Anybody else here as excited as I am about Chicago winning the 2016 Olympic bid for the US? Based on the assumption that the Olympics (just like World Cup Soccer) move from world region to region, by 2016 it would be the Americas, so our sole competition would be Rio. Sounds to me, that we have a realistic shot at this. Went to Daley Plaza today and took a few pics of the hoopla. I have bashed the Mayor for what he did to Meigs Field, but he could be my hero again if we pull this thing off! PS: I was reading the plan for the venues in the newspaper this morning and realized, that I can even watch one event from my balcony.
I'm pretty excited about it too. Should be alot of fun if we get it. I also think about how far away that is and how completely different my life will be...
I'm pretty excited as well. I don't want it to be 2016 yet though cause I would be old by then and so are my parents. Might watch it live with my future wife and kids!
Time to start buying Real-estate in the City, no matter how expensive it is now, then it will sky rocket, Especially parking spots!!!!!
Ok party at Andreas's place - When 2016 only 9 yrs from now. But I get first tibs on a front row on his balcony. No I am excited. I was wishing it would happen. I was in Atlanta the day they won the event and then took the family to the 1996 summer games. One memorable trip for sure
I'm not sure yet if I'm excited about this. Olympic games benefit the tourists, networks and the athletes and do little (best case scenario) for the host city and its residents. We already live in a world-class city and don't need a pre-fab Disney-esque 2-week event to prop us up. If we win, prepare yourselves for years of construction headaches and the inevitable financial hangover. Anyone who thinks that Chicagoans aren't going to get stuck with a massive bill for this--however it's packaged or marketed--is living in fantasy land. If you look at the statistics, the last Summer Olympic games that didn't lose the host city a fortune was, ironically, the '84 games in LA. Add to the frustration that cronyism will ensure huge development profits for those on the in, and as regular Joes we'll be left to deal with all the added congestion of such a huge event. It will be good for me, because half the city will evacuate for that month, which will mean lots of dog boarding. But that's a long time from now. Another factor to consider is, how relevant are the Olympics going to be in another 9 years? Chicago does a tremendous amount of business in tourism every summer, with visitors coming from every corner of the world. Try to book a hotel room during the summer recently? We'll merely be exchanging one group of tourists for another, while possibly losing out on the rest of the travel season for fear of Olympic-related headaches. Most people who want to visit a city avoid doing so during an event like this; it gets in the way. I can almost hear all the hokey Blues Brothers impersonators singing their tired renditions of "Sweet Home Chicago" now.
Pretty much agree with Jack... This is going to be a nightmare for residents, it's bad enough trying to get to my girlfriends condo during a friken cubs game, wait til this happens and my sister's condo is right in the middle of where all this is going to happen.... HAH! This will be like the taste of Chicago times a 1000 !!!! Plus prices everywhere will sky rocket!! The other thing is, this will make politicians rich and local everyday people bankrupt, especially when locals will have to pay for it in thier taxes..... This will be interesting in 2016 if they end up here.....
Actually my game plan would be to take two weeks off, but not to run away, but to attend as many events as possible and watch history in the making. I totally loved it when we had World Cup Soccer here and I went to all 4 games including the opening ceremony and thought that was one of the best events that I've ever been to in my life. Olympics would be similar, but larger and more important by a couple of dimensions. I still think Chicago is a tourist secret and an event like this puts the city on the global map for good.
I can't agree with that. The Olympics don't put cities on the map. A city is either a cool city on its own (Athens, Barcelona, Sydney) or it fades back to its proper place almost immediately after hosting the games (Atlanta, Lillehammer, Nagano, Calgary, Lake Placid, Turin, the list goes on). It might be fun to run around and experience the hullabaloo for a day. But events like these are so over-priced and tourist-centric that I'd rather do without. To make matters worse, the focus has increasingly been on what's wrong in the host cities. A lack of real news means you see reports about the horrific traffic jams, the construction delays, the rampant corruption, rat problems, terrorism concerns, Da Super Fans being dragged around 30 years later. I'll admit that I watch every Olympics on TV, but in the last 30 years I am yet to see a games that made me want to visit the host city any more than before the games. I'll actually have access to some pretty good VIP stuff--my brother in law works in the business--but I'll have to really be persuaded to stick around for the whole event.
Each to his own I suppose, but I like to visit cities that have hosted the games and I'm always in awe when I visit their stadiums. I deliberately went to the Munich, Calgary, Littlehammer and Montreal stadiums and enjoyed visiting them. Often they're marvels of architecture (e.g. Munich).
