‘No Boston Olympics’ to USOC: City’s Bid Has ‘Weaknesses and Flaws’
Members of “No Boston Olympics” are going for the gold with their grassroots campaign to warn people that hosting the 2024 Olympic games in the city would be a bad idea.
This week, they went straight to the source, and sent a letter to the United States Olympic Committee, the group responsible for putting together a bid proposal on behalf of a U.S. city and submitting it to the international organization that oversees the massive event, to voice their concerns.
“’No Boston Olympics’ opposes Boston’s Olympic bid, and is actively working to provide the citizens of Massachusetts with accurate information about the immense costs associated with hosting the Games,” the group said in the introductory letter sent to the USOC. They promised to send more letters in the next seven weeks, as the USOC compiles data to make its final recommendation.
The discussion about Boston hosting the Olympics ramped up after officials from the USOC visited the area during the summer, and later announced that the city was one of four—San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. are also in the running—being considered for a formal bid to the International Olympics Committee.
In order to be picked to host such a large-scale sporting event, the USOC has to decide if they even want to have the games in the U.S. in 2024. If so, they would then pick between cities on their short-list, and submit a proposal to the IOC by 2015. After that, it would be up to the IOC to decide if America would be better than the countries around the world also applying to host the games. That decision will be handed down in 2017.
Earlier this month, proponents of the Olympic bid outlined preliminary details about possible venue space and costs. Mayor Marty Walsh and Governor Deval Patrick even turned up at an event hosted by the Boston 2024 Organizing Committee, the group supporting the bid, to address concerns.
But “No Boston Olympics” members still aren’t convinced it’s a sound plan.
In their letter sent to the USOC, “No Boston Olympics” told the organization that bringing the games to Boston would cost between $10 and $20 billion, based on independent research, putting stress on other “much-needed investments” statewide, including healthcare, education, and core transportation infrastructure.
“Choosing Boston as the sole U.S. finalist for 2024 will threaten those efforts by relying on a bid that requires building a new Olympic stadium, velodrome, aquatics center, and Olympic Village—all from scratch,” they wrote.
“No Boston Olympics” vowed to follow the letter with a series of others that detail reasons why the USOC should scrap Boston as a viable city. The group said they plan on sending over information about the “troubling weaknesses and flaws” in Boston’s bid, as well as highlighting the “growing opposition to a Boston bid from Massachusetts voters.”
“We hope that you will carefully consider our position as you deliberate on this important choice,” the group said in their letter.”
The letter was sent the same day that the Boston 2024 Organizing Committee launched a new website and video in favor of being the top candidate for consideration.
You can read the full letter below:
