...have an Olympics in Chicago in 2016. Let Madrid or Rio or Cairo or whoever wants it have it.
The committee that wants to bring the Olympics to the Windy City will be off to Copenhagen next week to make their pitch to the IOC. Do us a favor. Stay home.
Chicago really is missing a lot of the facilities required to throw a decent Summer Games. And the venues necessary for certain of the events probably won't get used after the Games. We'd need a bigger stadium than the 65,000-70,000 seat Soldier Field for the ceremonies and track and field events-but the Bears probably don't need (and wouldn't buy) a 100,000 seat stadium somewhere else in town. There isn't a good venue for swimming events. Probably the best pool is the IUPUI (Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis) natatorium, but Indy is a good three hours from the Loop. And I don't think the powers-that-be in Chicago want to share the financial pie with a bunch of rural Hoosiers. There's no place to have cycling events, though I might suggest routing the cyclists through some of the rough neighborhoods on the South Side. I suppose rowing events could be held in Lake Michigan.
But it will be a financial boon to the city and state!
No it won't. We'd possibly get a bump in construction jobs to build the necessary facilities and infrastructure, and a lot of service jobs for the few weeks of the Games, and after that...probably not much. It isn't like they're going to get the Olympics every dozen years or so. Also, yes-people will come to the city and spend money... but that will be more than offset in the cost of all that security (Chicago Police, Cook County Sheriff, Illinois State Police, Illinois National Guard) and all of those new buildings-which cost will be overinflated because, well, it's Chicago and everyone will want their share, if you know what I mean.
Olympic Games are notorious money-losers. I believe Montreal just finished paying for their games (from 1976!) and all they have to show for it is the monstrosity that is Olympic Stadium, a horrific pit of a place that was so bad that the Expos left town to go play in that graveyard of baseball teams, Washington, DC.
The committee that's pushing for the Games promises that the taxpayers of Illinois won't be stuck with a big tab for all of the things they have planned for 2016. Of course. And I've a parcel of prime land in the Everglades to sell you. I don't see corporations ponying up and getting in line to hand checks out for all the stuff they want to build. It'll be an icy cold day in a Brisbane February if we taxpayers don't get handed a bill for all this neat crap the Olympics require.
But the Games will put Chicago on the map and make people all over aware of the city!
OK, readers. Everyone who's heard of Chicago, Illinois, raise your hand. All of you? I thought so. Doesn't appear to be a problem with name recognition.
I think Mayor Daley II simply wants the games to cap his reign as Hizzoner. Really, I don't think the average Chicagoan wants the Games in town and a lot of us downstaters don't want to pay for it. It's hard enough to get around the city when the Cubs and White Sox are both at home. What's it going to be like when 110,000 more people come to town? It'll be like Honolulu-only with a European instead of a Japanese accent.
I'm told that there is a party atmosphere when the Olympics roll into town. I'd rather celebrate a Cub victory in the World Series, a Bears win in a Super Bowl, or see the Blackhawks hoist Lord Stanley's Milk Jug. There's your big party and victory rally! The price tag for the bash ain't worth it.
Here's to Tokyo, Rio, or West Brazzaville getting the 2016 Olympics! I don't think we need it here.
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And in other news, rumor has it Charlotte the Harlot (from the carnival post a few days back) and her family are looking to exercise their right to freedom of religion and find another church home. That's probably for the best for them.
To think that I confronted her and caused her to blow up and make an ass of herself! Yet another set of lives disrupted by yours truly!
If I vex some of you at times-I don't want to hear it. I've made waves with better people than you all! :)
yankeedog (Quality Disruptions Since 1966) out.
I'm with you YDog, I think the majority of punters don't want these circuses and certainly don't want to be handed the bill for them.
ReplyDeleteSydney 2000 was one of the better run games (allegedly - the 'mockumentary' series The Games which was made in the late 90s actually turned out to parallel a lot of the minor planning disasters which happened within the Sydney Olympic Games Organising Committee offices) but Sydney and NSW are effectively still paying for those games - the NSW economy, usually the powerhouse of the country (largest state with the largest city) has been very sick for years. It's a good show, but it costs. A city like Chicago probably doesn't need the profile building (then again did Sydney?) In messy economic times it's probably not the best time to try these things on - ask the Londoners.
ReplyDeleteGo YD! Go YD! I reckon your church will make you Bishop or Pope or whatever churches do when one of their members do something good!
ReplyDeleteScrew the Olympics, just make Blue Brothers 3 and make it good this time not like Blues Brothers 2000. I want to visit Illionis just because of the Blues Brothers.
Bangar-If it were just the Games, people might be interested. But the Opening and Closing Ceremoniew are huge and have to be tremendously expensive.
ReplyDeleteDoc-I think most people have heard of Sydney. No image problem there. Sounds like NSW is to Australia as California is to the US. Same economic problem.
I do wonder if city leaders consider what a logistics strain an Olympic Games are?
Naut-I just want the church and most of the people in it to leave me alone!
Any Blues Brothers movie will not be as good as the original! One of my fave flicks there. All those old ISP and Chicago Police cars wrecked! Outstanding music and the best car chases ever!
Some parts of the Chicagoland area are still about the same as when that movie was made. Lotsa cool stuff here in Illinois. You must try to come here sometime!