was just thinking about how much money has gone into hosting the olympics…the opening ceramony itself, and yesterday saw the white water canoe facility>plus the beautiful long course pool…man, athens must be out some serious jack.
how much do you think it cost to develop all of these facilities to host the games? and, is it really beneficial for a city to host the olympics?–it seems so expensive, how can the cost every be recovered?
people in our city were pushing to host the games>I’m thankful that it didn’t happen. we’re already putzing around with new several hundred miliion dollar football and baseball stadiums, plus the city school have a HUGE budget for building all new schools>of which is going to cost the tax payers hundreds of millions of dollars again. the olympics would have left me (and all other taxpayers) with my purse upside down, torn apart and empty.
what encourages a city to host the games–from a financial standpoint?
Actually it is very finalcially beneficial for a city to host the games. Yes, it does cost a lot up front. But right away you get all the spectators and tourists (big $$$), you get all the media (bigger $$$). But then after the games is over is where the real money begins. You have state of the art facilities that many many people will pay top dollor to use. Take Lake Placid for example, which has become an Olympic training center, people are still paying to take touristy bobsled rides. Think of all the money the city will collect in hotels and motels, restaurants, tourist attractions. All these things involve taxes. I’m sure someone else knows more about it than me, but it is definately not a financial hindrence to host the Olympic Games.
I think that we have reached a tipping point with respect to the Olympic Games and what it can do for the city and country that hosts the games.
The costs to get the games are huge( $100’s of millions). The cost to build the facilities are massive( $5 - 10 Billion). The cost to run this two week extravaganza incredible($2 billion for securty alone!!).
And then what?
What are the downstream benefits? That’s a good question. Often facilties built, turn into white elephants or are torn down. There is for a time a warm glow and enthusiasm in the host country about sport participation. This was true in Canada, as post Montreal we had some of our best international performances ever in many key Olympic sports, until they took a massive slide recently( that’s another story). Tourism? Hosting the Olympic Games certainly puts that city on the map non-stop for two weeks and that generates all kinds of direct and indirect marketing/advertising hits, but it could be years for that to really kick in.
I don’t think we will see any rationality on this front for a number of years. Bejing in four years will be completely over-the-top as the Chinese government will, spare no expense and effort try and show-case the country and their way of doing things. Of course it helps, when you operate in a dictatorship, as any oppostion to this way would be “silenced”. I suspect, that it will not be until 2012 when some sense of sanity may return to how the games are built and run. But we don’t even know the host city at this point and in this uncertain global econmy, who knows what state the finances will be in.
It all depends really. Some countries end up making money (I think LA games ended up making $232.5 million or so), while others (like Montreal) are a big flunk.
I read that Sydney is still paying for the 2000 Olympics. The costs of maintaining the Olympic venues are exceeding revenues and the taxpayers are having to shell our the money to keep them open.
From what I’ve read, Athens is getting soaked. They’re going to be paying the bill for this party for years.
I think if you have a big city that has a fair bit of infrastructure already in place, and can benefit in the long run from the infrastructure you have to add, playing host can be beneficial. Otherwise you stand to lose big money.
The Greeks will be paying for this for years, its going to take a whole bunch of people wanting to pay top dollar to see the old ruins to pay this off, on the other hand if they discover they are home to oil or diamonds that might change.
On the other hand, in China the people wont end up physically paying for it in the same way the greeks will through taxes, they just wont see any progress in their own lives as a result of it, money that could have prehaps improved their lives in some way is going to be spent on a fireworks display…
What is interesting is how much money the Chinese are willing to pay foreighn (sp?) companies to come in and show them how to clean up their mess because Beijing is an environmental disaster from a refuse / pollution point of view.
“Don’t the Olympics bring in so much revenue that the cities end up making money?” Not when it’s organized by French Canadians. Those bozos lost so much money in Montreal 76 that they’re still paying for it.
yes, I really don’t see what the benefit is to hosting. Atlanta was paying for year>but because they have millions of people living there, eventually it was absorbed.
I just don’t believe that the tourist attraction can make up for the billions of dollars spent. Plus, just because the games are in a place, doesn’t necessarily mean it will be attractive to vacationers, etc.
When you look at Athens, that white water canoeing facility, the diving pool/platforms, the long course, etc…it seems so over the top. I’m just glad that our city didn’t win the games in 2012…the games are a monstourus expense that I can’t even imagine. EVERYTHING has to be built! Plus, our city is so jacked up politically, it would probably have been an organizational/political nightmare, costing 4 times as much as estimated.
I agree that it’s hit or miss on the economic side. If done properly, it can be economically profitable for a city, but it’s a huge risk given the dollars.
Aside from that, though, I think the city and country benefit in other ways. The training facilities left behind are a huge boon to the country’s athletes. Look at how well Canada does in speed skating after hosting the winter Olympics in Calgary. I’ve read that their success is directly attributable to the new facilities built for those Olympics. It doesn’t always work out that way, but it’s definitely another asset for the host country/city.
Not when it’s organized by French Canadians. Those bozos lost so much money in Montreal 76 that they’re still paying for it.