Detroit's 6 failed bids for the Olympic Games

I have always known that Detroit made a failed bid for the1968 Olympics. Hell John F. Kennedy even made a speech touting Detroit’s bidfor the games. What I didn’t know is that Detroit bid for the Olympics in 1952,1956, 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972…sounds like somebody was absolutely hell-benton getting the Olympics. It just seems odd that after 6 attempts Detroit couldn’tsnag the games. Some cities only bid once or twice and eventually find success.I always thought it was a one-time thing but had no idea Detroit’s leaderspushed for the games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Di6YmCLZgc

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

curious.. so, when will local and regional leadership come together to bid again? Never mind...

Most modern Olympic cities don't benefit from the Games in the long run.

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Originally Posted by lilpup

Most modern Olympic cities don't benefit from the Games in the long run.

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Yeah, the cities usually get hosed. Even when the federal government steps in and pays for stuff - it's a huge drain on city resources. The Olympics committee doesn't pay for anything, all the costs for building stadiums, housing, and public services fall on the hosting country/city. The 2004 games helped to bankrupt Greece - it cost billions of dollars they didn't have.

As I recall, a gentleman named Douglas Roby, Sr. , then a prominent Detroit businessman, was a prime mover in some or all of these efforts.
I am not certain that either the level of required investment, or the financial burden on cities with more recent winning bids, was of a similar magnitude with respect to winning bids the years of the Detroit bids referenced above.
I do recall --from a combination of reading and personal recollection--that there was cohesive local support for the bids, and leadership from the Mayor's Office,

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Originally Posted by JBMcB

Yeah, the cities usually get hosed. Even when the federal government steps in and pays for stuff - it's a huge drain on city resources. The Olympics committee doesn't pay for anything, all the costs for building stadiums, housing, and public services fall on the hosting country/city. The 2004 games helped to bankrupt Greece - it cost billions of dollars they didn't have.

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Unless the city can use the various buildings and facilities afterward it doesn't make a lot of sense.

Atlanta was a good example of needed housing and athletic facilities being used by colleges and universities after the games.

The Olympic stadium became Turner field home of the Braves
The housing village became part of Georgia State Univ which is mostly a communter type school
The swimming and diving venue became part of Georgia Tech
The Basketball venue was taken over by Morehouse College
Centennial Park became part of the downtown landscape


Its seems at least in Atlanta's case it got needed infrastruture improvements as a result.

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Originally Posted by Patrick

I have always known that Detroit made a failed bid for the1968 Olympics. Hell John F. Kennedy even made a speech touting Detroit’s bidfor the games. What I didn’t know is that Detroit bid for the Olympics in 1952,1956, 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972…sounds like somebody was absolutely hell-benton getting the Olympics. It just seems odd that after 6 attempts Detroit couldn’tsnag the games. Some cities only bid once or twice and eventually find success.I always thought it was a one-time thing but had no idea Detroit’s leaderspushed for the games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Di6YmCLZgc

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

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You are aware that by typing in "Olympic Games" after clicking "search site" at the left side of the screen will show you years of threads on the same topic, right? http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...20-Olympic-bid Post 15 mentions previous bids as do many other threads on the olympics..

As far as I'm concerned, they can drop the Olympics altogether, both versions.

I don't think Montreal got out from under debt from the 76 games for close to 30 years.

Growing up in the 70's I use to love the summer olympics. Maybe I was just Naive back then, but all the cheating that's been uncovered over the last 15-20 years makes them unwatchable for me.
The winter game are somewhat interesting in small doses.

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Originally Posted by firstandten

Atlanta was a good example of needed housing and athletic facilities being used by colleges and universities after the games.

The Olympic stadium became Turner field home of the Braves
The housing village became part of Georgia State Univ which is mostly a communter type school
The swimming and diving venue became part of Georgia Tech
The Basketball venue was taken over by Morehouse College
Centennial Park became part of the downtown landscape

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That's great - but did Atlanta *NEED* these stadiums? Did the privately owned Braves *require* a new publicly subsidized stadium?

This stuff isn't free. The costs stack up along with the rest of the massive debt we are accruing. Then it has to be maintained. Meanwhile we are laying off teachers, ambulances and buses are breaking down, etc...

If Detroit got a whole bunch of new stadiums and parks, assuming the construction money fell from heaven, with what money will they maintain them with? More money from heaven?

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You are aware that by typing in "Olympic Games" after clicking "search site"
at the left side of the screen will show you years of threads on the same topic,
right? http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...20-Olympic-bid
Post 15 mentions previous bids as do many other threads on the
olympics..

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Didn't know Lowell died and made you God...

Wasn't there some speculation the past couple years that Detroit was going to potentially place future bids for the summer Olympics? Could have sworn I heard something regarding a future bid.

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Originally Posted by JBMcB

That's great - but did Atlanta *NEED* these stadiums? Did the privately owned Braves *require* a new publicly subsidized stadium?

This stuff isn't free. The costs stack up along with the rest of the massive debt we are accruing. Then it has to be maintained. Meanwhile we are laying off teachers, ambulances and buses are breaking down, etc...

