New Poll: Little Has Changed for Boston 2024, and Time’s A-Wastin’
Photo via AP
Even after a month filled with venue announcements and the long-awaited unveiling of Bid 2.0, public support for the Boston 2024 Olympic bid hasn’t changed all that drastically, a new WBUR poll shows.
Statewide, Boston 2024 has received a slight bump in support. Forty-two percent of those surveyed said they would support hosting the Olympics in the Boston area, with 50 opposed. Last month, 39 percent were in support, and 49 percent opposed. In the Greater Boston area, support for the Olympics held steady at 40 percent—the same as it was three months ago. But three percent of those who were undecided or refused to answer in April shifted to the opposition in July.
In Boston, 44 percent of those surveyed were in favor, and 48 percent in opposition.
Still, 26 percent of those surveyed statewide said they hold a favorable opinion of Boston 2024 organizers, with 36 percent viewing them negatively. Thirty-seven percent of participants had a favorable view of No Boston Olympics, who released their finances and donor list in June, and 29 percent, unfavorably.
In Greater Boston, 58 percent said they have made up their minds about the 2024 Boston Olympic bid, with 42 percent still open to changing theirs. Statewide, 75 percent of those surveyed believe taxpayer funds will be required to pay for the Games, with 18 percent believing the Games would be privately financed.
Though 66 percent of those surveyed statewide oppose exclusive Olympic lanes for athletes, media, and officials, 37 percent held a favorable opinion of the International Olympic Committee—the folks who require the lanes— and 25 percent, unfavorably.
Despite mounting uncertainty that he or anyone else at City Hall read Boston 2024’s bid book, Mayor Marty Walsh enjoyed an uptick in support both in the city proper and Greater Boston. Seventy-three percent of those surveyed in the City of Boston hold a favorable opinion of Walsh, up from 65 percent in April.
Boston 2024 organizers have roughly two months to improve public support and endear itself to the United States Olympic Committee before it formally selects its bid city on September 15.
