Boston Olympic Bid 2024

[NancysSummerSip]

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

www.wptv.com/sports/usoc-picks-boston-to-bid-for-2024-olympic-and-paralympic-games

[chiver78]

I wish I could share your enthusiasm.....

anyone want to rent a house for the fortnight, should Boston win the bid?

[NancysSummerSip]

Jan 9, 2015 12:30:21 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

I wish I could share your enthusiasm.....

anyone want to rent a house for the fortnight, should Boston win the bid?

OK, aside from the crowds, the traffic, the expense, the crowds...I like it. I think Boston deserves a positive spotlight. And frankly, I'm glad you beat out Washington DC. That's not a city for an Olympics. And while I love San Francisco, earthquakes just make it too much of a risk.

[chiver78]

I'll be interested to see what sort of logistics the committee has in mind. Boston's pretty congested close to the city proper, and there isn't much in the way of open space for them to build any venues. other than using the Charles River for the rowing events, and Gillette Stadium for soccer, I don't have any ideas for what's in their bid. nothing been made public really, for either this bid or the 2022 Winter Games bid. there's actually a 3rd committee - NO Olympics - that has been getting airtime as well.

one thing I *do* like about this bid, came up in the press conference this morning. business leaders (who would benefit tremendously from the Games) are ponying up money toward an insurance policy that would cover budget overruns. the committee insisted that no Boston bid would be submitted *without* that policy in place. this is apparently the first bid to include something like this, and IMHO it's a smart thing to do. so many cities have gone way over on the budget.

that said, I still don't want to deal with all the craziness that would accompany a Games here. ugh.

[NancysSummerSip]

You have the marathon course for the marathon, and parts of it could also be used for cycling. You have some beach area (beach volleyball) and sufficient pools, both indoor and outdoor, for swimming, diving and water polo. No additional facilities for any of that are needed. The soccer stadium, which I am not familiar with, could double for track and field, depending on the size and layout. Still need a baseball field, also several indoor arenas for gymnastics, wrestling, judo, fencing, boxing, weightlifting, badminton and table tennis. A large range for pentathlon and archery. Equestrian events can be tricky; you cannot use just any field.

I think the issue for Boston is more about layout and traffic; it would be hard to get all these venues close together, and find space for an athletes' village, AND housing for the media, guests, coaches, and specially-invited poohbahs. Yanno, those poohbahs hate to walk.