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...and Atlanta was chastised by the international community for hosting a games that was "too corporate". The City recruited local sponsors--often hocking their wares outside of venues--who weren't official Olympic sponsors. I think I recall the City's response as "Well, that's just American culture."

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Originally Posted by Patrick

Didn't know Lowell died and made you God...

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If I were God, I would delete this thread because it is an exact rehash of the same points made in earlier threads about the Detroit Olympics. You think you discovered some new revelation, while most of the readers remember the old threads. It's nothing new. In fact, I think there's a rule that here that if you're making the same old points, you have to bump the earlier thread.

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Originally Posted by Meddle

As far as I'm concerned, they can drop the Olympics altogether, both versions.

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The nice thing about the Olympics is that sports that are often more demanding than the usual professional sports finally get a bit of a spotlight and their winners get the smallest of chances to gain some recognition for their efforts and achievements.

Sorry, I have to much shit to do in regular life...I don't have the time to immerse myself in DYes even though I have been here for a decade. If you post here enough to recall the aspects of the past 400 threads then I think you need to spend a lil bit moree time out in the real world. Don't be a Rasputin...



Dave, don't be that guy.

http://www.netaddiction.com/

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Originally Posted by Patrick

Sorry, I have to much shit to do in regular life...I don't have the time to immerse myself in DYes even though I have been here for a decade. If you post here enough to recall the aspects of the past 400 threads then I think you need to spend a lil bit moree time out in the real world. Don't be a Rasputin...



Dave, don't be that guy.

http://www.netaddiction.com/

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I don't read all the threads on here either. But, I remember posting on an Olympic thread before. It was cool at first to read that Detroit made past bids, but when I click and see a new thread with the same deja vu stuff in it, it ends up being a waste of my time.

It takes only half a minute to click on "search site" on the left side of the screen and type in "olympics". It's one thing if you had something new to add to the discussion like say if Obama were gonna give Detroit a billion dollars to set up the infrastructure for an Olympic bid, but you're just rehashing the same old stuff. If you're rehashing, bump the old thread so I don't have to waste my time rereading the same points again. Don't be "a lazy guy"...

Thank God we didn't get the Olympic games, or Tiger Stadium would have been torn down 40 years ago.

Honestly I don't care for the Olympics period. What really turned me off was when they tried to charge for it and made it available on PPV.

There was no way I was going to pay $100 to watch the Olympics.

Claude, I don't really remember ever having to pay to watch the Olympics. on TV. It's pretty much the ONLY thing on TV while it's going on.

I think Detroit should make an Olympics bid, and soon. It is perfectly catered for this city. We're massively in debt, we have tons of available land and alterable infrastructure, we have a practically unused waterfront, a spectacular park system, and we're willing to do it for cheaper than any other city. Detroit would see an influx of billions of dollars, leveraging us out of our massive debt and enabling all of the projects to restore and rebuild the city. The Olympics would certainly bring with it new structures and venues and new uses for our vacant land, but also the certain restoration of the Michigan Central Station and other important historic structures in the city. The eyes of the world would be transfixed on our community's pride and history, focussing the charitable and public effort to lift Detroit out of its spate of misfortunes and hardships.

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Originally Posted by Woodward's Cousin

As I recall, a gentleman named Douglas Roby, Sr. , then a prominent Detroit businessman, was a prime mover in some or all of these efforts.
I am not certain that either the level of required investment, or the financial burden on cities with more recent winning bids, was of a similar magnitude with respect to winning bids the years of the Detroit bids referenced above.
I do recall --from a combination of reading and personal recollection--that there was cohesive local support for the bids, and leadership from the Mayor's Office,

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

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Originally Posted by Gsgeorge

Claude, I don't really remember ever having to pay to watch the Olympics. on TV. It's pretty much the ONLY thing on TV while it's going on.

I think Detroit should make an Olympics bid, and soon. It is perfectly catered for this city. We're massively in debt, we have tons of available land and alterable infrastructure, we have a practically unused waterfront, a spectacular park system, and we're willing to do it for cheaper than any other city. Detroit would see an influx of billions of dollars, leveraging us out of our massive debt and enabling all of the projects to restore and rebuild the city. The Olympics would certainly bring with it new structures and venues and new uses for our vacant land, but also the certain restoration of the Michigan Central Station and other important historic structures in the city. The eyes of the world would be transfixed on our community's pride and history, focussing the charitable and public effort to lift Detroit out of its spate of misfortunes and hardships.

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Yea, if we are not going to pay for it then im all for it.

As long as they don't build on Michigan and Trumbull, im all for it.

We have the Olympics in London next year and it is already a very vexed issue. A lot of money has been spent and very few jobs have materialised. Most local people are tired of it already. What will happen to the site afterwards? I assume what usually happens which is that some bits are bought by wealthy developers and the rest just falls apart.

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Originally Posted by mikeg19

Wasn't there some speculation the past couple years that Detroit was going to potentially place future bids for the summer Olympics? Could have sworn I heard something regarding a future bid.

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2006. Not sure what started the rumor, other than speculation as to the 2020 games. It had some legs for about 2 seconds. There is a comment by "Mod" a little ways down that says it all about a Detroit-Windsor bid.

http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/76017/80571.html

...I'm still mad about Isiah Thomas not getting chosen for the 1992 USA team. :mad: Christian Laetner??!?

