Boston’s Olympic dream probably won’t end Tuesday, and that might actually be a good thing
COMMENTARY
Think Boston 2024 is going away?
Sorry.
Oh, sure, the United States Olympic Committee’s board of directors is meeting next week. There’s even talk about ripping the bid away from the Hub, based on the incompetence of the Boston 2024 boosters.
Don’t expect that to happen.
Boston 2024 organizers have been busy lately, rolling out what spokesperson Doug Rubin described as “Version 2.0’’of their plan. The group has announced a host of new potential sports venues, from the beaches of Quincy to the Deerfield River in Western Mass.
Senior officials from the USOC still “want to see public support increase among Boston residents,’’ but told organizers of the Olympics effort this week that they are encouraged by recent revisions to the group’s bid, people familiar with the proceedings told the Boston Globe.
USOC chief communications officer Patrick Sandusky did not respond to a request for comment.
“We actually think the chances of the USOC pulling the bid are very low,’’ Chris Dempsey of No Boston Olympics, a group opposed to Boston’s Olympic bid, said.’’We expect that the USOC is going to stick with Boston.
Put on a happy face, Boston. These are soon to be your Olympics, whether you want them or not.
The USOC has until September to officially file your bid, but it has become clear that the Hub is the committee’s choice to represent Team USA in 2024.
There’s little chance the USOC is going to surrender that on their own. Right?
According to Dempsey, the organization would actually be due a $25 million penalty fee should Boston 2024 or the City of Boston pull out of the proceedings.
Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, who also serves as a senior advisor to the Boston Olympic movement, helped host “Olympic Day’’ prior to Tuesday’s Red Sox-Orioles game at Fenway Park, with a number of Olympic athletes, including locals Steve Langton (bobsledding, Melrose) and Seth Bauer (rowing, Bridgeport, Conn.).
The Sox, of course, are in last place.
Some wonder if Boston 2024 is as well.
Paris officially jumped into the bidding this week for the Olympiad nine years from now, submitting a bid that a British bookmaker established as a 5-4 favorite.
Boston was given 9-4 odds.
So, what exactly is on Boston’s side? Local organizers seem to be leaning on those new plans and a heavy dose of red, white, and blue.
“Look, the U.S. hasn’t had the Games for over 20 years,’’ Rubin said. “So there is an opportunity for our U.S. athletes to compete in their home country. We take that responsibility. It’s not just Boston, we’re representing the entire United States in this effort.’’
The USOC has seemingly bought into that logic, and should continue pushing Boston as its choice to present to the IOC come September. The board of directors meeting coincides with Gov. Charlie Baker’s request that Boston 2024 submit a revised plan for the Summer Games, mainly because…well, “Version 1.0’’ was an epic disaster.
“They’re still pushing this hard,’’ Dempsey said, “and they understand that the governor has given them a deadline to put out a revised version of the bid, and they have to do everything they can — with the pretty substantial resources that they have — to try and piece together something that is coherent and reasonable and makes sense for taxpayers and people like the governor who are really going to scrutinize this plan.’’
To be honest, Version 2.0 doesn’t seem nearly as bad as Version 1.0 did during the zygote stages of this process. Yes, as Dempsey points out, the fact that Boston 2024 has spread the Games from “walkable’’ to “compact,’’ as chairman Steve Pagliuca dubbed them last week, is a clear sign that taxpayers throughout the Commonwealth will be on the hook for the bill.
On that note, I lived in Western Mass. during a good portion of the Big Dig. Let’s just say, folks in Chicopee weren’t exactly thrilled they were paying for a tunnel they would hardly ever use.
Well, welcome to Boston 2024, folks in Worcester, New Bedford, and beyond.
“The question for you is; Is it worth footing the bill for construction projects in Boston just so you got a few weeks of a sporting event in your area? We think that people will realize that that’s not a very good deal,’’ Dempsey said.
Yes. And….well…
“We’re moving forward, and we think that Boston will be a fantastic Olympic city, Pagliuca said.
You know what? Maybe.
It pains me to admit this here, as this space has been consistent in its anti-Boston Olympic message, but some of Boston 2024’s latest proposals are actually intriguing. Establishing Buzzards Bay as a world-class sailing destination on par with Newport. Beach volleyball at Squantum Park, which may leave behind ferry service to Boston. These are real ideas in contrast to, “Hey, let’s just do it on the Common, then hang out down on the Charles.’’ Yay. Print the T-shirts.
“Those are the kinds of things when you start to think about — there’s really a potential for what the Games can do, not just what we can do for the Games, but what the Games can do for Boston and for Massachusetts,’’ Rubin said.
Regarding Buzzards Bay and New Bedford, the latest poll from WBUR shows that the region with the highest support for hosting the Olympics with a broader footprint is southeastern Massachusetts.
“There, support goes up to 66 percent, and opposition goes down to 25 percent, when you talk about … a more statewide games,’’ pollster Steve Koczela said.
Support in the WBUR survey rose substantially under the scenario of Olympic venues spread across Massachusetts, rather than clustered around Boston.
Eureka.
“We look at the venues and we say, ‘what’s great for the communities, what’s great for the Olympics,’’’ Pagliuca said, “and we’ve got a lot of demand and fantastic venues like New Bedford, Squantum, in Quincy there, people that really want these Games. So we’re assuring a very compact Games, but we’re going to share it with the rest of the state, and I think that’s the right thing for the state and the right thing for the Olympics.
“We’re going to be one of the more compact Olympics ever, even with moving some venues around the state.’’
That may be true. Pagliuca points out that during the Beijing Games in 2008, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong, a 3 1/2-hour plane ride away. Even with traffic down Routes 24 and 140, it’s hard to imagine such a travel scenario heading out to watch sailing in Marion.
“We have to make sure that it works for Boston and Massachusetts first, and then if we can make that work, I think we feel pretty good about our opportunity to compete on the international stage,’’ Rubin said.
Any nerves looming with Tuesday’s meeting looming though? Nah.
“We take them at their word when they say it’s too late that they don’t want to substitute another city and they’re not expected to do that,’’ Dempsey said. “And then another question is either do we pull the bid entirely or do we stick with Boston? And they just have no incentive to pull the bid. They might as well stick it out.’’
I guess the same goes for us.
Oh, for sure, the Olympics in Boston is still a horrific notion.
But maybe it’s time we at least, finally, listen to the ideas.
Boston’s Olympic bid: The players
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