Could Brazil's Financial Crisis Lead to Olympic Cancellation?

[Benny B]

No longer true.  Beijing is also ready to take the games on a moment's notice, and i've heard they are the first option if Rio falls through.

This makes a lot of sense... If Site A is no longer viable, why choose a Site B when Site C is 10x more corrupt.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Boston was going to be the US nominee for 2024, but local concerns about finances caused them to give it up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/sports/olympics/boston-2024-summer-olympics-bid-terminated.html?_r=0

LA was submitted for 2024 instead of Boston because they have all the facilities already.

Beijing just won the 2022 Winter Olympics.  They are using all the facilities from 2008.  They only have to build like a bobsled course and something for skiing.

[Tugg Speedman]

Chicago doesn't have a big enough stadium for the opening ceremony and track. They could pull off most other things with the UC, soldier field, mccormick place and the lake but the track is an issue. Plus no olympic village either.

Chicago is not even remotely close to pulling off the Olympics now.  As I noted above, their is only one city in the world that naturally has all the facilities needed ... LA/Orange County.

Chicago currently has no venues for

* rowing (river to small, lake to wavy),
* white-water rafting,
* equestrian,
* swimming complex (no pool with 10,000 seats),
* tennis complex (no tennis stadium with 15,000 seats),
* soccer (need multiple 50,000 to 100,000 seat stadiums). 
* velodrome (with 5,000 to 10,000 seating). 
* shooting range with seats. 
* golf course willing to have 10,000 to 30,000 fans trample it. 
* mountain biking (Chicago is pretty flat, plan was to have this in southern WI near Alpine valley)
* field hockey
* rugby

Additionally,

* the UIC could host boxing (which was the plan) and that takes the entire games. 
* McCormick could host gymnastics (which was the plan) but that also takes the entire games. 

So what is the indoor venue for ...

* tables tennis,
* weightlifting,
* archery
* handball
* judo
* fencing
* water polo
* Taekwondo
* shooting
* badminton
* basketball (need more than the UC)
* wrestling

_______________

remember this is the Olympics, millions will descend on the city.  All these events have thousands that want to attend.  Cannot host them at some High school with decent facilities, like asking the NCAA to host the FF in the Mecca.

[GGGG]

Chicago is not even remotely close to pulling off the Olympics now.  As I noted above, their is only one city in the world that naturally has all the facilities needed ... LA/Orange County.

Chicago currently has no venues for

* rowing (river to small, lake to wavy),
* white-water rafting,
* equestrian,
* swimming complex (no pool with 10,000 seats),
* tennis complex (no tennis stadium with 15,000 seats),
* soccer (need multiple 50,000 to 100,000 seat stadiums). 
* velodrome (with 5,000 to 10,000 seating). 
* shooting range with seats. 

That's never stopped people before.  Just put up a few folding chairs on the south side and you're good.

[Tugg Speedman]

LA was submitted for 2024 instead of Boston because they have all the facilities already.

Beijing just won the 2022 Winter Olympics.  They are using all the facilities from 2008.  They only have to build like a bobsled course and something for skiing.

Notice the trend with the winter games ...

2014 - Sochi
2018 - Pyeongchang, South Korea
2022 - Bejing

And the summer games ...

2008 - Bejing
2016 - Rio

and the world cup ...

2010 - South Africa
2014 - Brazil
2018 - Russia
2022 - Qatar

-------------------

The developed world does not want these events anymore.  They cost too much money.  The developing world, usually run by some strongman, loves them as they think they are bragging events for their legitimacy.

I think all three events are at risk unless they start putting serious spending caps on their costs.  The IOC and FIFA have no such interest as they are as corrupt as any international organizations in the world today.

[GGGG]

Notice the trend with the winter games ...

2014 - Sochi
2018 - Pyeongchang, South Korea
2022 - Bejing

And the summer games ...

2008 - Bejing
2016 - Rio

and the world cup

2010 - South Africa
2014 - Brazil
2018 - Russia
2022 - Qatar

-------------------

The developed world does not want these events anymore.  They cost too much money.  The developing world, usually run by some strongman, love them as they think they are bragging events for their legitimacy.