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Originally Posted by mikeg19

Wasn't there some speculation the past couple years that Detroit was going to potentially place future bids for the summer Olympics? Could have sworn I heard something regarding a future bid.

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The expectation is that the US will not bid for the 2020 games due to some sort of money dispute between the USOC and the IOC. If true then the earliest Detroit could bid would be 2024...

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Originally Posted by Barbara Nadel

We have the Olympics in London next year and it is already a very vexed issue. A lot of money has been spent and very few jobs have materialised. Most local people are tired of it already. What will happen to the site afterwards? I assume what usually happens which is that some bits are bought by wealthy developers and the rest just falls apart.

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I'm not sure why a city like London [[or New York for that matter) would even want to host it. Aren't other cities like Manchester, Birmingham or Glasgow capable of hosting the games? Seems like those other cities would benefit more from the exposure...

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

I'm not sure why a city like London [[or New York for that matter) would even want to host it. Aren't other cities like Manchester, Birmingham or Glasgow capable of hosting the games? Seems like those other cities would benefit more from the exposure...

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I think the "benefits" to be derived from "exposure" are just a load of PR hot air. Since 1896, the Summer Olympics have been held in larger, "world" cities. I'm not sure how one quantifies whether any increase in tourism to say, Seoul or Sydney, is strictly attributable to hosting the Olympic Games.

The Winter Games, on the other hand... Is anyone really flocking to Sarajevo or Lillehammer for vacation just because they may have heard those names on television???

The Olympics were once-fantastic to watch on television, but I think that's about it. Atlanta is still a piece of shit city, but now they have a great big empty moonscape called Centennial Olympic Park smack in the middle of downtown. Hooray--what progress.

In 1968 Detroit is one step away of getting the Olympics, but the problem was the cost of feeding all the athletes. Detroit City Council didn have the money to cover the feeding cost and its endorsers are not interested. The sponsors also don't want to look at some venues that too close to the riot stricken ghettohoods so they pull out the IOC choose Mexico City, Mexico to host the 1968 Olympics.

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Originally Posted by ghettopalmetto

I think the "benefits" to be derived from "exposure" are just a load of PR hot air. Since 1896, the Summer Olympics have been held in larger, "world" cities. I'm not sure how one quantifies whether any increase in tourism to say, Seoul or Sydney, is strictly attributable to hosting the Olympic Games.

The Winter Games, on the other hand... Is anyone really flocking to Sarajevo or Lillehammer for vacation just because they may have heard those names on television???

The Olympics were once-fantastic to watch on television, but I think that's about it. Atlanta is still a piece of shit city, but now they have a great big empty moonscape called Centennial Olympic Park smack in the middle of downtown. Hooray--what progress.

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Well, Atlanta's problems as a city is a result of misguided regional planning. But I think Atlanta has benefited from a sustained tourism boost that probably wouldn't have otherwise materialized. If a city with assets to sell, like Detroit or Birmingham, England, could get a couple weeks of uninterrupted publicity to refresh its image, that might have a similar pay off.

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

Well, Atlanta's problems as a city is a result of misguided regional planning. But I think Atlanta has benefited from a sustained tourism boost that probably wouldn't have otherwise materialized. If a city with assets to sell, like Detroit or Birmingham, England, could get a couple weeks of uninterrupted publicity to refresh its image, that might have a similar pay off.

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Atlanta's post-war economy has always been predicated on tourism, though. The former head of Delta Airlines tricked, er, convinced the City of Atlanta to build an enormous convention center in the 1950s, because he figured it would result in more people flying on Delta. He wasn't wrong. Since then, it's just one outsized tourist trap after another, the most recent one being the Georgia Aquarium [[even though Atlanta is over 200 miles from a large body of water and barely has enough drinking water in the summer).

The problem with "refreshing your image" is that you better have the substance to justify it. Otherwise, you're just selling an empty marketing message.

We've been through this before--no Super Bowl or NCAA tournament or All-Star Game or Olympics or any other temporary event is going to change a damned thing about Detroit. I'd worry more about fixing the very *real* problems and spending money to make Detroit a better place to live and do business, rather than throwing visual tchotchkes to everyone on God's green earth.

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Originally Posted by Danny

In 1968 Detroit is one step away of getting the Olympics, but the problem was the cost of feeding all the athletes. Detroit City Council didn have the money to cover the feeding cost and its endorsers are not interested. The sponsors also don't want to look at some venues that too close to the riot stricken ghettohoods so they pull out the IOC choose Mexico City, Mexico to host the 1968 Olympics.

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Mexico City was chosen by the IOC in 1963.

And then right before the Mexico City games, they had the Tlatelolco Massacre...good choice IOC!

I have a theory that if Detroit had given the '68 Games, Detroiters would have been too busy preparing and working together for the Olympics to riot. We probably could have used much of the infrastructure that would have been built...

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Originally Posted by bartock

Mexico City was chosen by the IOC in 1963.

