Toronto 2024 Olympic Bid (Dead)

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

I always thought the Barcelona model (and the legacy the IOC still talks about) is really only replicable in Toronto... They have similar 'challenges' put lightly...

Well, we'll agree to disagree. I don't think Toronto has any of Barcelona's 'challenges', but I'm not certain what you mean by that, exactly. The 'legacy' thing around Olympics is mostly about kickstarting construction, and Toronto is miles ahead of anywhere in North America and Europe when it comes to tower cranes in operation already. We've built out South Core and City Place without the need for an Olympics. I am pleasantly surprised by how well West Donlands has done in getting built out nicely and quickly, but that's as much WT as PanAms.

The one and only thing that would be useful with an Olympics might be transportation infrastructure, but we're actually planning or building a ton of this. It might not be the right projects, but Toronto is actually doing a lot of work in this regard as well.

So, it comes down to the sport & spectacle, and I just can't get my head wrapped around spending $10 billion dollars for two weeks of athletics and swimming.

To top it off -- the immediate dismissal of the ridiculously expensive pool JUST BUILT for a suburban campus of a public university, because the Olympics will need more spectators, is hilarious! Give your heads a shake, guys. You don't need ONE spectator at the pool with all the TV coverage there will be! But here you are, already deciding to build a second multi-multi-million dollar pool! Wow.

 

[animatronic]

Well, we'll agree to disagree. I don't think Toronto has any of Barcelona's 'challenges', but I'm not certain what you mean by that, exactly. The 'legacy' thing around Olympics is mostly about kickstarting construction, and Toronto is miles ahead of anywhere in North America and Europe when it comes to tower cranes in operation already. We've built out South Core and City Place without the need for an Olympics. I am pleasantly surprised by how well West Donlands has done in getting built out nicely and quickly, but that's as much WT as PanAms.

The one and only thing that would be useful with an Olympics might be transportation infrastructure, but we're actually planning or building a ton of this. It might not be the right projects, but Toronto is actually doing a lot of work in this regard as well.

So, it comes down to the sport & spectacle, and I just can't get my head wrapped around spending $10 billion dollars for two weeks of athletics and swimming.

To top it off -- the immediate dismissal of the ridiculously expensive pool JUST BUILT for a suburban campus of a public university, because the Olympics will need more spectators, is hilarious! Give your heads a shake, guys. You don't need ONE spectator at the pool with all the TV coverage there will be! But here you are, already deciding to build a second multi-multi-million dollar pool! Wow.

Same thing goes for the Olympic Stadiums - they are usually only full for the opening and closing ceremonies and the men's 100m. Think of all the seats in London or Atlanta that were used two or three times then demolished.

 

[picard102]

That's sort of what the Olympics are to large, global cities - a party that you will pay dearly for, but a party that sort of has to happen so that you're taken seriously...

Ya, me and my friends are always talking about Sochi, Turin, and Salt Lake City. Just a few of the unknown cities of the world who needed a billion dollar party to be "taken seriously". If by seriously, you mean entirely forgotten.

 

[nfitz]

I would actually get rid of Lamport Stadium lands and use the proceeds for something else instead.

Why? It's very well used; seems to be heavily booked in the summer. How is the dome usage in the winter - I don't normally venture over there as much when it's up.

Where else in the neighbourhood would you put a replacement?

Ya, me and my friends are always talking about Sochi, Turin, and Salt Lake City. Just a few of the unknown cities of the world who needed a billion dollar party to be "taken seriously". If by seriously, you mean entirely forgotten.

Sochi, Turn, and SLC were for Winter Olympics. There's been occasional discussion of a winter olympic bid for Toronto, but 2024 would be Summer Olympics.

There's a huge difference between winter and summer olympics. The Pan-Am games in Toronto is bigger in terms of athletes and events than the Vancouver winter olympics.

 

[wopchop]

Precisely why football is often used by games organizers to spread the spirit of the games across the host nation as opposed to being centred in one city. My first olympic event that I attended was a football match in 1976...4 years before I ever set foot in Montreal.....the last Olympic event I attended was a women's football match in Glasgow in 2012.

