sure the revenue created from a week of partying will keep the facilities intact and prepped for the next Olympics.

 

[mquinnjr]

They should be using the same sites over and over. Places that had the Olympics could make small upgrades each time it was their turn again. The whole idea of building new facilities for 2 weeks is asinine.

Makes sense on paper but good luck getting every other country to agree to that.

The ones that don't want to host it?

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

But there wouldn't be an Olympic Village, and we wouldn't hear about some French curler hooking up with the Jamaican bobsledding team.

i heard they had a supply of 100,000 condoms for the london games.

Right, even more reason to decentralize.

After training your whole life, finally getting to the Games, I think you want to party when it's over.

 

[TheIronSheik]

They should be using the same sites over and over. Places that had the Olympics could make small upgrades each time it was their turn again. The whole idea of building new facilities for 2 weeks is asinine.

Makes sense on paper but good luck getting every other country to agree to that.

The ones that don't want to host it?

Exactly.

 

[grateful zed]

After training your whole life, finally getting to the Games, I think you want to party when it's over.

"I just did it my way. I'm not a martyr, and I'm not a do-gooder. I just want to go out and rock. And man, I rocked here," Miller was quoted by Jim Litke as saying. "... It's been an awesome two weeks. I got to party and socialize at an Olympic level." bode miller

 

[OC Zed]

Brazil's growing disenchantment with hosting the World Cup:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/hope-fades-in-brazil-for-a-world-cup-economic-boost-1401242039?mod=WSJ_hp_RightTopStories

 

[The_Man]

Some cities and countries are discovering it's not always a good idea to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to construct facilities that add to the wealth of multimillionaire franchise owners/entities while providing no demonstrable benefit to the taxpayers.

And then there's Atlanta.

 

[NutterButter]

Some cities and countries are discovering it's not always a good idea to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to construct facilities that add to the wealth of multimillionaire franchise owners/entities while providing no demonstrable benefit to the taxpayers.

And then there's Atlanta.

Aren't a lot of the facilities that were used still in use?

 

[The_Man]

Some cities and countries are discovering it's not always a good idea to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to construct facilities that add to the wealth of multimillionaire franchise owners/entities while providing no demonstrable benefit to the taxpayers.

And then there's Atlanta.

Aren't a lot of the facilities that were used still in use?

Falcons are building $1.2 billion stadium that will open in 2017.

Braves got approval yesterday to build a new $622 million stadium.

 

[NutterButter]

Some cities and countries are discovering it's not always a good idea to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to construct facilities that add to the wealth of multimillionaire franchise owners/entities while providing no demonstrable benefit to the taxpayers.

And then there's Atlanta.

Aren't a lot of the facilities that were used still in use?

Falcons are building $1.2 billion stadium that will open in 2017.

Braves got approval yesterday to build a new $622 million stadium.

Oh, I thought you were talking about the facilities used in the summer olympics.

 

[OC Zed]

Some cities and countries are discovering it's not always a good idea to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to construct facilities that add to the wealth of multimillionaire franchise owners/entities while providing no demonstrable benefit to the taxpayers.

And then there's Atlanta.

Aren't a lot of the facilities that were used still in use?

Falcons are building $1.2 billion stadium that will open in 2017.

Braves got approval yesterday to build a new $622 million stadium.

Oh, I thought you were talking about the facilities used in the summer olympics.

Those were the two biggest facilities used for the 1996 games.

 

[NutterButter]

Some cities and countries are discovering it's not always a good idea to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to construct facilities that add to the wealth of multimillionaire franchise owners/entities while providing no demonstrable benefit to the taxpayers.

And then there's Atlanta.

Aren't a lot of the facilities that were used still in use?

Falcons are building $1.2 billion stadium that will open in 2017.

Braves got approval yesterday to build a new $622 million stadium.

Oh, I thought you were talking about the facilities used in the summer olympics.

Those were the two biggest facilities used for the 1996 games.

i'm confused. we talking about the new stadiums or the stadiums used in the olympics? If the ladder, my point is that those stadiums as well as the other venues were used after the games unlike a lot of the vacant winter olympic venues.

 

[OC Zed]

Some cities and countries are discovering it's not always a good idea to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to construct facilities that add to the wealth of multimillionaire franchise owners/entities while providing no demonstrable benefit to the taxpayers.

And then there's Atlanta.

Aren't a lot of the facilities that were used still in use?

Falcons are building $1.2 billion stadium that will open in 2017.

Braves got approval yesterday to build a new $622 million stadium.

Oh, I thought you were talking about the facilities used in the summer olympics.

Those were the two biggest facilities used for the 1996 games.

i'm confused. we talking about the new stadiums or the stadiums used in the olympics? If the ladder, my point is that those stadiums as well as the other venues were used after the games unlike a lot of the vacant winter olympic venues.

Yes, those two facilities were used after the games. I believe The_Man's point was that those buildings were not used to their full life expectancy and thus have become a waste of money.

 

[culdeus]

I can't wait to see what the Sochi facilities look like in 4 years. I'm betting they are rusting and falling down.

 

[Chaka]

Why would they? It's a money loser.

 

[joffer]

Why would they? It's a money loser.

Not for the billionaires

 

[Premier]

Even now with countries turning down 2022, they still have two places in line. Might not be the most desirable, but they'll get their money and building contracts and that's all the IOC cares about.