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Detroit was in the bid for the Olympics. The IOC observed Detroit's image and cityscape a couple times during the 60s to see how its developing through financial and regionalization. It did well until the 67 riots came. The IOC still want Detroit to host the Olympics in 1968. But there was a problem. Not enough sponsors and the city council couldn't cover the cost of the food for the athletes and other city-suburbs relationship problems.

Here's how the the bid happen.

Detroit was on top since 1964 followed by Mexico City, Mexico; Lyon, France and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

At the 60th IOC Conference in Baden Baden, Germany in October 18th, 1963. After carefully looking at the cityscapes. Mexico, City, Mexico suddenly came up with more finances than Detroit, MI. and the IOC picked Mexico City, Mexico to host the Summer Olympics.

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Originally Posted by Danny

Detroit was a bid for the Olympics [[ actually in 1964 by the IOC) The IOC observed Detroit's image and cityscape a couple times during the 60s to see how its developing through financial and regionalization. It did well until the 67 riots came. The IOC still want Detroit to host the Olympics in 1968. But there was a problem. Not enough sponsors and the city council couldn't cover the cost of the food for the athletes and other city-suburbs relationship problems. So the IOC decided to Mexico City, Mexico to host the Olympics.

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Annual IOC meeting in October of 1963 is when Mexico City got the games.

They would not have and could not have pulled the bid and given it to Detroit in 1967.

Right now Detroit has NOT got the any bid from the IOC for the next Olympic Games since 1972. And it never will until its image is clean up and more regional dollars come in. Detroit may NOT get the IOC bid for the Olympic Games for next 100 years.

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Originally Posted by bartock

Annual IOC meeting in October of 1963 is when Mexico City got the games.

They would not have and could not have pulled the bid and given it to Detroit in 1967.

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Here's the sources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9uWSNbHEps

This was the film that was introduced to the IOC Comittee in Baden Baden, Germany in October 18th 1968

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Summer_Olympics

This is the prime evidence:

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

Any more arguments you want to protest?

Neda, I miss you so.

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Originally Posted by Danny

Here's the sources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9uWSNbHEps

This was the film that was introduced to the IOC Comittee in Baden Baden, Germany in October 18th 1968

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Summer_Olympics

This is the prime evidence:

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

Any more arguments you want to protest?

Neda, I miss you so.

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Yes there are. All of your arguments.

First sentence from YOUR Wikipedia source says:

"On October 18, 1963, at the 60th IOC Session in Baden-Baden, West Germany, Mexico City finished ahead of bids from Detroit, Buenos Aires and Lyon to host the Games.
IOC voting[1]CityCountryRound 1Mexico CityMexico30DetroitUnited States14LyonFrance12Buenos AiresArgentina2"




I do not see where Detroit was picked over Mexico City in October of 1968 to host the already-concluded 1968 summer games.

I do not see anything suggesting that Detroit was the favorite to host the 1968 summer games but lost it due to riots that didn't occur for five years.

I do see that Detroit in the 1963 vote by a large margin, sort of like it did when it made it to the final round for hosting the 1964 games.

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Originally Posted by davewindsor

You are aware that by typing in "Olympic Games" after clicking "search site" at the left side of the screen will show you years of threads on the same topic, right? http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...20-Olympic-bid Post 15 mentions previous bids as do many other threads on the olympics..

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Go spread your cheer on all the open Madison Building threads... and as for the Rasputing comparison... :eek:

Flashback Friday: Detroit’s Olympic Dream

http://london2012.blogs.nytimes.com/...olympic-dream/

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Originally Posted by Gsgeorge

I think Detroit should make an Olympics bid, and soon. It is perfectly catered for this city. We're massively in debt, we have tons of available land and alterable infrastructure, we have a practically unused waterfront, a spectacular park system, and we're willing to do it for cheaper than any other city. Detroit would see an influx of billions of dollars, leveraging us out of our massive debt and enabling all of the projects to restore and rebuild the city. The Olympics would certainly bring with it new structures and venues and new uses for our vacant land, but also the certain restoration of the Michigan Central Station and other important historic structures in the city. The eyes of the world would be transfixed on our community's pride and history, focussing the charitable and public effort to lift Detroit out of its spate of misfortunes and hardships.

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Except that the Olympics do not say, "Give us your land and we will build on it, use it, and then give it to you."

What the Olympics do say is, "Build us our facility, we will use it, then we will go away leaving you holding the bag."

You forgot the little piece of the PowerPoint where you show the slide that says, "and then God makes it rain $100 dollar bills to pay for everything."

The '68 Games: Detroit's Unrealized Olympic Dreams

http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...pic-dreams.php

Apart from having or building the necessary sports venues for Olympic sports, many cities who host the games struggle to find enough hotel rooms for the thousands of visitors who briefly converge on a city for the Olympic period.

Sydney used passenger ocean liners and moored them on Sydney Harbour as 'floating hotels' for the 2000 summer games. I'm not sure if Detroit has the hotel rooms. Maybe. Maybe not.

Nevada is making a bid at Lake Tahoe for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Folks down here in Las Vegas couldn't care less. It's kind of what Detroiters would say if Houghton/Hancock was shooting for them.

