Say again? Olympic fantasy camp

Think about this. I am old. You're not supposed to say that but this comment needs context of actual witness.
... Bid for the Olympics is an okay move. Just avoid winning. Honorable mention is great.
... A sidebar. This observation applies to the huge Summer Games not to the Winter Games.
... Since Montreal's Olympics, those cities that succeeded in getting the
games aren't doing as well economically. Its sort of an economic
hangover. Gargantuan economic resources and human effort goes into holding the
modern games. Such a demand to the exclusion of any other thing on that city's agenda impairs the city's future economic vitality.
The city is burdened with the weight of enormous debt. Municipal
taxation rates remain high to pay off the burden.
... Every supporter says Legacy this. Legacy that. That is total horseshit
and a complete fabrication of reality. If your city, especially a city
the size of Toronto, supports sport, build an arena, build an Olympic
pool, or build a cycling velodrome. Its definitely worth the investment.
These facilities promote active healthy lifestyles and a preferred focus for youth.
... Building them because of a specific sporting event such as the Olympics
is a sample of utter foolishness. Construction schedules are sped up.
Construction quality usually is good, but more often than not, there is a
high percentage of facilities with poor construction. Rushing a facility construction on a specific deadline generates construction short cuts. Any shortcut in any construction never portends to any quantity or quality of good. The descriptive term is "White Elephant". The prime example of that description is definitely the Montreal Stadium. It was never completed to the original design and the construction turned out to be poor.
... Getting the Olympics hurt Montreal, and they were stuck paying off for
their facilities for decades. At the time they got their bid, Montreal
was the biggest world class city in Canada. After Toronto and other Canadian cities have economically thrived.
... Perhaps Toronto lost out in its bid to Atlanta but simply observe that
after Toronto bids on the games for the next decade foreign investment
into the city is stimulated. Now without getting the summer games,
Toronto benefits from the advertising efforts that went into making an
Olympic bid, without being burdened by actually winning the games.
... Indeed one indirect result of making the bid is that the city's
name is put out there. People are aware of its emergence. And every time
that Toronto made a bid, subsequently the local economy surged. Almost
every time that Toronto made a bid, it wound up in the ideal short list. That is good.
... Why is this? Making a bid, necessitates the city to promote itself on
the international stage. The members of the International Olympic are
chosen because they are influential.
... Suppose you had a plan for a major project and was
looking for a host city, would you want to proceed into a city where the
commercial activities are solely focused on a singular goal set of
economic priorities to the exclusion of you project? Or put that project
into a city with all the capabilities to hold an Olympics but would be
focused on your project. And you the investor is going to consult with professional and influential people who are familiar with the feature of each city. IOC members visit those cities. A venture capitalist will consult that source often.
... A major cause leading to the very serious recent Greek economic problems was their successful winning bid. People warned that Greece could not afford to hold the games. But the IOC got all traditional and shwarmy over the Athens bid. Those who tendered the warning have been proven right.
... Presenting the moral to all this. Making an Olympic bid is a very good idea. It seems absurd but the $10M to &20M spent on the bid promotion targets the international elite. Winning the Olympic bid... an economic disaster. Every city on the Olympic short list that didn't win the bid, did commercially better in thepost bid era compared to the winner. The winning city, not so much as what they hoped.
... Make the bid. But because winning it is actually losing and losing is actually winning. Just don't win the bid.



http://www.torontosun.com/poll/should-toronto-make-a-bid-for-the-2024-olympic-games