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Toronto 2020 Olympic Bid

Mulder said:
No, it is not the path Rio Followed. Rio had already hosted the Pan-Am games when they found out they would host the Olympic games. There will be a 9 year difference between Pan-Am and Olympic games for Rio. As oppose to 5 years for the Toronto Bid.
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Point still stands.
 
^ No he wouldn't he was aiming for this the whole time, hence why we bid for Expo, hence why we bid for the PanAm games. There was no doom and gloom about this city's finances before Ford. The city handled shortfalls every year by balancing tax increases with adjustments to services. Yes, we have an ongoing problem with the city's finances, but we are no broke. The positive, optimistic and progressive tone of Miller's terms would have continued and he would have definitely shot for the Olympics.

I've already come to expect these kinds of disappointments about our city when Ford was elected. 4 more years of this is going to kill me. If there ever was a time for me to take a few years and go sailing around the world, this is it.
 
vz64 said:
Unfortunatelly, it is a RIP moment of this thread... Doug Ford is not interested:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/08/11/toronto-olympics.html
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Where does it say he is not interested?

"We can't, the feds can't, the province can't, it's just not the time. Everyone would love it but financially no one is in the shape to take it," said Ford.
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That quote seems to imply he'd actually be interested if the multiple levels of government could actually afford it.

TonyV said:
At this point in time, however, public debt is becoming more and more unattractive, and intelligent people will ask "will we want to risk the huge debt that may come with the two-week spectacle?".
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There are a whole lot of people from across the political spectrum that would be opposed to this. Imagine the outcry from Margaret Atwood if the brothers Ford could come up with billions for a sporting spectacle while at the same time trying to trim city services, like libraries? Does no one remember the 'Bread Not Circuses' caravan last time around?
 
sixrings said:
ROB FORD loves sports. HE just needs to be able to sell it to Torontonians as a good idea..
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I gather Rob's a big fan of NFL football, but if you're going to call him a sports nut because of it we might as well call him a patron of the arts because he saw all 3 Transformers movies or a man of letters because he might flip through the Sun once in a while. He was probably opposed to the Olympics because Doug figured those Americans he was talking to would still complain there's nothing to do in Toronto. Apart from the NFL the Ford brothers probably have wet dreams about Toronto playing host to a NASCAR event and little else.
 
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Ford seems willing for the city to pony up the money for an NFL team...why not the Olympics?

I'm sure he thinks his NFL dream will be all privately funded (much like the Sheppard extension he has 'planned'). Why not host the world's first completely privately funded Olympics?
 
syn said:
Ford seems willing for the city to pony up the money for an NFL team...why not the Olympics?
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Your next line already contradicted the above comment - in that Ford never intended to put up city money for the NFL - so why make it in the first place?

And how on earth could any private company make a return of hundreds of millions (billions?) in just a couple of weeks? Would they be offering a 2 week rental of the facilities back to the city, province and feds for a large profit? Would they build transit infrastructure - and if you joke that it would be OK for 2 weeks, why wouldn't it be OK for private companies to build transit infrastructure now, as has been thrown at as an idea and completely poo-pooed because of who said it?
 
Marko said:
Your next line already contradicted the above comment - in that Ford never intended to put up city money for the NFL - so why make it in the first place?

And how on earth could any private company make a return of hundreds of millions (billions?) in just a couple of weeks? Would they be offering a 2 week rental of the facilities back to the city, province and feds for a large profit? Would they build transit infrastructure - and if you joke that it would be OK for 2 weeks, why wouldn't it be OK for private companies to build transit infrastructure now, as has been thrown at as an idea and completely poo-pooed because of who said it?
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What are you saying here? That private money will be needed for both the NFL and olympics?
 
MisterF said:
You guys are talking about the NFL as if it would have been a given. The last Olympic bid didn't even propose a permanent NFL sized stadium and there's no reason to think a future one will.
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A 2020 bid was supposed to have the same stadium proposal, and a half permanent/half temporary Olympic stadium would do nothing for our mayor's NFL aspirations. Not to mention that Rob and Doug's proposed NFL stadium development appears to conflict with the Olympic bid plans for the waterfront.

I believe their NFL ambitions destroyed any chance of a 2020 bid.
 
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^Yup, and that's just what I was getting at. While it's conceivable that a bid could go ahead without the mayor's support, the fact that his interest in sports (and city building) seems to begin and end with the NFL doesn't help.

Marko said:
Where does it say he is not interested?

That quote seems to imply he'd actually be interested if the multiple levels of government could actually afford it.
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I wouldn't take what the Fords say at face value.
 
For what it's worth - I fully support trying to land the Olympics. We've all seen how if handled properly, they can be a huge incentive for cities to put through infrastructure projects that would otherwise be pushed off. I do think the city could put their tentative support behind a bid because even if we won, spending wouldn't start right away, and it could be framed by Toronto leaders as a way to secure federal and provincial investments into the city.

For those who think NFL aspirations would get in the way, I'm not so sure. Ford can leverage city support with stipulations that the stadium would be constructed in a way that it could be modified for permanent use, like what Atlanta did with their Olympic Stadium becoming the replacement home for the Braves. This opens the door for the NFL more than what exists now.

Declining support right now could be posturing as well. If there is significant enough public interest, then coming back to the table would appear to be the will of the people rather than the Ford's putting their sporting interests ahead of their austerity measures. Removing their support in order to get more of what they want - Adam Vaughn style, if you will - only to grant it after a more suitable arrangement is also possible.

But if Ford has any indication that other levels of government would pull away from the table in terms of financial support, then it would be irresponsible for him to commit to a bid and be left holding the bag should we win.
 
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