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Originally Posted by Kathleen

The '68 Games: Detroit's Unrealized Olympic Dreams


http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...pic-dreams.php

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Like those venues, Kathleen. If Detroit won the 1968 Summer Olympic bid. It would help create over 500,000 jobs. Immigrants and people of races will bum rush to Detroit for work, neighborhoods will be diverse. It's population will over 1.7 million and become steady in the next 40 years. Not to mention more regional jobs. Violent crime will be reduced, but will increase into the 1980s. Downtown Detroit skyline will be filled with 80 to 100 story buildings. Then Detroit will get another Olympic bid by 2012 and won.

Thanks in large part to to the guidance & vision of Peter Ueberroth & the late Mayor Tom Bradley, the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics not only didn't cost the city money, but the net $232 million in revenue is still filtering its way throughout communities in SoCal 30 years after the closing ceremonies, via the LA84 Foundation.

The cornerstone of Ueberroth's approach to '84 was to study the history of financial debacles experienced in other locales---and not to repeat them. The first of which was to use existing facilities & infrastructure, rather than spend billions building an "Olympic Village" which frequently serves as financial white elephant once the Games are over.

Rather than grandiose construction, funds were used to make minor modifications to existing facilities, coordinating the logistics of transporting spectators to to their venues, and working with unions, major employers, and the public in order to accommodate the visitors. Hard as it is to fathom, even the insurmountable challenge of LA's infamous traffic nightmare was conquered for those few weeks.

It can be done, but the goal of the Games has to be twofold: to shine a PR spotlight on the city [[frequently achieved), but also not to be stuck with a big tab afterward [[rarely, and more difficult, to achieve).

After this winter I think Detroit or Up North/UP should try for a Winter Game. Less hassle and pressure than the Summer Games. We can only dream, can't we...

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

After this winter I think Detroit or Up North/UP should try for a Winter Game. Less hassle and pressure than the Summer Games. We can only dream, can't we...

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Where would they host the ski events?

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

Where would they host the ski events?

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Possibly either Mount Brighton, Pine Knob, Mount Holly or maybe even the tall garbage dumps in Riverview or Auburn Hills.

Eddy Hines and/or Rouge Park.....:cool:

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Originally Posted by mtburb

Possibly either Mount Brighton, Pine Knob, Mount Holly or maybe even the tall garbage dumps in Riverview or Auburn Hills.

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Yeah... I don't think those will work.

With modern technology, I think most cities could host either summer or winter games. That said, I think Detroit would be a more natural fit for the summer games. We have a lot of facilities in Detroit and outlaying areas [[including the athletic facilities of UM and MSU) to host the events. The only major new facilities we would need would be the Olympic Village and Olympic Stadium. The village could be constructed to be converted to dorms for WSU & UDM. The stadium is a tougher issue: there is neither a perfect place to put it, nor a good post-games use for it. I would think perhaps we could build a facility like the arena London built, designed as a cheap, modular facility to be dismantled after the games. The good news is, like Los Angeles, the money raised [[including the TV rights money) could be used primarily for treaks and improvements to current facilities.

In the past, I had felt a Detroit-Windsor joint bid was a good idea, with 2 countries pushing the bid, major companies in both countries as sponsors. But, realistically, with post 9-11 rules in place, border crossings would be too slow and unpredictable to be feasible.

I think Detroit could put together a good bid for the 2024 or 2028 games. We probably won't, but I think we could.

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Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

With modern technology, I think most cities could host either summer or winter games. That said, I think Detroit would be a more natural fit for the summer games. We have a lot of facilities in Detroit and outlaying areas [[including the athletic facilities of UM and MSU) to host the events. The only major new facilities we would need would be the Olympic Village and Olympic Stadium. The village could be constructed to be converted to dorms for WSU & UDM. The stadium is a tougher issue: there is neither a perfect place to put it, nor a good post-games use for it. I would think perhaps we could build a facility like the arena London built, designed as a cheap, modular facility to be dismantled after the games. The good news is, like Los Angeles, the money raised [[including the TV rights money) could be used primarily for treaks and improvements to current facilities.

In the past, I had felt a Detroit-Windsor joint bid was a good idea, with 2 countries pushing the bid, major companies in both countries as sponsors. But, realistically, with post 9-11 rules in place, border crossings would be too slow and unpredictable to be feasible.

I think Detroit could put together a good bid for the 2024 or 2028 games. We probably won't, but I think we could.

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Detroit almost certainly won't have the money to bid on 2024. Bing also already declined: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2828798.html

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But the requirements for host cities, including a $10 million upfront bid processing payment, $3 billion operating budget commitment, construction of an Olympic Village for 16,500 athletes and, perhaps the biggest hurdle, a workable transportation system, make it hard to imagine Detroit being in shape to host the Olympics in a mere 11 years.

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on a pure fantasy level, I'm wondering just when Detroit would realistically be in a position to legitimately put a bid in? Ah well.

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

Detroit almost certainly won't have the money to bid on 2024. Bing also already declined: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2828798.html

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I wasn't predicting that we will bid, or that such a bid would win. I think that regardless of the quality of the bid we put forth, the IOC would think we were not politically organized enough to trust with the bid. The moderate problems they had in Athens and the significant organizational issues they are having with the $51B Sochi games makes it likely that only cities who seem to have had their act together for a long, long time will be considered going forward. Detroit's Olympic prospects are just an academic exercise for now.

