Boston’s initial euphoria at being chosen as the U.S. bidder for the 2024 Summer Olympics is yielding to the effort to present a proposal competitive with those of other countries. The International Olympic Committee is set to make the final host choice in 2017, the final year of Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s current term.
The effort will take a lot of time and industry on behalf of Walsh’s office, which is already dealing with a contentious court case regarding the casino in Everett. Walsh has vowed to make the Olympic process the most open, transparent and inclusive in Olympic history, including public hearings across the city for the next nine months, and he has promised not to stick the city with a big tab for the event. But he has ruled out a referendum on the issue.
Of the four U.S. cities submitting bids, Boston is the only city believed to have had a formal protest movement against the idea. The volunteer group No Boston Olympics cites the scarcity of resources for much-needed public projects (not to mention that Chicago was out $100 million in its losing bid for the 2016 Olympics). No Boston Olympics and a more recently-formed allied group, NoBoston2024, cite significant cost overruns in other host cities, residential displacement and the need for heightened security.
Predictably, the dialogue has exploded. In Boston’s favor is its abundance of colleges and universities, many of which have infrastructure compatible with sporting events – and dorm rooms which are assumed to go empty in the summer (not so fast – it would become one of many scheduling issues). Events could also be held in venues across Massachusetts, including UMass Lowell and Gillette Stadium in Foxboro – as well as Rhode Island and southern New Hampshire.
That is, if they can get there. Yes, the commuter rail is set for expansion over the coming years, but road traffic will be the big problem. Alleviating congestion on the Massachusetts Turnpike and I-95, as well as confusion as to what constitutes north and south on certain highway stretches outside the metro area, will present considerable logistical barriers if not addressed.
The Olympics may be nine years away, but dates in the calendar are closer than they appear. And it’s Gov. Charles D. Baker who will have to make the roads-and-bridges improvement decisions as the process moves forward.
The question of how much of the Olympic infrastructure will be in use after the games is a perennial one; over the years, some structures have gone into disuse after less than a decade. The Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing, a relic of the 2012 games, cost $480 million to build and $11 million annually to maintain – and now has no regular tenant.
Walsh’s administration will have to balance community needs with the expectations of the International Olympic Committee. Based on his first year in office, he appears clearly committed to the make-the-city-work sensibilities of his predecessor, but with a clear picture of the potential for positive impact of the right infrastructure in the right place. Regardless of the outcome, he apparently realizes that the outcome will be his to own.
