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Toronto 2024 Olympic Bid (Dead)

The capital cost to the government of the most recent Winter Olympics (Vancouver) came in at about $600 million for the facilities - only about $20 million over budget. The operational cost for the games was about $1.8 billion, however this covered by TV rights, ticket sales, sponsorships, etc.

If done properly (and without corruption) the games don't have to cost anywhere near $50 billion to the government.

The Pan-Am games in Toronto are costing more in capital costs than Vancouver did. The facilities are budgeted at $1.4 billion - with another $billion or so for the Pan-Am village ... though presumably, like Vancouver, most, if not all, of the village cost will be recovered from the post-games sale of the units
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Got a source for those Vancouver figures?

Got an example of a recent Olympics that were "done properly" and stuck to the original budget?

Comparing the summer Pan-Ams to the winter Olympics doesn't make a lot of sense for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the contract. With the Olympics, the contract states that the host city must do everything to the IOC's satisfaction. It doesn't matter what was promised, it doesn't matter what other games cost, it doesn't matter what the locals feel about it - the IOC gets what it wants. I hope the Pan Am contract is different, but I've never looked into it. But it doesn't matter either way, the Olympic host city contract is the one we have to live with if Toronto gets the games.
 
I remember watching a documentary on CBC (a couple of years ago) dedicated to the cost of olympic games. They cited Calgary-88 winter games as being on time and budget and contrasted it with Montreal-76 summer games, which were neither on time nor on budget...
 
vz64 said:
I remember watching a documentary on CBC (a couple of years ago) dedicated to the cost of olympic games. They cited Calgary-88 winter games as being on time and budget and contrasted it with Montreal-76 summer games, which were neither on time nor on budget...
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Calgary was a fantastic games (except the Nakiska boondoggle) but it was the first winter Games where the US network bidding war went wild. So, they'd started with a modest budget and all of a sudden had a lot more cash to spend. It did work out well, though.
 
nfitz said:
It was widely reported in the media at the time - http://www.cp24.com/2010-winter-olympic-games-break-even-with-1-88-billion-bottom-line-1.587158

How about Vancouver 2010? If the amount they exceeded the budget is about the inflation rate, I'm not going to lose any sleep.
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This mistake gets made all the time. The organizing committee may have broken even or made a profit, but it does not bear the total cost - or even the majority cost - of hosting the games. Organizing committees are only responsible for staging the games, not all the building projects. The public pays for that, and as I'm sure you know, there is a lot of debate about whether building for the games is really in the public's interest or done in a cost-effective manner. Not to mention the opportunity costs.

Also, the article is almost entirely based on comments from parties with vested interests in the Vancouver games. Propaganda.
 
TOperson said:
This mistake gets made all the time. The organizing committee may have broken even or made a profit, but it does not bear the total cost - or even the majority cost - of hosting the games. Organizing committees are only responsible for staging the games, not all the building projects. The public pays for that, and as I'm sure you know, there is a lot of debate about whether building for the games is really in the public's interest or done in a cost-effective manner. Not to mention the opportunity costs.
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Fair enough, that's the operating costs. I reported the capital costs of about $600 million as well. The number comes from the provincial report - http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/olympics-report.pdf which documents $580 million spent on the venues.

Now to be fair, the city also spent money on the venues. $139.4 million was spent on the venues by the city, accoring to this City of Vancouver report.

There was other money spent ... such as the highway 99 upgrades (though how that wasn't done years ago I don't know ... that was always a scary highway), various civic improvements, convention centre, etc. I have a hard time though putting the cost of the Olympic Village station into the cost for the olympics given it's local utility.

TOperson said:
Also, the article is almost entirely based on comments from parties with vested interests in the Vancouver games. Propaganda.
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Comments based on audited final reporting. Given how the media loves to stir up a shit-storm over lost money, I'm quite sure if the the comments didn't match the audited financial reports, we'd have quickly heard about it.

I'm certainly seeing nothing close to $50 billion ... I can't fathom how one can spend that much money on such a relatively small event.
 
nfitz said:
Fair enough, that's the operating costs. I reported the capital costs of about $600 million as well. The number comes from the provincial report - http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/olympics-report.pdf which documents $580 million spent on the venues.

Now to be fair, the city also spent money on the venues. $139.4 million was spent on the venues by the city, accoring to this City of Vancouver report.

There was other money spent ... such as the highway 99 upgrades (though how that wasn't done years ago I don't know ... that was always a scary highway), various civic improvements, convention centre, etc. I have a hard time though putting the cost of the Olympic Village station into the cost for the olympics given it's local utility.

Comments based on audited final reporting. Given how the media loves to stir up a shit-storm over lost money, I'm quite sure if the the comments didn't match the audited financial reports, we'd have quickly heard about it.