As for money for the games, the host city's government doesn't lead or fund the bid [[although they will certainly pick up some expenses). A local organizing committee raises the money, plans the events, and runs the games. So, other than the fact that it casts a negative pall over the bid, Detroit's finances are not directly related to a it. For Detroit to actually put together a real bid for the games, we would need a generation of efficient, constructive, and honest government to point to. Michael Phelp's kids will be in the first games we could realistically bid for.

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Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

In the past, I had felt a Detroit-Windsor joint bid was a good idea, with 2 countries pushing the bid, major companies in both countries as sponsors. But, realistically, with post 9-11 rules in place, border crossings would be too slow and unpredictable to be feasible.

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Of course, we could have a customs union, like, say, France and Germany - who fought 3 wars in the preceding 120 years. Even if only temporarily for something like an Olympics. But I guess that would be far too sensible and productive for the folks in Washington. After all, you never know when those sneaky Canadian might finally attack again, in revenge for the War of 1812.

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Originally Posted by EastsideAl

After all, you never know when those sneaky Canadian might finally attack again, in revenge for the War of 1812.

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Yes have been thinking that we need to rally our mighty Canadian military and recapture the city. Detroit Ontario Canada has a nice ring to it. But we would have to really work on the conspicuous lack of "eh?" punctuating the ends of your sentences.

For anyone interested in this subject, you may want to head over to 409 E. Jefferson [[designed by Albert Kahn 1902/1904) to check out this lot.

http://www.dumouchelle.com/LotDetail...NEWS-CLIPPINGS

Thanks for the link, p69rrh51. Interesting bit of history.

Note: I have changed my tune from previous posts of mine on the topic of Detroit bidding for the Olympics. I think it is now a terrible idea. The bidding process absorbs a lot of civic energy; and most cities end up being lessened by the games. Financially of course, but also in terms of infrastructure left behind without being functional or appropriate for the city post-games. Detroit should host some major events, but an Olympic bid is not worth the effort, in my opinion.

From Wayne State U
Detroit's Olympics bid brought Matthaei to WSU

https://today.wayne.edu/news/2021/07/26/detroits-olympics-bid-brought-matthaei-to-wsu-44144

For the 1968 Olympics. Detroit failed the bid because it failed to have it's sponsors provide meals for the athletes. And Detroit is still recovering from the 1967 riots that devastated most of the neighborhoods. The whole global community don't want to our city look like a war zone. When they go sight seeing.

Also Detroit will not be on the 2024 Olympics bid so forget about that. In order for Detroit to back on the bid is to improve it's regional infrastructure. This is not a race matter, it's a business matter. The Summer Olympics is 500 billion dollar event that comes once every 4 years. Detroit's regionalism and infrastructure just have the money to build super stadiums and it's super venues.

Let's say some miraculous event the IOC decided to have the Olympics in Detroit in 2044? From 2024 this city has 20 years to improve it's infrastructure.

There will venues in Detroit,MI. Wayne State University will get the Track and Field, U of M will have the swimming pools, Basketball courts, Ford Field will have the bicycling, Detroit and Windsor will have the Decathlon. And there will be other outside venues for the Olympics as well. Just like it's planned for the 1968 Olympics.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Meddle

As far as I'm concerned, they can drop the Olympics altogether, both versions.

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Agreed. The modern games have grown too far beyond the original vision.

Don't mind the Olympics, not a huge fan but I'll occasionally watch, more so Winter than Summer. But regardless of preference of sport, the major issue with the Olympics [[or World Cup Futbol) for that matter is the system of procuring an Olympic host site. FIFA/IOC corruption and insane requirements to host these games/tournaments have pushed the price tag into the tens of billions. Never mind the figures floated by the host country, those are almost always lowballed and the actual costs are typically much higher. Hosting an Olympics used to be an honor, a certainty to highlight your nation/city on the world map and stamp it as a great place to visit/invest $$$. Now the IOC are pushing host countries into billions in debt [[Hello Greece?), forcing them to build monumental new stadiums/hotels/infrastructure that NEVER lives up to their long term sustainability as a post game venue that is sold to the public [[Chris Illitch can probably get a Detroit Olympics based on that logic). The city looks great for 2 weeks and then the bomb goes off; hulking structures left to rot, too big to employ for further uses or draw teams to relocate, to expensive to demolish [[Looking at you Rio).

Lets be real, the only real way to move forward is 1 of 2 scenarios:

A) The IOC reduces their absurd requirements to host the Games, enticing more cities to use existing structures rather then building new, renovating those structures and improving local transit that will have long last impact on the local communities.

or

B) Have 2 permanent locations for the competitions, 1 Summer, 1 Winter, with the IOC & competing nations financing the permanent venues. If you want to change it up, maybe have 2 locations for each that rotate every other Olympic.

