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Toronto 2024 Olympic Bid (Dead)

A quick rundown of what NBC has paid for Olympic TV rights:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...ghts_n_1729726.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

ALL of the money from sales of TV rights goes to the local organizing committee (LOCOG, VANOC, etc). It runs well into the billions of dollars, and the OC gets to keep it, because the OC is a private company. But if the OC realizes a loss, the shortfall is picked up by the govt (i.e. the general public). In other words, a bailout. These are FANTASTIC terms on which to run a business.

Of course, the OC is always substantially made up by the very same people who put together the bid. (The bid is also often substantially financed by governments.) And no wonder, it's a great business opportunity. Get the govt to cover the lion's share of the costs and assume all the financial risk, rope in a lot of free labour (aka volunteers) and reap the profits.

Still think the games are just about a love of sports and bringing nations together?

And we haven't even really gotten into the real estate and development scam aspects yet.
 
TOperson said:
A quick rundown of what NBC has paid for Olympic TV rights:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...ghts_n_1729726.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

ALL of the money from sales of TV rights goes to the local organizing committee (LOCOG, VANOC, etc). It runs well into the billions of dollars, and the OC gets to keep it, because the OC is a private company. But if the OC realizes a loss, the shortfall is picked up by the govt (i.e. the general public). In other words, a bailout. These are FANTASTIC terms on which to run a business.

Of course, the OC is always substantially made up by the very same people who put together the bid. (The bid is also often substantially financed by governments.) And no wonder, it's a great business opportunity. Get the govt to cover the lion's share of the costs and assume all the financial risk, rope in a lot of free labour (aka volunteers) and reap the profits.

Still think the games are just about a love of sports and bringing nations together?

And we haven't even really gotten into the real estate and development scam aspects yet.
Click to expand...

I am way out of my league here but who "reaps the profits" that the OC produces out of this scam? Who are the shareholders that benefit from this fabulous business model?
 
The_Architect said:
http://www.londonnet.co.uk/news/2012/oct/london-olympics-come-%C2%A3400m-under-budget.html

Well, well.. Let's see this be twisted into the narrative.
Click to expand...

I am, by no means, anti-Olymipics....but I had to laugh when I read that. The budget that they are measuring themselves against was, what, the 3rd or 4th cut at the budget? That final budget (the one they came under by 400 million pounds) was created only months before the event and was, what, twice what the original budget.

One of the problems people have with their municipalities getting into the Olympics games is that the costs always seem to be underestimated, then when it is too late to do anything about it the real costs come out. It really is difficult to counter that fear and there is little in the London experience that helps with that.
 
Barcelona Olympic venues

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venues_of_the_1992_Summer_Olympics

Over the girls' break at Toussaint (the French take a two week autumn break from school), we travelled to Barcelona for a short week's trip. We stayed in Poble Sec, right down the hill from the main Montjuic Olympic venues.

Barcelona was a fun trip and we did a ton of touristy things (many, many museums; the Gaudi tour; the Ramblas; etc.) including more than one day crawling around Montjuic. We did not really explore the Olympic Port too much.

I tried to keep an open mind (despite my well-known to this thread anti-Olympic bias) and, to be fair, it's been 20 years since the Games. But, quite frankly, the tourism draws of Barcelona have little to do with the Olympics. The big sporting venue is FC Barceona's stadium, although the Olympic stadium (like Los Angeles an older stadium that was rebuilt) is lovely. It gets used on occasion for concerts or minor sporting events. The iconic diving tank/water polo pool is now a municipal pool (currently under refurbishment) with the diving boards removed. The Olympic Port is a pretty sketchy bar/club district.

IMHO, any tourism boost from the Olys for Barcelona would have been from generating name recognition. It's the Miro/Gaudi/Picasso/Dali connection (and FC Barcelona and the beaches) that makes it a destination for tourists.

I love Toronto, but I doubt we could sustain that kind of tourism with the McMichael.

BTW -- given the G&M story the other day about the Ravel, I would have thought it'd be much shadier than our experience. It's a poor part of town, but we were entirely comfortable wandering between our apartment and the more touristy Barri Gothic straight through the Ravel and it's supposed 50-70% unemployed. I would have never known.
 
According to Gucci over at GB

"The name of this thread [at GB called Toronto?] should be changed to Toronto 2024. Feasibility study released in March recommending a bid; Overwhelming support from city council; I just can't see council voting down the bid."
 
intoronto1125 said:
According to Gucci over at GB

"The name of this thread [at GB called Toronto?] should be changed to Toronto 2024. Feasibility study released in March recommending a bid; Overwhelming support from city council; I just can't see council voting down the bid."
Click to expand...

March 2012 or 2013? Because if it was 2012, it dropped out of sight pretty fast.
 
I think we have a very good chance at winning this. We just got to hope that either Madrid or Istanbul wins 2020 Olympics. It's going to be between Toronto, Durban, U.S. chosen city, Paris, and Tokyo. I like the city's chances here. We'd be the alternative to an American Summer Olympics and still be within a humungous amount of population distance wise and in a lucrative timezone.
 
toforumer said:
I think we have a very good chance at winning this. We just got to hope that either Madrid or Istanbul wins 2020 Olympics. It's going to be between Toronto, Durban, U.S. chosen city, Paris, and Tokyo. I like the city's chances here. We'd be the alternative to an American Summer Olympics and still be within a humungous amount of population distance wise and in a lucrative timezone.
Click to expand...

What residential neighbourhoods are you willing to sacrifice for a Toronto Olympics? What public services are you willing to see cut to pay for it? How much more tax are you willing to pay?
 
TOperson said:
What residential neighbourhoods are you willing to sacrifice for a Toronto Olympics?
Click to expand...
None

TOperson said:
What public services are you willing to see cut to pay for it?
Click to expand...
None

TOperson said:
How much more tax are you willing to pay?
Click to expand...
Actually, a lot. The infrastructure that is usually built to support an Games would be worth a tax hike in my opinion, but that is pretty much all I would want to sacrifice.....
 
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