Watching the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics got me to thinking what US cities should put in bids for the next Summer Games.  Chicago is definitely on my list (I've also read on the internet that San Diego/Tijuana and Dallas are possible candidates).  I really couldn't see an Ohio city winning the bid, but I would never discount the three C's as good candidates.  Personally I am biased and would choose Cleveland.

 

 

So what are the thoughts of my fellow UrbanOhioans?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a lighter note, I stumbled across this article  :-D :

 

USOC Surprisingly Awards 2012 Olympic Bid to Sandusky, Ohio

 

Sandusky, Ohio was surprisingly awarded the U.S. nomination for the 2012 Olympics by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) on Saturday, beating out New York and San Francisco.

 

Many feel the USOC selected Sandusky as a sacrificial lamb, not wanting to waste the bids of New York or San Francisco when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is said to be looking for a host city in Africa or South America for the 2012 Games.

 

The industrial town of 30,000 on the shores of Lake Erie was not known to be a finalist before Saturday. When USOC President Milt Runyan made the announcement, gasps filled the room, followed by pronouncements of shock and disbelief by the New York and San Francisco bid teams. Representatives from Sandusky were not at the event, as no one from the town was aware it was a candidate...

 

http://www.sportspickle.com/features/volume1/11062002-usoc.html

I nominate that town in Arkansas with all those manufactured homes that FEMA evidently can't use... you see government waste, I see Olympic Village.

I nominate that town in Arkansas with all those manufactured homes that FEMA evidently can't use... you see government waste, I see Olympic Village.

 

And I constantly see all the Suburban Baton Rougeans jump up and down demanding these trailor park homes stay out of their neighborhoods. :-(

USOC chooses Chicago as U.S. applicant city for 2016 Olympics

 

 

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5205713

 

April 14, 2007 (WASHINGTON) - The U.S. Olympic committee has chosen Chicago over Los Angeles as America's candidate city to host the 2016 Olympics.

 

From Midwestern values to a modern city, spectacular skyline, powerful political leadership and can-do attitude, all of those things influenced the U.S. Olympic committee Saturday and helped Chicago grab the gold in this U.S. Competition...

Jewel cities hehehehe

^I saw an article that said that Chicago would build a "temporary" olympic stadium if it is selected. How does one build a "temporary olympic stadium"?

Here is an article from the Chicago Tribune about the Olympic Stadium.  It states that much of the facility will use steel frame construction, while concessions and restrooms will be located outside.

 

 

Low-cost stadium wouldn't look cheap

 

By Blair Kamin

Tribune architecture critic

Published January 24, 2007

 

This is the age of mass good taste, like the Michael Graves teakettle you can buy for $24.99 at Target. Chicago's plan for a $316 million Olympic stadium, unveiled Tuesday, represents a supersized version of that trend. The temporary stadium could turn out to be a low-budget icon, offering an object lesson in how to create a memorable image without breaking the bank.

 

With its asymmetrical seating bowl cracked open to the outside and a sweeping tier of skyboxes lending the stadium an appropriate air of athletic dynamism, the 80,000-seat venue would subtly resemble Soldier Field--no surprise since its principal architect is Shanghai-based Ben Wood, one of the co-designers of the renovated lakefront stadium.

 

But this is not, thank goodness, a carbon copy of that polarizing design. It's about half the height of the 150-foot-tall Soldier Field and would be tucked (as unobtrusively as possible) into a corner of vast Washington Park...

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/arts/chi-0701240059jan24,1,4891038.story?coll=chi-ent_arts-hed

 

Well, this wouldn't be the first time Chicago has built temporary structures for a world event...

If Chicago lands these games, I hope Cleveland takes FULL advantage of having the games a 'few blocks away'!  Just think, just about EVERY project being discussed on this forum has projected completion dates within a few years of 2016 (the Innerbelt may make things interesting...).  Currently, we can hold our own and provide visitors with a wealth of things to see and do in the city but by 2016, hopefully the rest of the country /world will see that too and make a quick stop in the city before heading over to Chicago.  Maybe new rail service will allow people to travel to Chicago in a couple hours?  That'd be great.  They can save a ton of money staying in hotels in Cleveland and board the train each day attend the games/ceremonies.  Hell, it will take 2 hours to drive in from Ohare of Midway so it's not like we're asking too much!

 

What can also help promote Cleveland is if/when CLE is expanded and we see many more transcon and transoceanic flights.  I helped volunteer at the Intl Children's Games a few years ago and a few int'l guests said how they wish they could have had a n/s flight or 1-stop flight.

 

This will only set the stay for the games that come here in 2036!  (Forget my screenname, 36/40 seems more realistic--as long as earth is still here!)  Let's not forget Cincy tried to bid the games in 2012.  We stand a very legit chance!  The target date is really 2023-ish since we'll be trying to get things together for the USOC and IOC.  ABOUT 15 YEARS AWAY!!!!!  :clap:

if chicago is chosen, they would need the midwest hub rail service.

 

cincy indy and cleveland become happy.

 

and if the midwest hub gets built, the ohio hub can't be far away once dayton and columbus start complaining,

 

then everyone is happy

I'm fine with Chicago...though given Sandusky's location "just outside a cultural triangle of jewel cities that includes Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit," I think it got the shaft...:wink:

 

Wait, how do those 3 cities create a triangle?