Well Andreas you can include two to attend as many events as possible with you, just as long as you include a lot of gymnastics in the tickets. I have a lot of friends in Atlanta and they all thought the same thing. Many locals left for two weeks and many tried and some did rent out their homes, some even at unreal high prices. However, when we went there, I was totally shocked on how many local places we were able to visit without any hassle at all. We got into just about every event we planned for and then some. We were able to buy additional tickets down there at regular priced values. no major waits for entertainment, even in their "Underground" area. it was unreal. If Chicago can learn from Atlanta you will have nothing to worry about.
You just described what it is like to visit the F1 USGP vs any other GP in the world or what it was like to visit World Cup Soccer in Chicago vs to any other World Cup in the world: Americans pay much less attention to these events (F1, World Cup and Olympics) than the rest of the world does, which makes attending these events in the US a priviledge compared to the rest of the world. PS: Was watching BBC news last night and there was a big report about the gang violence in Rio de Janeiro killing each other and innocent people in the streets. I'm sure the IOC sees these reports too.
Munich's Olympic village is cool, definitely, and it has stood the test of time. I don't really get the Montreal stadium interest though. It was a failure from the start, and other than the enormous tower jutting up, it was a replica of all the major US sports stadiums that popped up in the late 60s and early 70s; big, round, concrete and sterile. Their concept for the removable "umbrella" roof was ahead of its time except it never worked. As far as Atlanta, it enjoyed a boost from the Games because, leading up the them, they were a city experiencing growth but without much direction. Sadly, the games will always be tied to the bombing in the park and the way in which the Olympics were (over)-marketed like never before. The fact that, for the first time ever, Samaranch omitted his famous "Best Games ever" line speaks volumes about that. Today, Atlanta's only identity still seems to be the '96 Games and their airport. I've never seen a metropolitan psyche so attached to the size of its airport! Also, there were two major reasons why people felt they could move around easily: first, Atlanta lacked drawing power, and many felt that the IOC should have awarded those games to Athens for the Centennial. Second, remember all the concerns about finishing the construction on time? Some venues were completed only days before the Games started. And people were leery of what the situation would be like once they arrived. One thing I thought would be cool, if Chicago does end up with the Games, would be to put a torch on top of every building circling the Grant Park area.
There were several things that impressed me about the Montreal stadium: - That cable ride to the top was really awesome - Great viewing point from the top - Totally loved the "Biosphere" concept they put into the cycling (?) dome. Was neat to walk through the four different climates and watch the animals. - Enjoyed the flags outside, some of those nations are gone by now. - Big sterile concrete is right: Not pretty, but darn impressive. For the same reasons I'll never forget the FBI building in Washington DC or some of the "beauties" Mussolini built in Rome. I wouldn't travel to a metropole for its Olympic leftovers though, but having had the city on display during the games does IMHO get one's attention and the Olympic leftovers are part of the overall touristic attraction. There is a reason that countries like Malaysia or China sponsor an otherwise bankrupt F1 race: They realize that the publicity puts them on the map and gets the world's attention. Chicago is of course no developing country, but as I said earlier touristwise in Europe still a secret: People go to either coast and largely ignore the Midwest. Simply because they haven't heard enough about it and their travel consultant doesn't tout it. If you're a #1 tourist destination like NY, London, Paris or San Fran you don't need Olympic games to attract more people, but if you're on the B list of tourist towns, the Games definitely help. Point in case: None of my European friends has even heard about Chicago winning the US bid for 2016.
Neither do half my friends in Florida. Did you know that Salt Lake City was vying for the winter Olympics back when? Why would anyone in Europe care about what cities in the United States are trying for the Olympic Games 9 years from now?
Because ANY kind of news from the US travels fast and makes it there. And Europe is a LOT more interested in the games. I'm used to the US not caring about the rest of the world, but I'm surprised to see the rest of the world not caring about what's new in the US. That tells me, that this piece of information has not been given enough publicity.
I would imagine now that we've chosen a candidate city, it will get more attention. The world watches the Super Bowl, but not so much the playoffs. Plus, there's still a lot of time to go.
Although, the quickest way to get me on board the 2016 Games would be to resurrect talk of adding auto racing to the Olympics. A1GP?
While in Europe I learned another helping little piece of information: The US is the biggest sponsors re: TV money for the rights to broadcast the games. Bigger and more important than any other nation or Europe combined. NBC has put its negotiations for the TV rights of the 2016 games on ice until the question of the location has been answered. They want the games to be in the US for obvious reasons. Follow the money trail and you'll find another good reason for why it will be in Chicago.
Brazil is bidding on the 2016 Olympics as well. Although I would love to have the Olympics here at home I'm afraid Brazil will be a tough fight to bit.