 

[Eephus]

I can't wait to see what the Sochi facilities look like in 4 years. I'm betting they are rusting and falling down.

There's going to be a Formula 1 race around the Sochi Olympic facilities this October

 

[FreeBaGeL]

As others have mentioned, why not just use areas that either have a lot of the facilities in place and will actually use the upgrades?

I don't know how different the summer olympics are, but most of the stuff here in Utah that was used for the winter olympics either used already existing facilities or have stuff that's still going strong. The ski rink is right down the street from me and it is basically the same building as it used to be, just with some olympic rings painted on the side. The ski resort I get my pass at made some sweet upgrades that made it a freaking awesome place to ski at and it is doing better now than it ever has.

 

[Maik Jeaunz]

I will host the female speed skaters.

 

[dgreen]

Why would they? It's a money loser.

And governments don't do things that are money losers?

 

[NCCommish]

The IOC is corrupt. It will not want a change because of the change in their chances to pocket cash.

With that said I love Cliffs decentralization plan.

 

[dgreen]

Washington-Baltimore is supposed to make a bid for 2024. I'd guess they'd build a main stadium, but not much else. Their bid claims to have more facilities in a 40-mile radius than any other city, so it would be strange if they then built a bunch of stuff. Fed Ex Field would be 27 years old by then. I'm sure they'd still use for events, but then tear it down afterwards. The Redskins would then use the new stadium.

And doesn't the federal government kick in a ton of money to the host city when it's in the US? If so, I'd think a ton of money would be used to upgrade the Metro system and complete some large projects earlier than planned. Those would be the main types of improvements needed to host an Olympics in the area. But I'm not sure how much could get done in less than 10 years.

 

[Tom Servo]

Some cities and countries are discovering it's not always a good idea to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to construct facilities that add to the wealth of multimillionaire franchise owners/entities while providing no demonstrable benefit to the taxpayers.

And then there's Atlanta.

Aren't a lot of the facilities that were used still in use?

Falcons are building $1.2 billion stadium that will open in 2017.

Braves got a sweetheart deal from Cobb County yesterday to build a new $622 million stadium.

Fixed

 

[heckmanm]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

So the athletes wouldn't be at the opening/closing ceremonies? Or do they travel to the "host" city first and then off to the events and then back?

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

So the athletes wouldn't be at the opening/closing ceremonies? Or do they travel to the "host" city first and then off to the events and then back?

Maybe have a ceremony in each country where event are hosted? I dunno, I didn't think about the whole pageantry/logistics of it. Hell, they could fly every athlete in on private jets for the ceremonies and still save billions.

I think it would be pretty awesome if they let the previous gold medal winners host that event ie. Canada won gold in Hockey, they host hockey next olympics. Norway wins gold in the most skiing events so they host those events next, etc.

 

[Brony]

I'd be happy to host, but we just had people over last Saturday and the place is still a little messy. Maybe next month.

 

[mquinnjr]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

So the athletes wouldn't be at the opening/closing ceremonies? Or do they travel to the "host" city first and then off to the events and then back?

Maybe have a ceremony in each country where event are hosted? I dunno, I didn't think about the whole pageantry/logistics of it. Hell, they could fly every athlete in on private jets for the ceremonies and still save billions.

I think it would be pretty awesome if they let the previous gold medal winners host that event ie. Canada won gold in Hockey, they host hockey next olympics. Norway wins gold in the most skiing events so they host those events next, etc.

You are firing on all cylinders, cliff!

I this idea.

 

[TheIronSheik]

Also, I think cities still want the Summer Games. I think it's really just the Winter Games that are so expensive to have to build all new crap.

 

[Thorpe]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

So, you want to turn the Olympics into World Cup events?

 

[culdeus]

Also, I think cities still want the Summer Games. I think it's really just the Winter Games that are so expensive to have to build all new crap.

which is why ultimately Salt Lake will be the permanent home of the winter games. Or at least every 8 years.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Have the Olympics decentralized. Hockey/Curling in Canada, Skiing in Austria, Snowboarding in the US, etc. Only host events where the facilities exist. Have the "host" city of the do the ceremony crap and little else.

So, you want to turn the Olympics into World Cup events?

Pretty much. But stick the Olympics label on it and have them all at the same time and people will actually care.

 

[roadkill1292]

to Cliff's outside the box thinking here. It would work because of tv. TV doesn't care if an event is 300 yards or 3,000 miles away from the other events.

 

[Don Quixote]

Washington-Baltimore is supposed to make a bid for 2024. I'd guess they'd build a main stadium, but not much else. Their bid claims to have more facilities in a 40-mile radius than any other city, so it would be strange if they then built a bunch of stuff. Fed Ex Field would be 27 years old by then. I'm sure they'd still use for events, but then tear it down afterwards. The Redskins would then use the new stadium.

And doesn't the federal government kick in a ton of money to the host city when it's in the US? If so, I'd think a ton of money would be used to upgrade the Metro system and complete some large projects earlier than planned. Those would be the main types of improvements needed to host an Olympics in the area. But I'm not sure how much could get done in less than 10 years.

That would make sense. They can build a new stadium where RFK currently is. Traffic would be a nightmare, but that is probably the biggest concern.

The IOC seems to put practicality low on its list of criteria though.

 

[ummich10]

I wouldn't miss anything about either of the Olympics if they just ended.