I think all three events are at risk unless they start putting serious spending caps on their costs.  The IOC and FIFA have no such interest as they are as corrupt as any international organizations in the world today.

It is false to say that the developed world does not want the World Cup.

For 2018, England bid and joint bids were submitted by Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium

For 2022, the US, South Korea, Japan and Australia all submitted bids.

The US is likely going to bid on the 2026 Cup, along with Canada, England, Australia and others.

[Tugg Speedman]

It is false to say that the developed world does not want the World Cup.

For 2018, England bid and joint bids were submitted by Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium

For 2022, the US, South Korea, Japan and Australia all submitted bids.

The US is likely going to bid on the 2026 Cup, along with Canada, England, Australia and others.

Their not submitting the unlimited bids that the developing world is submitting, which is why the developed world is not hosting these events.

[Tugg Speedman]

That's never stopped people before.  Just put up a few folding chairs on the south side and you're good.

Nice!

Each host city is allowed a demonstration sport.  Maybe Chicago could have "drive by" as its sport.

[GGGG]

Their not submitting the unlimited bids that the developing world is submitting, which is why the developed world is not hosting these events.

If by "submitting the unlimited bids" you mean "bribing FIFA officials," I agree with you. 

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Heisy I'm not saying you're wrong Chicago couldn't hold the games in a pinch but a lot of things you mentioned they have. McCormick place is HUGE, they can hold more than just gymnastics for table tennis, weight lifting, fencing etc. For golf, they were gonna use the cousins for the western open. Soccer, soldier field, northwesterns football stadium, U of I etc.

Even equestrian they had a course down state they were gonna use. Again, it would be an absolute logistical nightmare but closer than you think.

[Tugg Speedman]

If by "submitting the unlimited bids" you mean "bribing FIFA officials," I agree with you.

Correct, the IOC and FIFA all but demand a ridiculous amount of spending on venues and bribes for them. 

[MomofMUltiples]

Beijing just won the 2022 Winter Olympics.  They are using all the facilities from 2008.  They only have to build like a bobsled course and something for skiing.

And create some actual snow.

[HouWarrior]

Chicago is not even remotely close to pulling off the Olympics now.  As I noted above, their is only one city in the world that naturally has all the facilities needed ... LA/Orange County.

Chicago currently has no venues for

* rowing (river to small, lake to wavy),
* white-water rafting,
* equestrian,
* swimming complex (no pool with 10,000 seats),
* tennis complex (no tennis stadium with 15,000 seats),
* soccer (need multiple 50,000 to 100,000 seat stadiums). 
* velodrome (with 5,000 to 10,000 seating). 
* shooting range with seats. 
* golf course willing to have 10,000 to 30,000 fans trample it. 
* mountain biking (Chicago is pretty flat, plan was to have this in southern WI near Alpine valley)
* field hockey
* rugby

Additionally,

* the UIC could host boxing (which was the plan) and that takes the entire games. 
* McCormick could host gymnastics (which was the plan) but that also takes the entire games. 

So what is the indoor venue for ...

* tables tennis,
* weightlifting,
* archery
* handball
* judo
* fencing
* water polo
* Taekwondo
* shooting
* badminton
* basketball (need more than the UC)
* wrestling

_______________

remember this is the Olympics, millions will descend on the city.  All these events have thousands that want to attend.  Cannot host them at some High school with decent facilities, like asking the NCAA to host the FF in the Mecca.

Thanks for this. This post got me thinking (some of your posts do not--lol). The list points out the almost silly range of physical attributes for an Olympic site. Setting aside all the uber expensive yet rarely used venues like velodromes and large swim arenas....the site also needs ocean water (sailing), rivers (rowing), hills/mountains (biking). Consider that the Olympic shopping list also includes stadiums and built up venues for all their myriad of sports, housing, transportation, etc. Since Atlanta and LA, they have added more sports, further straining the ever expanding scope of this event.

I wonder if its time for the Olympics to consider that the scope of the games, number of sports, differing geography required, expanding number of venue has rendered them a bloated greedy overly ambitious seller of a circus maximus.

