Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Folks, there's a reason why sensible democracies like Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway are backing out of Olympic bids. This isn't 1988 anymore. The cost of these global events is enormous, and becoming attractive only to dictatorships and authoritarian oligarchies. I get that ignoring the bad and hoping for only the good is part of the makeup of being a sports fan. But we're talking billions and billions of dollars here. Don't let the prospect of two weeks of happy feels saddle your kids with a public fiscal hangover that will last decades.
The Bidding For The 2022 Olympics Is A Disaster Because Everyone Figured Out That Hosting Is A Total Waste |
While I agree for the most part, I think where a lot of it breaks down is the use of existing infrastructure.
Sochi is a perfect example, they picked a terrible place and had to build everything from scratch and then no one actually lives there so its all wasted afterwards.
Those dictatorships and oligarchies are trying to show that they have money to spend and are more interested in bringing people in to show off than they are in anything else.
If Calgary decided we wanted to host the Olympics again the primary focus would have to be on what we wanted left after the party is over.
If we sunk money into COP, Winsport, a new arena, West Village redevelopment, road infrastructure, rail/transit infrastructure, etc, and all of it was left over then I could see it being potentially viable.
Assuming it doesnt go grossly over-budget as these things are prone to do.
I guess in my mind I think to myself:
If we want to do all of these projects, it will cost the City $1B. If we get them done via an Olympic bid then we'll also get other sources taking small chunks out of that bill but we get to keep the stuff and it all happens a lot sooner.
So even if the event takes a loss but the City gets some assets it could still be beneficial.