No need to build multiple football stadiums in one city.....and even if you did, I doubt Lamport would be at all suitable.

Right, and this is exactly why I suggested stadiums that are NOT in Toronto (ie. Landsdowne in Ottawa, Saputo in Montreal, Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton). I suppose that you could add other farther afield stadiums like BC PLace (Vancouver), Investors Group Field (Winnipeg), or Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton) but an Olympic football tournament is more time-constrained than a World Cup, and avoiding large time-zone shifts would be ideal.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Same thing goes for the Olympic Stadiums - they are usually only full for the opening and closing ceremonies and the men's 100m. Think of all the seats in London or Atlanta that were used two or three times then demolished.

Actually that's a smart way run the Olympics. Make most of the venues temporary, after the event demolish or repurpose them. That's what Beijing did. Keep the ones that have a true and popular purpose post-games, ditch the rest.

 

[animatronic]

Actually that's a smart way run the Olympics. Make most of the venues temporary, after the event demolish or repurpose them. That's what Beijing did. Keep the ones that have a true and popular purpose post-games, ditch the rest.

Not really, unless you're only talking about temporary stands coming down - like the London aquatics centre. The London Olympic stadium is undergoing $200m in conversion costs - on top of the $1b it cost for just a few weeks of use.

How about only building facilities for long term use and making the Olympics fit the space, not the other way around.

 

[GenerationW]

'Boston Strong' might make the IOC hearts melt

Only envelopes filled with Benjamins make them melt.

 

[Jayomatic]

They could build an Olympic stadium using mixed use buildings as the outside ring. Insert some temporary stands for all the seating and then when it's over, use the field as a massive open square with the olympic cauldron as the centerpiece. Use the buildings as the media center/olympic village.

 

[toforumer]

We're so bidding for these Olympics! Today's announcement of the Portland re-development is great marketing to the citizens of Toronto to get them on board for a 2024 bid. The Olympic park and village will be in the Portlands. It's also not a coincidence that they want to start construction in 2017 with a complete date of 2024.

 

[TOperson]

Nice try - they are all wastelands at the moment. Nobody is proposing to level any pre-existing neigbhourhoods.

AoD

LOL, haven't you noticed that the Olympics always involve levelling pre-existing neighbourhoods? The Olympics never just make do with whatever spaces happen to be readily available.

 

[TOperson]

One of the great things about Toronto is that we've never done something as stupid as host an Olympics. We have our levels of stupid, but we haven't done Olympian stupid yet.

What a waste of the Portlands if we were to build an Olympic Stadium there. That would be criminal. Downsview? Meh. It at least wouldn't destroy other uses to build a stadium there. I know -- how about Woodbine Live? Then the punters could buy tickets and bet on the 100m dash in the same venue!

I figure the thing to do is enjoy the seven-year Rationalization Championships leading up to the actual Olympics, watch for milestones like the first person to complain that their small retail business has been destroyed by all the nearby construction, the first person to find out the Olympics the need the land their house is on so they're getting turfed, and of course the increasing obfuscation re: the true budget. Wheee!

 

[animatronic]

I figure the thing to do is enjoy the seven-year Rationalization Championships leading up to the actual Olympics, watch for milestones like the first person to complain that their small retail business has been destroyed by all the nearby construction, the first person to find out the Olympics the need the land their house is on so they're getting turfed, and of course the increasing obfuscation re: the true budget. Wheee!

I hear that the Toronto 2024 security costs are already over budget.

 

[toforumer]

I'm not sure if any of you follow Gamesbids.com
The forums are active with Toronto 2024 talk, the thing is a majority of the user believe we have absolutely no shot against Paris and it would be a waste of time for us to bid. I personally don't think Paris is untouchable, Toronto could really rival this city and be the darkhorse in this race.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I'm not sure if any of you follow Gamesbids.com
The forums are active with Toronto 2024 talk, the thing is a majority of the user believe we have absolutely no shot against Paris and it would be a waste of time for us to bid. I personally don't think Paris is untouchable, Toronto could really rival this city and be the darkhorse in this race.

Personally I don't take that perspective seriously - and besides, you can never win if you don't try.

AoD