The fact that cities compete, and that there always seems to be a greater fool city to chase their five golden rings is fine by me. That the Olympics pit cities against each other to vie for hosting is also OK. I guess I object to the IOC's ever expanding sports tent....to me its too big...whats next skateboarding, roller hockey, bmx, etc? Bigger and bigger is not better

Oh yeah...and Rythmic (ribbon) Gymnastics is not a sport

[Tugg Speedman]

Thanks for this. This post got me thinking (some of your posts do not--lol). The list points out the almost silly range of physical attributes for an Olympic site. Setting aside all the uber expensive yet rarely used venues like velodromes and large swim arenas....the site also needs ocean water (sailing), rivers (rowing), hills/mountains (biking). Consider that the Olympic shopping list also includes stadiums and built up venues for all their myriad of sports, housing, transportation, etc. Since Atlanta and LA, they have added more sports, further straining the ever expanding scope of this event.

I wonder if its time for the Olympics to consider that the scope of the games, number of sports, differing geography required, expanding number of venue has rendered them a bloated greedy overly ambitious seller of a circus maximus.

The fact that cities compete, and that there always seems to be a greater fool city to chase their five golden rings is fine by me. That the Olympics pit cities against each other to vie for hosting is also OK. I guess I object to the IOC's ever expanding sports tent....to me its too big...whats next skateboarding, roller hockey, bmx, etc? Bigger and bigger is not better

Oh yeah...and Rythmic (ribbon) Gymnastics is not a sport

I top of all of the above ... the number of ATHLETES that will participate in the Rio games is now more than 10,000!

[jesmu84]

It is false to say that the developed world does not want the World Cup.

For 2018, England bid and joint bids were submitted by Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium

For 2022, the US, South Korea, Japan and Australia all submitted bids.

The US is likely going to bid on the 2026 Cup, along with Canada, England, Australia and others.

Not to mention, specific to the world cup, fifa made a concerted effort to get "other" countries (non US, Europe) as hosts. This was supposedly all part of sepp blatters initiative to bring more structured development/infrastructure to 2nd/3rd world soccer countries

[HouWarrior]

Not to mention, specific to the world cup, fifa made a concerted effort to get "other" countries (non US, Europe) as hosts. This was supposedly all part of sepp blatters initiative to bring more structured development/infrastructure to 2nd/3rd world soccer countries

As John Oliver says ..."FIFA is an international criminal organization, which occasionally stages soccer matches ..."

[🏀]

Heisy I'm not saying you're wrong Chicago couldn't hold the games in a pinch but a lot of things you mentioned they have. McCormick place is HUGE, they can hold more than just gymnastics for table tennis, weight lifting, fencing etc. For golf, they were gonna use the cousins for the western open. Soccer, soldier field, northwesterns football stadium, U of I etc.

Even equestrian they had a course down state they were gonna use. Again, it would be an absolute logistical nightmare but closer than you think.

White water rafting was going to be out in Rockford.

[CTWarrior]

Oh yeah...and Rythmic (ribbon) Gymnastics is not a sport

I've long felt that any competition where the winner is decided by a judge rather than a clock or scoreboard is not really a sport, even if the competitors are tremendous athletes.  After all, the Olympic motto is "Faster, higher, stronger," not "more graceful in the eyes of at least 3 out of 5 judges."  But I actually liked rhythmic gymnastics.  Especially the part where they throw the ball around.  It was basically a really good circus act.  I'd rather watch that than regular gymnastics.

[GooooMarquette]

White water rafting was going to be out in Rockford.

Whitewater rafting Capitol of northern Illinois!

[GooooMarquette]

Thanks for this. This post got me thinking (some of your posts do not--lol). The list points out the almost silly range of physical attributes for an Olympic site. Setting aside all the uber expensive yet rarely used venues like velodromes and large swim arenas....the site also needs ocean water (sailing), rivers (rowing), hills/mountains (biking). Consider that the Olympic shopping list also includes stadiums and built up venues for all their myriad of sports, housing, transportation, etc. Since Atlanta and LA, they have added more sports, further straining the ever expanding scope of this event.

