Good idea Animatronic but play fairly, you asked for rationale only, to keep the debate and commentary to the olympics thread.
The benefits, long term and short, will far outweigh any negative costs/wasteful spending (and yes there will be some). If these games are leveraged for long-stalled, past-due and politically vulnerable infrastructure, revitalization and beautification investments - with the sort of committed and firm timeline underwriting these games demand - then I'd gladly pay these costs, in part because:
1. The opportunity cost of funding these games will not be assumed exclusively by Toronto, it is spread across the province and the nation. Toronto has long been overlooked by upper levels of government for the investments it needs, for the investments all of our major cities need if they are going to remain competitive on the international stage.
2. The opportunity 'benefit' isn't Toronto's either, which is to say that the funding that would have come to Toronto from the province and the federal government for infrastructure etc. will not come to Toronto without the games. It is an earmarked injected expenditure. Use it or lose it.
3. There are many examples of cities that have leveraged the olympics successfully and I fail to see why Toronto wouldn't be among them. If anything, the trend is moving towards more responsible games and our experience with the Panams leaves me even more confident this would be the case.
4. This will provide a major cultural, tourist and economic boost to the city. As a relatively unknown major city Toronto is well positioned to capitalize on this, to spread its brand and generate greater global interest... and it'll be fun.
5. The panams were just a taste... I want more.
Good points. I myself am on the fence but am skeptical, and leaning toward the no side. I wouldn't mind discussing each of these points.
1. As long as we don't chip in too much for the bid (which I'm told by the Globe and Mail costs roughly 60m, I would be more supportive of a bid.
2. Now this is where the make or break argument comes. I personally think sports are an awful waste of money. But if we get infrastructure dollars that we would not have gotten, I would be willing to lean yes. I do believe the federal government might provide funds that we wouldn't have seen otherwise; the province, on the other hand, will be hard pressed to fund more than their already ambitious infrastructure plan. I could see money getting shifted around, and I am afraid that real infrastructure (like transportation) would actually suffer from splashy projects completed for the games. The city will never increase taxes for the games, so I don't see how we will be getting the municipal portion, except, as I said, by shifting priorities and taking away from real issues like housing and transportation. If we have to contribute to huge projects like an Olympic-sized stadium or smaller venue, we will also have to deal with running them afterward - unless the province takes over responsibility, which as I've suggested is problematic from a larger point of view. Basically, if we are spending billions of limited dollars on stadia and racetracks, I'm sceptical of the net benefit, even if it ups the timeline for a DRL. Still, I wish we didn't need deadlines, but they do seem to have an impact - so I'm torn. Maybe we will never get the DRL without an Olympics!!! (wish I were joking)
3. The trend toward responsible games??? Brazil wasted billions on stadia that will never see anything like the capacity they were built for, and have huge poverty and infrastructure needs they didn't deal with instead. Now the commodity economy is crashing and they still have to spend on sports infrastructure. Not responsible in my books. Sochi. I'll say that again, Sochi. At a cost of over $30B US, a total and utter failure of epic proportions. No one even wants to bid for winter games except Kazakhstan and Beijing. I doubt this will apply to Toronto, mind you, but the Olympic brand is suffering right now, and it is wilful blindness to not see that.
4. Still, I think that, unlike London, Toronto does have a lot to gain from the Olympics, as we are a relatively unknown city around the world. I do think that the games have an opportunity to bring people together and forge an identity for the city that it struggles with - suburbs vs city, 905 vs 416 squabbling is one of my pet peeves about living here. The built form of the GTA also necessitates disconnection. And we might need cultural activity to knit things together.
5. Pan Ams seemed good, I thought that people seemed happy and small things like the Toronto sign becoming iconic are a testament to what we can achieve culturally if we just put some effort into it. Since there is a real need here, I do count it as a positive for a bid.