The four cities still in the running to host the 2024 Summer Olympics had to send another batch of material to the International Olympic Committee to show the barons of the five rings that there is real interest in holding the event. Rome, Italy staggers into the next round without the support of the city’s mayor or city council. Budapest seems to be moving ahead despite calls for a referendum on whether it is worth spending billions on a two week sports event which leaves behind crippling debt.
Paris has been bidding for the Olympics for a long time and has been a runner up for a long time. The Paris committee seems to have all the right answers for the IOC. So does Los Angeles in that last week California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that allocates $250 million that would be used to help pay for Olympics incurred debt due to cost overruns and poor financial estimates.
The city of Los Angeles is putting up $250 million to cover unanticipated costs. That’s a half billion dollars in guaranteed public or taxpayers money that could go to pay off bills. But there is no need to fret because even though the LA organizers have said the cost of the Games could exceed $6 billion, they expect sponsorships, broadcasting rights and other revenue streams to cover those costs and leave a $161 million surplus.
These are 2016 projects and the reality will change by 2024. But that is not the IOC’s problem. They put on a sports party and pay for some of it but the host passes on additional costs to the public. No one really knows what the real economic impact on a region is but the guesses are always positive.
The IOC will announce the winning bid in 2017 and the winner generally becomes the financial loser.
By Evan Weiner For The Politics Of Sports Business
This article was republished with permission from the original publisher, Evan Weiner.