Rant done.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mikeg19

Don't mind the Olympics, not a huge fan but I'll occasionally watch, more so Winter than Summer. But regardless of preference of sport, the major issue with the Olympics [[or World Cup Futbol) for that matter is the system of procuring an Olympic host site. FIFA/IOC corruption and insane requirements to host these games/tournaments have pushed the price tag into the tens of billions. Never mind the figures floated by the host country, those are almost always lowballed and the actual costs are typically much higher. Hosting an Olympics used to be an honor, a certainty to highlight your nation/city on the world map and stamp it as a great place to visit/invest $$$. Now the IOC are pushing host countries into billions in debt [[Hello Greece?), forcing them to build monumental new stadiums/hotels/infrastructure that NEVER lives up to their long term sustainability as a post game venue that is sold to the public [[Chris Illitch can probably get a Detroit Olympics based on that logic). The city looks great for 2 weeks and then the bomb goes off; hulking structures left to rot, too big to employ for further uses or draw teams to relocate, to expensive to demolish [[Looking at you Rio).

Lets be real, the only real way to move forward is 1 of 2 scenarios:

A) The IOC reduces their absurd requirements to host the Games, enticing more cities to use existing structures rather then building new, renovating those structures and improving local transit that will have long last impact on the local communities.

or

B) Have 2 permanent locations for the competitions, 1 Summer, 1 Winter, with the IOC & competing nations financing the permanent venues. If you want to change it up, maybe have 2 locations for each that rotate every other Olympic.

Rant done.

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C) Rotate between China & Russia. It's still a great propaganda tool and way to direct your citizens' money to your friends.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mikeg19

Now the IOC are pushing host countries into billions in debt [[Hello Greece?), forcing them to build monumental new stadiums/hotels/infrastructure that NEVER lives up to their long term sustainability as a post game venue that is sold to the public [[Chris Illitch can probably get a Detroit Olympics based on that logic). The city looks great for 2 weeks and then the bomb goes off; hulking structures left to rot, too big to employ for further uses or draw teams to relocate, to expensive to demolish [[Looking at you Rio).

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The winter Olympics are usually not *that* bad. Usually a large resort-like complex needs to be built, along with a ski jump, a large arena for ice skating events, and an Olympic grade chute for the bobsled style events. Often existing ski areas have most of these amenities.

The summer games are completely bonkers. Specialized arenas need to be built for equestrian events, sailing and rowing events, separate stadiums for soccer and baseball. A dedicated gymnastics center. Tokyo built a $300 million arena just for volleyball.

The IOC generally doesn't want you to reuse existing structures, unless they were built for previous Olympic games [[the Budokan is being re-used in Tokyo.) A college style swim center isn't going to cut it. They want a brand-new aquatics center built.

And, as pointed out, these brand-new arenas rarely get used past the Olympics. Most of Greece's arenas went unused, except the repurposing of their main arena as a new soccer field. The "bird's nest" built for the Beijing games has only been used a couple of dozen times since the 2008 Olympics, though it will be reused in the next Olympics.

The investment just never pans out. The buildings become an expensive boondoggle. Politically connected builders get their coffers filled, a bunch of poor people get land taken away from them, and the host city gets a lot of tourism for a couple of weeks. And that's it. The host city is left with billions of dollars in debt, and a bunch of specialized stadiums that are expensive to maintain and will probably never be used again.

A tale of two cities...

Atlanta vs. Detroit for the Summer Olympics

Atlanta at the time was mostly 60% black. It has CNN, WTVS Superstation, Turner Sports, WCW , Coca Cola and CDC.

Billionaire Ted Turner and friends put some money on the IOC Bid and flatter them with the city scape and Ted's Baseball Team the Braves winning six straight World Series titles. Theirs billions of dollars of jobs and improving their regional infrastructure.

Detroit [[back in the 1968) 60% white, black folks still stuck in their lower hoods even after their urban revolution. We have Ford, Chrysler, GM and American Motors. great regionalism the best in the northern hemisphere. But our hoods are mess up and can compensate for anyone feeding the athletes. That's horrible. If any major metropolis is the IOC bid, they better kick in some money and support fast. Otherwise it goes to the highest bidder.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mikeg19

Don't mind the Olympics, not a huge fan but I'll occasionally watch, more so Winter than Summer. But regardless of preference of sport, the major issue with the Olympics [[or World Cup Futbol) for that matter is the system of procuring an Olympic host site. FIFA/IOC corruption and insane requirements to host these games/tournaments have pushed the price tag into the tens of billions. Never mind the figures floated by the host country, those are almost always lowballed and the actual costs are typically much higher. Hosting an Olympics used to be an honor, a certainty to highlight your nation/city on the world map and stamp it as a great place to visit/invest $$$. Now the IOC are pushing host countries into billions in debt [[Hello Greece?), forcing them to build monumental new stadiums/hotels/infrastructure that NEVER lives up to their long term sustainability as a post game venue that is sold to the public [[Chris Illitch can probably get a Detroit Olympics based on that logic). The city looks great for 2 weeks and then the bomb goes off; hulking structures left to rot, too big to employ for further uses or draw teams to relocate, to expensive to demolish [[Looking at you Rio).