I wonder if its time for the Olympics to consider that the scope of the games, number of sports, differing geography required, expanding number of venue has rendered them a bloated greedy overly ambitious seller of a circus maximus.

Agreed.  This is why developed countries/cities are getting more wary of hosting the Olympics, and a fundamental difference from something like the World Cup.

The scope of the Olympics is ever expanding, which leads to a need for venues that are so sport-specific that they are often useless once the games are over.  In contrast, the World Cup can use soccer/football stadiums that already exist, and will have a purpose long after the Cup is over.

[Benny B]

Thanks for this. This post got me thinking (some of your posts do not--lol). The list points out the almost silly range of physical attributes for an Olympic site. Setting aside all the uber expensive yet rarely used venues like velodromes and large swim arenas....the site also needs ocean water (sailing), rivers (rowing), hills/mountains (biking). Consider that the Olympic shopping list also includes stadiums and built up venues for all their myriad of sports, housing, transportation, etc. Since Atlanta and LA, they have added more sports, further straining the ever expanding scope of this event.

I wonder if its time for the Olympics to consider that the scope of the games, number of sports, differing geography required, expanding number of venue has rendered them a bloated greedy overly ambitious seller of a circus maximus.

The fact that cities compete, and that there always seems to be a greater fool city to chase their five golden rings is fine by me. That the Olympics pit cities against each other to vie for hosting is also OK. I guess I object to the IOC's ever expanding sports tent....to me its too big...whats next skateboarding, roller hockey, bmx, etc? Bigger and bigger is not better

Oh yeah...and Rythmic (ribbon) Gymnastics is not a sport

THANK YOU.  It's about frickin' time.

[GooooMarquette]

THANK YOU.  It's about frickin' time.

And synchronized swimming....

[Tugg Speedman]

Agreed.  This is why developed countries/cities are getting more wary of hosting the Olympics, and a fundamental difference from something like the World Cup.

The scope of the Olympics is ever expanding, which leads to a need for venues that are so sport-specific that they are often useless once the games are over.  In contrast, the World Cup can use soccer/football stadiums that already exist, and will have a purpose long after the Cup is over.

The World Cup is hosted by Countries, the Olympics by cities.

Large developed countries can make a case for 12 major 100,000 or so soccer stadiums.  Large countries, like the US or Germany probably have them ready and only need to refurbish some of them and they are good to go.

Developed countries like South Africa, Brazil and Qatar do not need all these stadiums.  They is why they build them from scratch and many of them have not been used since.  It is a waste of time, money and resources.

The Olympics is one city and its surrounding area.  To build world class facilities for two weeks is a giant waste of money.  For instance, Chicago would have built a 15,000 outdoor seat tennis stadium and 40 courts in a giant tennis complex that would rival Flushing Meadows NY (US Open) or Indian Wells CA.  What would Chicago do with that after the games?  Bid for a ATP/WTA
(professional) tournament?  That's 1 week a year.  What about the other 51?  Host the State High School tournament?  That two more weekends a year (boys and then girls).  Maybe they could get creative and host the B1G championships or even the NCAA.  But that would not be every year and would only use it a few more days a year.  What about the other 340 or so days in the year?

Multiply this example by about 15 and you'll understand why Boston bailed on the games, and they should have.  As I noted before, LA/Orange county is the only City in the world that already has every venue at a world class level.  Maybe LA should be the preferment home.  Anti-Americanism prevents this from ever being an option.

This is why the Olympics games might be doomed (in the next decade or two) unless they make major changes like cutting back (hard) on the sports or not demand the massive and ridiculous infrastructure build-out they do now.

[muwarrior69]

LA smartly used existing facilities or built facilities that were reused. Atlanta too.  And those games were 32 and 20 years ago.

But I have no doubt that Chicago would have blown their budget completely.

It is my understanding that the Braves will be moving into their new ballpark next year. "Turner Field" will be undergoing it second refit to accommodate Georgia State Football. I guess by hosting the Olympics you can get a new ball park every 20 years or so.

[reinko]

White water rafting was going to be out in Rockford.

?