We don't want the Games

[IndianaGreen]

We don't want the Games

Bob Quellos, a founding member of No Games Chicago, explains why Barack Obama would best serve the interests of working people in his hometown by not going to Copenhagen to lobby for the 2016 Olympics.

September 29, 2009

Dear President Obama:

This summer has not been easy for many people who reside in Chicago. As the city entered into the final leg of competition for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Chicago citizens witnessed cuts in services, and city employees were forced to take furlough days to balance the budget. At the same time, many state programs and jobs were slashed.

While funds were nowhere to be found for basic services, the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid committee, the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois lined up nearly $2 billion in taxpayer funds for the 2016 Olympics.

A recent WGN/Chicago Tribune poll found that less than half of Chicagoans support the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid, and that 84 percent were opposed to using tax revenue to cover any losses incurred. Only recently did the Chicago 2016 bid committee make any effort to engage the community in citywide meetings where it was evident that many in Chicago had deep concerns about hosting the Olympics, including the potential for cost overruns and resident displacement.

As a longtime resident of Chicago, you are well aware that in this city, cost overruns and delays of large civic construction projects go hand in hand.

Millennium Park came in four years behind schedule and three times over budget. The recent construction on the Dan Ryan Expressway came in at twice its original budget. And last summer, construction was halted on a "super-station" for express trains between Chicago-area airports and the Loop business district--$213 million has been spent on the project, and today, there isn't much more than a concrete hole in the ground to show for it.

Costs overruns and the Olympics also go hand in hand. The city of Vancouver, which will host the 2010 Winter Olympics, is $6 billion in debt, a tab that will be picked up by taxpayers. And the 2012 Summer Olympics in London are four times more expensive than the initial budgeted figure--with a total cost running currently at $20 billion, nearly three years ahead of the opening ceremonies.

http://socialistworker.org/2009/09/29/dont-want-the-games

[AngryAmish]

1. hell yeah

[Horse with no Name]

2. What's gonna happen if any of those damned furriners need heatlhcare?

Since they all have their own cushy socialized healthcare in their country--what happens if they NEED it in ours?
Those eevil furriners best not have the gall to get sick in our country!

[IndianaGreen]

5. Here is some info on the No Games Chicago organization

We are a diverse group of citizens who have come together from across Chicago to oppose the city’s bid for the 2016 Olympics. We are all volunteers.

http://nogames.wordpress.com/about/

Live From Copenhagen!

No Games Chicago is in Copenhagen! The same team that went to Lausanne, Switzerland in June is now in Copenhagen. Our goal remains the same – to convince the International Olympic Committee that the 2016 Olympics for Chicago is the wrong project for the wrong city at the wrong time.

We;re still raising funds to pay for this trip – so please do use the PayPal button on the right!

Follow the news of our efforts on the “Live From Copenhagen” page on this web site!

http://nogames.wordpress.com/

[thunder rising]

3. I agree. I am wondering how the cost is recouped by the municiple/county/state governments

The have to put a surcharge tax on rooms and just about everything. Who get's the ticket revenues?

[Dawson Leery]

4. I agree. I do not live in Chicago

and I would not want the games in my backyard either.
They are money-losers to the host community.
They tie up traffic.

The IOC should buy some land to have their games.

[Louisiana1976]

6. Well said! And welcome to DU!

[impik]

7. This is too stupid for words

Hosting the Olympics is one of the best things that can happen to any city in the world. Each games over the last couple of decades ended with huge profits and massive positive effect on the hosting city. The games in Chicago are expected to create 315,000 new jobs and $22.5 Billion in New Economic Activity. The objection is ridiculous and ignorant.

[tuvor]

8. Would you care to back up the part about...

"Each games over the last couple of decades ended with huge profits and massive positive effect on the hosting city"?

Links would be most welcome.

[Horse with no Name]

9. Let me help you out here

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/sports/2009/feb/Beijing-s-Empty-Venues-Reveal-Heavy-Cost-of-Olympics.html
>>>snip
Post-Olympic financial problems are common for Olympic host cities, particularly for the host of the larger and more expensive Summer Games. Spending billions to host the two-week event, cities almost never make a profit and usually spend years paying off their Olympic-size debt. Furthermore, these cities are often left with unused venues and “white elephant” main stadiums.

Two cities scheduled to host future games are already experiencing financial problems caused by the global recession and overambitious plans. Vancouver, set to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, had its credit rating lowered Friday after it had difficulty receiving funding for the $800-million athletes’ village.

The budget for the 2012 London Olympics has nearly tripled from $4.9 billion to $13.5 billion and it will likely continue to rise. It has had to scale back its plans, as it had has difficulty securing loans for the $1.3-billion athletes village and $500 million media center. The budget for the Olympic Stadium has nearly doubled to $790 million and it appears that the city will be unable to sell the stadium to a soccer or rugby team after the Games.

Tessa Jowell, the British government minister for the Olympics, admitted in November that, in hindsight, the city made a mistake by bidding for the Olympics, according to the Chicago Tribune. “Would we have bid for the Olympics?” she asked. “Almost certainly not.”
>>>snip
No structure better represents the drain of the Olympics than Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, home to the financially disastrous 1976 Summer Games. The futuristic design, which included a tower and retractable roof, wasn’t completed before the Olympics. Originally estimated to cost $150 million, the “Big O”—often derisively called the “Big Woe”—took 30 years for the city to pay off and cost a total of $1.47 billion in construction, nearly constant renovation of the roof, and interest.