Organizers of Boston’s 2024 Olympic host bid have reformatted their plan as a massive city development project, though some have criticized the expanded plan as “incomplete.”
This week, Boston 2024 organizers announced a plan that would tie a hosting of the 2014 Olympic Games to a huge infrastructure development for the city, with particular focus on two neighborhoods.
The Boston Globe lays out the plan here, noting that organizers have focused on the Widett Circle and Columbia Point neighborhoods in particular. The expanded Boston plan would give large city tax breaks to developments in the two neighborhoods leading up to the Olympic Games, enlarging the neighborhoods, adding new hotels and other amenities, and creating a new city park that would temporarily house the Olympic stadium during the 2024 Games.
The plan would also include $775 million from taxpayers, going towards transportation projects. The bid committee, though, says those projects would have to be undertaken at some point regardless of whether the city won the Olympic bid or not.
The argument, of course, is that the new developments would provide Boston with steady economic improvement into the future, helping ease the enormous financial burden that goes along with hosting the Olympic Games.
That’s been the major criticism from Bostonians of the 2024 Olympic bid, echoing the current trend within swimming, specifically, in which FINA has struggled to find hosts for major events due to massive costs associated with those events.
Boston organizers are countering that argument with a projected operating budget for the Games, which they say could actually make about $210 million more than it loses, based on a projection of $4.8 billion in revenues, split between sponsorships, broadcast fees, ticket sales and other similar avenues. The bid committee’s chairman, Steve Pagliuca, even said in the Globe piece that he found those projections to be on the conservative side.
But not everyone has reacted positively to the new, expanded plan. Katharine Q. Seelye wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times today criticizing the plan for having multiple major holes: no official insurance company lined up yet (and willing to play ball for the amount the bid has budgeted out for insurance), the land for the athlete village and Olympic stadium not yet being purchased and the plan revolving around reduced real estate taxes that the city government would have to agree to.
Seelye also notes that 8 of the 33 venues necessary to host the Olympic Games haven’t yet been identified – and among them is an aquatic center to host the swimming events.
It’s still early in the process, and the Boston bid has time to figure some of those issues. But the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) must officially decide on its bid city by this coming September, meaning if the Boston bid begins to look unrealistic, or if the committee struggles to inspire local support, the USOC could theoretically look for a different city in which to make its bid to the International Olympic Committee.
The LA Times reported yesterday (based on some anonymous sources) that Los Angeles could jump back into the ring for the U.S. bid if Boston’s plan falters. Boston beat out Los Angeles for rights to the U.S. bid in early 2015.
As much fun as it’d be to have the Olympics here, there’s no way it wouldn’t turn into a major fustercluck. Too many things to build, too difficult to get around.
I agree Steve, from my 13 years living in Beantown and frequent visits back there. Too many “ifs”. Remember the seemingly endless “Big Dig??” Now living in the L.A. area for almost 15 years, I’d sadly have to say the same about here. In the 30 years since the ’84 Olympics, the population and traffic congestion have exploded, and the public transportation system is still terrible, mired in politics. The city and county are on shaky ground financially and can’t afford the risk. The city of Long Beach wouldn’t even consider having the swimming Olympic Trials there again after losing money on it in 2004 despite very good attendance and high ratings from swimmers, fans, and coaches alike.
Liquidassets…I would be not surprised if Long Beach would indeed at least consider having the swimming Olympic Trials again. Hopefully, there were some lessons learned in 2004 that would prevent a loss the next time around.
I literally almost mentioned the Big Dig as how Boston construction projects go. I dunno how comparable the two things would be (I was but a babe during the Big Dig) but the best predictor of the future is the past, soooo not a good sign.
I do like how they’re already putting in plans for what all the sites would be used for after the games, though. That’s almost more important than the games themselves, as that’s what’s gonna be there for…forever?
I’m really excited about this plan and the prospect of Boston hosting the Olympics in 2024! Thanks for this report, Jared!
I think rome and Paris are better options, but glad to see that Boston if trying to make their plan more complete.