I'm fine with Chicago...though given Sandusky's location "just outside a cultural triangle of jewel cities that includes Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit," I think it got the shaft...:wink:

 

Did you read that clever line in a brochure at a rest stop in Sandusky?

 

I don't get how you can consider it a cultural triangle when most of the triangle is taken up by a body of water. I say we have the olympics in Cleveland. We could set Lake Erie on fire again with the Olympic torch. That would be badass. Get sponsorship from Fiji.

 

 

 

Did you read that clever line in a brochure at a rest stop in Sandusky?

 

I don't get how you can consider it a cultural triangle when most of the triangle is taken up by a body of water.

 

Pelee Island is offended by you and your remarks.

thats nice, but chicago has no chance to get it. the usa has had it too much. it'll be tokyo or madrid. i think the ioc...and everybody else...would like for rio to get it, as no olympics have been held in south america, but i'm not sure they can afford it. those are the only four options far as i have heard.

Rio would be an awesome games, though.

Tokyo won't get it since Beijing is having the games in 08. London is 2012, so that hurts Madrid a bit.  My bet goes to Prague, Rio, or Chicago.

I'm fine with Chicago...though given Sandusky's location "just outside a cultural triangle of jewel cities that includes Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit," I think it got the shaft...:wink:

 

Did you read that clever line in a brochure at a rest stop in Sandusky?

 

I don't get how you can consider it a cultural triangle when most of the triangle is taken up by a body of water. I say we have the olympics in Cleveland. We could set Lake Erie on fire again with the Olympic torch. That would be badass. Get sponsorship from Fiji.

 

Now David, Lake Erie never caught on fire.

Now David, Lake Erie never caught on fire.

 

most southern Ohioans/landlubbers don't know that...

 

Thx for your continued work at being a true a$$hole!  You have become quite good at taking a single comment or action and generalizing an entire region...well done!  Notice I said you...not northern Ohioans or whatever else.  If you want to jump on a comment...criticize the person who made the damn comment...don't continue your ridiculous generalizations!

If Chicago lands these games, I hope Cleveland takes FULL advantage of having the games a 'few blocks away'!

 

The main people that will gain from the games being in Chicago will be Indy, Milwaukee, STL.  A stretch would include Cincy, Cleveland, Detroit...I couldn't really see anywhere else getting much spin-off.  Oh yeah, possibly Cbus as well.

 

The key element though for any of these places to see real spin-off would be the creation of passenger rail.  There is no way that someone will stay in a hotel in any of these places unless there is efficient and effective transportation (car obviously does not fit this mold).

Well obviously the current Amtrak service between Chicago and Cleveland is far from sufficient.  It would have to be similar to the French TGV.  2 hour ride +/- between the two cities.  St. Louis isn't that much closer to Chicago than Cleveland (+/- 50 miles further) either.  Again this is all hypothetical but Cleveland would have an advantage over Indy since we will hopefully have expanded domestic and int'l air service during the next 10 years.  Also, it's quite convenient that I-76, 80 and 90 run through the Greater Cleveland area. 

 

Anyways, not to get ahead of ourselves but if Chicago lands the games, there will defintely be some pieces of the pie up for grab and hopefully we get a piece or two.

 

We have enough work to do here in Cleveland so that in 2025, no one will laugh when they hear about Cleveland's Olympic bid for 2036!  :wink:    Hey, that'd be our 240th Birthday too!

The temporary stadium, if cost effective, is a great idea. Olympic stadiums are pretty un-useful in the US. They aren't good for baseball or football, and who really makes their bread and butter off of track & field?

 

1996 should have been in Chicago. No way that Atlanta should get the world stage before Chicago does.

Did the 1996 Olympics promote a significant amount of economic growth in Atlanta? Could you see noticable changes in the city? I heard they falsified crime statistics to make the city look more friendly for the olympics.

Did the 1996 Olympics promote a significant amount of economic growth in Atlanta? Could you see noticable changes in the city? I heard they falsified crime statistics to make the city look more friendly for the olympics.

 

Good strategy with the crime.

 

My point is more about world reputation. I think that the Olympics did a lot for Atlanta (unjustified). While Chicago is a much much much more noteworthy city, it may not get as much presss world-wide as it deserves in comparison to the sprawled-out cities of Atlanta and Phoenix. Chicago ought to be leaving those suburbs, um I mean cities, in the dust.

Well everyone seems to be connecting sprawl and regional rail to the olympics (?????) but I think a more practical way to look at it is that its much easier to be mobile in Chicago. Traffic generally isn't as bad, there are more options, and most importantly, there are more resources and venues that could be used for the olympics. Chicago has a huge number of hotels, restaurants, etc to choose from, making it easier to handle a sudden influx of people.

Don't blame the rest of Ohioans for Lake Erie's polluted past.  Sure, the Lake is fine now but many people still think the Cuyahoga (or in some cases, the Lake) is still burning as well, or that Cincinnati is still rioting every weekend, or Columbus is still a giant suburb.  People have to learn to get over ignorance.  At the same time, don't blame those that are ignorant about an inland sea as the people "up north" are quite ignorant themselves about those "down south."

 

Respect is always a two-way street.

it's all about respek.....dawg  :laugh: