Chicago
mayor Richard M. Daley wanted the 2016 Summer Olympics in the worst way, which
is about the only way we would’ve gotten them.
In office, Daley was forever paying it forward, that being a financial
day of reckoning. He signed off on
generous labor contracts so there’d be no strikes to get in the way of his
Olympics, and he promised there’d be no public funding (nudge, nudge, wink,
wink). And now the financial day of
reckoning has come. At least we don’t
have the Olympics. That’s Rio’s problem.
And
what a mess it is, the cost overruns and polluted waters and now the threat of
the Zika virus. Talk about your perfect
storm. It’s really too bad the
International Olympic Committee is corrupt to the bone. An organization truly committed to amateur
sports—as opposed to, say, endless perks for IOC members—long ago would’ve
settled on one of two ways to handle the matter of venue that pops up every
four years. For openers, the IOC
could’ve established permanent sites. I
don’t know about winter (Switzerland?
Mt. Placid?), but it would obviously be someplace in Greece for the
summer games.
If,
for any reason that didn’t work out, they could then rethink the bid
process. Why do the host cities always
have to rebuild the Pyramids? Why not
adaptive reuse instead? This is what Los
Angeles did in 1984. For example, the
Coliseum and Dodger Stadium were used; ditto Pauley Pavilion. That translates into Soldier Field, Wrigley
Field (or the Cell, depending on the optimal number of urinals) and the United
Center, along with your choice of university swimming pool.
If
our former mayor could’ve pulled off an LA-style deal with the IOC, then the Olympics
would've been worth having here. I bet a
whole bunch of athletes are wishing he had, too.
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