17 replies to this topic

[Joseph]

baron-pierreIV,

Although Detroit has never been nominated for an Olympics, I do believe that Detroit would have been awarded the 1960 Summer Olympic Games if Squaw Valley, CA did not host the Winter Olympic Games in 1960 because I didn't think that the IOC wanted to have two Olympics in the same country.

[FYI]

"If the USOC put up Detroit today, the IOC would pick Istanbul-- 'even if it wasn't running'!"

:laughlong:

[KOTH]

Minneapolis-St. Paul will have a better chance of hosting the Summer Olympics than Detroit. The Twin Cities have great public transportation, more entertainment available, venues are close to each other, and the Twin Cities are very safe with a low crime rate.

[downtownBLUE]

I wouldn't count Detroit out forever- just for the maybe the next 20 years. Why? Because I'm a metro-Detroiter and I know the city better than most people on this board (dare say all).

Things working in favor of the City:

-Through the City is pretty rough, it is one of the largest collection of international businesses and one of the largest metropolitan tech centers in the World. Imagine the sponsors... GM, Ford, Daimler Chrysler, Toyota (who has a large base here) and many other large companies. Move 5 miles out of the city and you're surrounded by software, robotics and automation companies. Sponsorship would be easy and could generate tons of money.

-It's relationship with Windsor, Canada could lead to a great international Games hosted on two sides of the River.

-A large automotive infrastructure. Much like how Tokyo built so many highways for its Games, Detroit has an existing infrastructure. Remember that the region has about 8 million people in surrounding areas and they all communte with room to spare. With the Games, special lanes could be dedicated for busses without serious dents. New rail lines are being proposed as we speak to connect suburban Detroit-downtown Detroit - Ann Arbor. It also has a HUGE airport which can handle all the arrivals at one location. It's Northwest's major hub after the Twin Cities and services a very large portion of Delta and Continental as a secondary hub. The airport is also already equipped to handle foreign tourist like no other because of the influx of business. Where else can you see Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, English, Spanish and occasionally French all on one sign?

-UM Michigan Stadium, EMU Rynearson Stadium, Joe Louis Arena, Ford Field, Comerica Park, the Palace of Auburn Hills, Tiger Stadium, the Pontiac Silverdome, Wayne State's Stadium are within a 40 minute drive of downtown Detroit with Michigan Stadium being the furthest out (at the 40 min). That isn't including *ALL* the other basketball arenas, hockey arenas, conference halls and such that can be found in between. There are enough venues.

-Detroit is seeing large amounts of revitalization. Those vacant lots are becoming new housing and developments. You may not see it on TV but its changing.

-On top of the events already mentioned, it also was a host to World Cup events, the Ryder Cup tournament among many others...

- A large minority population in surrounding areas. There is a large population of people of asian and african decent that is integrated into the population. The area also has the largest population of middle easterners outside of the middle east!

- Detroit has an amazing cultural scene. From Motown to Rock and Rap, music is entwined in the city with competition from few cities in the US. There are many great museums such as the Detroit Inst. of Arts, the African American Museum, the new Motown museum, the Henry Ford Museum (which has many collections the Smithsonian wishes it had like the Rosa Parks Bus, the Chair Lincoln was shot in....), Greenfield Village and much more. Canada and Ohio offer much more and the University of Michigan has a large collection of everything from art to nuclear isotopes...

-It's unknown... It's a big "if". That's a huge advantage.



I'm not saying Detroit, now, would beat out a NYC or Chicago but one would never know. Who would have thought in the early 90s NYC would clean up... Or heck, who would have known London would have cleaned up and won the 2012 games... Detroit Metro has a ton of power, even if the City isn't strong.




But then again, I think a Games in New Orleans is more likely than in Detroit. What a perfect time this would be if New Orleans got the games... An incredible time to rebuild for an amazing event. Heck, it already has the hotel rooms. It doesn't have to build any more!