Lets be real, the only real way to move forward is 1 of 2 scenarios:

A) The IOC reduces their absurd requirements to host the Games, enticing more cities to use existing structures rather then building new, renovating those structures and improving local transit that will have long last impact on the local communities.

or

B) Have 2 permanent locations for the competitions, 1 Summer, 1 Winter, with the IOC & competing nations financing the permanent venues. If you want to change it up, maybe have 2 locations for each that rotate every other Olympic.

Rant done.

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I think "A" is what will inevitably happen. I'm not sure there will be any bidding cities if the cost of the infrastructure/bribery whatever requirements of the IOC known and unknown continue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bartocktoo

I think "A" is what will inevitably happen. I'm not sure there will be any bidding cities if the cost of the infrastructure/bribery whatever requirements of the IOC known and unknown continue.

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I think they are finally seeing that with these last 1 or 2 bid processes. Cities are pulling out of the bids, there are protests by citizens, etc.

Don't get me wrong, it would be AWESOME if Detroit landed a Olympics in the future, but not at the current cost. How can you spend $15B on an Olympics when I-94 floods if too many toilets get flushed or bridges are falling apart onto cars or teachers are buying their own supplies for kids in shithole schools? It can't be justified when there are so many other things that need to be addressed.

It is fascinating that Detroit is the city with the most bids while failing to ever win one. And while one should never say never, it's highly unlikely that Detroit will ever host the Olympic games, at least this century.

For the summer games, there's simply too many great global cities that could easily outcompete Detroit, including many located in middle-income countries seeking international prestige. And for the winter games, Michigan is too flat to even be considered.

I just want another superbowl.

I love the summer Olympics, especially track and field, and have been to several of them. But they are far too often an enormous boondoggle for the host cities. I think the IOC has now recognized this and is tending towards Plan A above. The next several summer Olympic cities are already decided - Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028, and now Brisbane 2032. Both Paris and LA have most of major facilities already built and will be renovating and reusing them for their games, like the Coliseum and Staples Center in LA and the Stade de France and La Defense Arena in Paris.

The winter games are in big trouble though. First of all, less than half the world, and not the fastest growing parts, pays any attention to them. Secondly, global warming is making the citing of venues increasingly difficult and the costs to operate and maintain them ever more prohibitive. Third, the most expensive venues that have to be built for the winter games, ski jumps, speed skating ovals, and bobsled/luge courses, don't have much prospect for profitable reuse. Then there's the desire of the IOC poobahs, sponsor VIPs, and the media to hold these games in big cities that aren't actually winter sports areas. So the cross-country events next year will be held 140 miles from Beijing. For the 2026 "Milano" games most of the outdoor events will actually be held over 200 miles, or a 5 hour drive or train ride, away from Milan.

In any event, Detroit seems extremely unlikely [[thank goodness) to be jumping back into the Olympic bidding game any time in the foreseeable future.

Hosting the Olympics has been a boondoggle almost always. Ordinary citizens don't benefit, it's the IOC which derives its profits from broadcast licenses and advertising, IOC officials who accept bribes [only some of them], and the construction companies, local politicians, and other intermediaries who bribe and share the business and inevitable cost overruns.

Every defender of hosting the Olympics always points to Barcelona as an example of the Olympics "putting it on the map." That was 29 years ago; there have been 14 Olympics since then. Besides, it was inevitable Barcelona would become a tourist destination. Anyone who has ever been there knows that.

Kara Swisher interviewed the former VP of the IOC just before the start of the latest games. They discuss many of these issues. You can listen here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/o...ick-pound.html

It's interesting what has happened to former Olympics venues. So many are abandoned, disused, and have fallen into disrepair. Even ones built for the Summer games, even in Beijing. That wasn't long ago. Let alone what happens after the Winter games. Just what are you supposed to do with a bobsled track?

Terrible use of public funds.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by casscorridor

It is fascinating that Detroit is the city with the most bids while failing to ever win one. And while one should never say never, it's highly unlikely that Detroit will ever host the Olympic games, at least this century.

For the summer games, there's simply too many great global cities that could easily outcompete Detroit, including many located in middle-income countries seeking international prestige. And for the winter games, Michigan is too flat to even be considered.

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Some might argue that Detroit, taken in isolation, is not that different from the candidate cities in some of these countries.

I did not see any mention in this thread about Detroit's bid for the 1928 games or the 1940 Olympic games that were never took place. At least, the pools in Rouge Park were created for the 1928 games and were refurbished by the state about a decade ago. That Olympic bid for the 1928 games at least resulted in a facility that is still attractive and in use now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by davewindsor

I don't read all the threads on here either. But, I remember posting on an Olympic thread before. It was cool at first to read that Detroit made past bids, but when I click and see a new thread with the same deja vu stuff in it, it ends up being a waste of my time.

It takes only half a minute to click on "search site" on the left side of the screen and type in "olympics". It's one thing if you had something new to add to the discussion like say if Obama were gonna give Detroit a billion dollars to set up the infrastructure for an Olympic bid, but you're just rehashing the same old stuff. If you're rehashing, bump the old thread so I don't have to waste my time rereading the same points again. Don't be "a lazy guy"...

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If I may suggest, don't click?

I been around here for awhile, the search function sucks IMHO.