I'm certainly seeing nothing close to $50 billion ... I can't fathom how one can spend that much money on such a relatively small event.
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Right, so it was OVER $700M in on-the-books Olympic spending, so probably over $1B altogether. No doubt there are estimates that run higher. The fact that it's so difficult to pull together a true accounting of the cost is in itself a big red flag.

Where does it say that VANOC's figures were audited? It wasn't a public company or a government agency.

The PriceWaterhouse thing was a study on the economic impact of the Olympics. Consultants are not impartial. They know that if they want more work, they'll find what the client wants them to find.

As for how Sochi's costs have gotten to $50B, I have no idea. Corruption, probably.
 
Just wanted to update everyone on what the USA are up to in regards to 2024. Their Olympic committee has sent out a letter to a bunch of cities gauging interest in a 2024 bid. So far Chicago has flat out said they're not bidding no more. New York isn't interested as well. Only Dallas seems to be. This bodes well for Toronto being the lone strong North American choice for 2024.


USOC Invites America's Cities To Express Their Interest in 2024 Olympic Games (Full Text of Letter)
Tuesday, February 19, 2013 12:51pm EST Robert Livingstone
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Despite two consecutive failed bids for the Summer Olympic Games, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has taken the first step to bidding again, this time for the 2024 installment. New York bid for the 2012 Games while Chicago sought the 2016 Games - both finishing fourth after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) cast their ballots.

Now with renewed leadership and a more amicable revenue-sharing agreement, the USOC will be in better position to lodge a campaign for the Games, and it is widely believed that a window-of-opportunity exists for the Games to return to North America.

On Tuesday, USOC Chief Scott Blackmun sent a letter to the mayors of "the top 35 cities", according to information released by a spokeperson for the organization. Among them are past Olympic hosts, past bidders and other interesting choices including Tulsa Oklahoma, Portland Oregon, Rochester New York and Las Vegas.

In the letter, Blackmun indicates that the USOC is considering a bid, but makes no commitments.

Currently Istanbul, Madrid and Spain are in the final stages of their campaigns for the 2020 Olympics and the IOC will not formally open the competition for the 2024 Games until 2015. But should there be multiple cities interested in pursuing the 2024 Games, the USOC will likely run a domestic selection process that could take several months.

The 2024 host city will be elected by the IOC in 2017 from among all international cities chosen as candidates.

Blackmun's letter was sent to the mayors of the following 35 cities: Phoenix, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Denver, Washington D.C., Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Las Vegas, New York, Rochester New York, Charlotte, Columbus, Tulsa, Portland Oregon, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Memphis, Nashville & Davidson County, Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Seattle.



The full text of the letter follows:

February 19, 2013

Dear Mayor XXX,

As you may know, the United States Olympic Committee is currently considering a bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. As we explore this exciting possibility, we are actively seeking to gauge the interest of U.S. cities that may have the ability to host an event with the scope and scale of the Olympic Games. To that end, we are reaching out to cities that have previously expressed an interest in bidding as well as the cities in the largest 25 U.S. markets.

As you saw in London, the Olympic and Paralympic Games bring people together in a magnificent celebration of sport and the human spirit, unifying disparate cultures and beliefs around a shared set of values. For 29 magical days, differences are forgotten and human achievement becomes the theme. Win or lose, joy springs from the effort to be the very best we can be, and sport makes the world a better place. Now more than ever, we need to use the power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to encourage our youth to be active and engaged in sport.

Based on expected International Olympic Committee deadlines, we have 2+ years to decide whether we want to submit a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. We would like to begin having discussions with interested cities about possible bid themes as well as the infrastructure, financial resources and other assets that are required to host the Games. Our objective in this process is to identify a partner city that can work with us to present a compelling bid to the IOC and that has the right alignment of political, business and community leadership. We are seeking a partner that understands the value of the Olympic Games and the legacy that can be created not only for their community, but for our country.

The staging of the Games is an extraordinary undertaking for any city, with operating budgets in excess of $3 billion, not including costs associated with venue construction and other infrastructure. Among the many requirements are:

• 45,000 hotel rooms.
• An Olympic Village that sleeps 16,500 and has a 5000-person dining hall.
• Operations space for over 15,000 media and broadcasters.
• An international airport that can handle thousands of international travelers per day.
• Public transportation service to venues.
• Roadway closures to allow exclusive use for Games-related transportation.
• A workforce of up to 200,000.

While the Games require a formidable commitment, they also provide an unparalleled opportunity for a city to evolve and grow. The Games have had a transformative impact on a number of host cities, including Barcelona, Beijing and London. They enable the creation and implementation of a new vision and provide a powerful rallying point for progress.