[Joseph]

Do you honestly believe that Detroit, Michigan has what it takes to host the Summer Olympic Games in the Future? Although Detroit was nominated six times between 1952 and 1972, Detroit has never hosted a Summer Olympic Games. Although Detroit and the Detroit metropolitan area has the venues necessary to host the games, the venues are not close together and visitors might have to travel far to get from one venue to another. Detroit is known for its sports heritage with championship teams like the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings and recently hosted the 2005 MLB All-Star Game and is going to host the 2006 Super Bowl and the 2009 NCAA Final Four.
Although Detroit is not known as a international tourism place, could the Olympics give Detroit a boost for international tourist to come and visit Detroit. As much as I would like to see an Olympics in Detroit, I do not see one happening in my lifetime. There is not enough accommodations around, not too much entertainment of offer in the City of Detroit, and Detroit does not have the security necessary for an Olympics to happen in Detroit.
What to you think about an Olympics in Detroit? Do you believe that it is possible for an Olympics in Detroit in the future or do you believe that it that the Olympics in Detroit will never happen.

[baron-pierreIV]

See the sad history of Detroit's Olympic history here..

The dismal destiny of Detroit's Olympic dreams

[faster]

Joseph, on July 29 2005,22:40, said:

baron-pierreIV,

Although Detroit has never been nominated for an Olympics, I do believe that Detroit would have been awarded the 1960 Summer Olympic Games if Squaw Valley, CA did not host the Winter Olympic Games in 1960 because I didn't think that the IOC wanted to have two Olympics in the same country.

there is no way Detriot would have betten Rome in 1960, Rome had been owed the Olympics since 1908, and the IOC finally paid up. There is no way the IOC would have given up the chance to stag the Olympics in one of the most important cities in the world for a unknown car factory city in Michigan. Detriot was betten in succession by some of the most well known and important cities in the world, they never stood a chance

1952 - Helsinki, Los Angeles, Amsterdam
1956 - Melbourne, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles
1960 - Rome, Lausanne
1964 - Toyko
1968 - Detriot
1972 - Munich, Montreal, Madrid
1952 - Helsinki, Los Angeles, Amsterdam

though from '64 on you can say that the Vietnam War politics were playing in the mind of the IOC, especially for members from the Eastern Bloc and Asia

[LA84]

Joseph, on July 29 2005,22:40, said:

baron-pierreIV,

Although Detroit has never been nominated for an Olympics, I do believe that Detroit would have been awarded the 1960 Summer Olympic Games if Squaw Valley, CA did not host the Winter Olympic Games in 1960 because I didn't think that the IOC wanted to have two Olympics in the same country.

If it was going to happen, it would have been for '68.  A lot of people think Mexico City got them because of an anti-American backlash after the Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missle crisis and ultimate economic embargo on Cuba.

[Mikel]

Detroit hasn't got much to offer, sorry, but for me is an awful city. I prefer a bid from NYC to 2016: GO NYC 2016!!! :love:  ::  

[Joseph]

Mikel,

If Detroit did host the Olympics in the 1950's or early 1960's, the Olympics in Detroit would have been a success because in the 1950's and early 60's, Detroit was a city on the move and had a population of over two million people. The Detroit Tigers were a winning baseball team and the Detroit Lions were a winning NFL teams and Detroit was the place at this time when Motown music was being created. After the riots occured in the late 1960's, Detroit started be begin a steep decline and today, Detroit would not have a chance of hosting the summer Olympics. Cities that have a better chance of hosting the Olympics over Detroit include Istanbul, Turkey, Cape Town, South Africa, and Moscow, Russia. If Detroit was to host the Olympics, people from the midwest would probably look forward towards going to the Olympics, but outside the midwestern United States, I do not think that a lot of American visitors would want to come to Detroit for the Olympics. I don't even think a lot of international visitors would go to Detroit because it is not a lot of visitors come fron overseas to come to Detroit to visit except for the North American International Auto Show. I do not think an Olympics in Detroit would be a success and a lot of people from all over the world would go to Detrot to see the Summer Olympic Games in Detroit.