As you likely know, the U.S. submitted bids to host the 2012 (New York) and 2016 (Chicago) Olympic Games. Both New York and Chicago had to participate in a domestic bid process that cost upwards of $10 million before they were designated by the USOC as an IOC Applicant City. Moving forward, we are going to select our Applicant City through a thoughtful but more efficient process. The first step in that process is to have discussions with interested cities. If you have an interest in learning more about a 2024 Olympic and Paralympic bid, please have an authorized representative contact Chris Sullivan, USOC Chief of Bids and Protocol, at chris.sullivan@usoc.org. Chris can supply additional information and will begin an effort to assess the viability of a bid from XXX. Your representative does not necessarily need to be affiliated with your city government.

Whether or not we decide to submit a 2024 bid, we are grateful for your support of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements. Please feel free to call me at any time.

Sincerely,


Scott A. Blackmun
Chief Executive Officer
 
Pretty sure it was put back until May
 
toforumer said:
It was postponed and I thought the 2024 Olympics staff report would be coming out around the same time as the Casino report and that report is due any day now.
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How sure are you it was postponed?

@ChesterCopperpot where did you hear it about being May?

It won't be this month for sure.
 
Canadian Olympic chief would back Toronto 2024 bid

http://www.torontosun.com/2013/05/10/canadian-olympic-chief-would-back-toronto-2024-bid

The Canadian Olympic Committee said on Friday it will back a possible Toronto bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics ahead of a potential Quebec City bid for the 2022 Winter Games.

"There is no doubt, no doubt that what the country needs most is a Summer Olympic Games," COC chief Marcel Aubut told Reuters ahead of the organisation's Sochi media summit this weekend.

"Toronto is going to deliver a great 2015 Pan Am Games and it should be the first step in going higher for the Olympics like Brazil did.

"If not we are going to look again at the Winter Games and Quebec is a very good possibility but the first goal is to convince people to go with Toronto in the Summer."

Until securing the 2015 Pan Am Games, Toronto had never hosted a major multi-sport event and Aubut feels establishing a sporting infrastructure in Canada's most populous city is key to improving the country's future performance in Summer Olympics.

Canada has previously hosted the Winter Games in 1988 (Calgary) and 2010 (Vancouver) and staged the Summer Games in 1976 (Montreal).

If Toronto does bid for the 2024 Games it will likely face a strong challenge from the United States, which has not hosted a Summer Olympics since 1996 in Atlanta.

Having mended fences with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) following a bitter revenue-sharing dispute the U.S. appears ready to make another run at hosting an Olympics after stunning rejections for the 2012 and 2016 Games.

Los Angeles, which has twice hosted the Games, has expressed interest in hosting the 2024 Olympics while Philadelphia and Tulsa are believed to be among several other cities exploring the possibility of throwing their hats into the ring.

With Summer Games having been held in Athens (2004), Beijing (2008) and London (2012), headed to Rio de Janerio for 2016 and with Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul finalists for 2020, there is strong sentiment that the Summer Olympics will return to North America in 2024.

Rome, Paris, Doha, Dubai and Durban, South Africa, are also believed to be ready to test the Olympic waters but Aubut maintains that IOC would welcome a Toronto bid.

"There won't be any political problems, there won't be a problem with terrorism. They love Canada. It's close to America. They love our country," said Aubut, a lawyer and former president of the National Hockey League's Quebec Nordiques.

"I can tell you what people think of our country and it is all positive, that is why I believe the IOC in Lausanne they dream to have a country like Canada hosting the Games.

"But we have to make sure the interest is there, the government support is there."

While a bid committee has not yet been formed, Toronto has called for study to examine the possibilities of hosting the 2024 Games.

Toronto, ranked North America's fourth largest city behind Mexico City, New York and Los Angeles, will host the 2015 Pan American Games in what many view as a dress rehearsal for an Olympic bid.

Rio used the game plan to great success hosting the 2007 Pan Am Games before landing the 2016 Summer Olympics.

"Each time we have done that, in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver we delivered the goods and more," said Aubut, recently re-elected to a second four-year term as COC president.

"The Pan Ams will also deliver the goods and then they will see the place is safe and that sport is a passion for Canadians and also they will see the country can deliver.

"It is the perfect plan.

"A Pan Am Games close to the Olympic level then you have chance to FIFA, the Olympics, you have a chance to get everything you want after that."
 
Solid Snake said:
"Each time we have done that, in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver we delivered the goods and more," said Aubut, recently re-elected to a second four-year term as COC president.
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I love Aubut -- that's awesome. So... Montreal was a well-run Olympics, and QC, WHICH DOES NOT HAVE A MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH, will be considered for a bid? When a guy "stretches the truth" so much that it's a salt-water taffy pull, why would anyone give him money to do anything?
 
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