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@USA2020Olympics - because for some reason I cannot reply there on the Updates section, good question re a Boston referendum. Well, the first thought that comes to mind is, of course they would go to San Francisco because SF supposedly was their #2 city. But then they would probably face the same "No" trend in SF. So the USOC is going to have to find a way to sell the idea of bidding for hosting an Olympics should be seen as an honor, no matter the cost. And perhaps the USOC and IOC should come out soon and say that THEY will cover the shortfall of staging their party -- not the host cities. That would be an easier road for them.

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@USA2020Olympics - because for some reason I cannot reply there on the Updates section, good question re a Boston referendum. Well, the first thought that comes to mind is, of course they would go to San Francisco because SF supposedly was their #2 city. But then they would probably face the same "No" trend in SF. So the USOC is going to have to find a way to sell the idea of bidding for hosting an Olympics should be seen as an honor, no matter the cost. And perhaps the USOC and IOC should come out soon and say that THEY will cover the shortfall of staging their party -- not the host cities. That would be an easier road for them.

Oh okay thanks for responding
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http://aroundtherings.com/site/A__49837/Title__Poll-Boston-Supports-Olympic-Bid/292/Articles

This article makes No Boston Olympics seem like a real dillweed that, now that a bunch of their former arguments are becoming defunct since Boston 2024 is doing their community meetings, has no solid argument.

They need a better spokesperson if they plan to get the signatures for a referendum. At this point and with the common trend of approval ratings, they're bum out of luck.

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http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/01/16/poll-percent-support-boston-olympics-percent-oppose/i7hPCpItSRogNVBRp1Gq1L/story.html

Public support for Boston 2024 has grown from 48% to 55% since October with no significant PR push or disclosure of bid details as of yet. One caveat - MA residents are 60+% against the Games if taxpayers will be expected to pay.

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It was interesting that the first NFL game after the USOC announcement was in Foxboro and it just happened to be on NBC. So needless to say they made mention of the news. Not so sure I buy this one. Why would they out the ceremonies all the way out there if they're building this big new stadium, albeit temporary, in Boston. Gillette stadium is not the Maracana. So if this is indeed try, it's really really stupid

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It was interesting that the first NFL game after the USOC announcement was in Foxboro and it just happened to be on NBC. So needless to say they made mention of the news. Not so sure I buy this one. Why would they out the ceremonies all the way out there if they're building this big new stadium, albeit temporary, in Boston. Gillette stadium is not the Maracana. So if this is indeed try, it's really really stupid

Yea looking at it, it's not very equipped to handle a brilliant OC/CC. It's probably best to go the route of London, build a stadium to temporarily host athletics as well as the ceremonies, and either completely take it down or downscale it for something else later.

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Over 95% of Patriots fans use cars to get to Foxboro, but there is a sort of light rail line from Boston to the stadium. It won't be able to get more than maybe 6,000 fans to the stadium, but every bit helps.

Are they choosing to limit the temporary stadium to 60,000 due to cost or the size of the site? The difference between 69,000 and 60,000 isn't that much anyway, so it does seem strange to choose Foxboro over Boston for the opening ceremonies.

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And where is CBS sports getting this information from?! The bid committee? The USOC? I don't know if I buy this, but if that were to be the case, then Boston is going to lose.

I don't know if this is rhetorical or not, but I heard it during the game so I couldn't tell you.

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In-game remarks from an NFL football announcer is not a good source for this sort of information! Also, the context of this comment was the role Robert Kraft has played with the Boston 2024 committee. The commentator easily could have confused Gillette Stadium with the proposed stadium at Widett Circle, a site where Robert Kraft will also have a permanent legacy if the bid goes through as planned.

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Over 95% of Patriots fans use cars to get to Foxboro, but there is a sort of light rail line from Boston to the stadium. It won't be able to get more than maybe 6,000 fans to the stadium, but every bit helps.

Are they choosing to limit the temporary stadium to 60,000 due to cost or the size of the site? The difference between 69,000 and 60,000 isn't that much anyway, so it does seem strange to choose Foxboro over Boston for the opening ceremonies.

Fun Fact: There are more than twice as many parking spaces in Gillette Stadium’s parking lots as there are parking meters in all of Boston.

Also Kraft and the MBTA signed a deal last week to start daily commuter rail service and a new train station called "Foxborough - Patriot Place at Gillette Stadium" starting in December 2016

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And the thing with using a separate Ceremonies stadium is that both Ceremonies; and then BOTH Paralympic Ceremonies can rehearse to their hearts' content w/o getting in the way of the T&F operations, and vice-versa. Besides, holding 4 Ceremonies in Foxboro would really mean only 1 or 2 trips for fans. Not unlike attendance for T&F events which are what? held over 10 days -- and have multiple attendance slots?

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Nonetheless, Gillette Stadium is too far from the city core to be used for either ceremonies or T&F. An article in the Globe discusses the Widett Circle proposal. A statement in the article tells us there will be green rooms for "artistic performers". Given the temporary nature of the stadium, this must be a reference to the ceremonies.

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CBS Sports just said that Gillette Stadium is the OC/CC stadium.

That is utterly preposterous. If this is the plan, Boston deserves to lose (and will, mightily) - I would be surprised if the Boston organizers were so dumb. In all likelihood, this was blather from some on-air personality trying to fill air time. Foxboro will not serve this purpose (for a number of reasons) if Boston got the Games.

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Fun Fact: There are more than twice as many parking spaces in Gillette Stadium’s parking lots as there are parking meters in all of Boston.

Also Kraft and the MBTA signed a deal last week to start daily commuter rail service and a new train station called "Foxborough - Patriot Place at Gillette Stadium" starting in December 2016

Cautionary tale that Boston organizers should learn a lesson from.. last year's Super Bowl at MetLIfe Stadium.

It's a similar venue to Gillette, there is a public transportation link there, but most people who go there are used to driving since there's a lot of parking on site. But for the Super Bowl last year, they strongly discouraged people from driving and told them all to take the train. It did not go smoothly. There were massive delays both getting to the stadium and leaving the stadium afterwards. It was all so ugly for New Jersey Transit that their chief resigned shortly thereafter.

Similarly if they want to put the ceremonies at Gillette.. this would not be your usual Patriots crowd. It would include a lot of people who are not locals that aren't familiar with the stadium or the area. Chances are they won't have cars (why would they where Boston is trying to propose an Olympics where you wouldn't need one). In addition to all the spectators, you have the athletes. You have the performers. All the media. That's an awful lot of people you're trying to move from point A to point B. Even with a dedicated rail line and station nearby the stadium, that might be too much trouble for what it's worth.

If Boston is building a large scale stadium in the city, connected by public transportation, there's no reason not to put the ceremonies there. Logistically it's simpler and much more sensible that telling 80,000 people they need to travel 40 miles out of town when most of them will lack their own transportation.

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Yes. It's the same issue with Gillette serving as a World Cup venue. You can't go from 4-5% of people using mass transit to 60-80% without serious problems. At least the existing rail line is a start, though. If they could set up a temporary BRT system and build a heavy rail line from Boston to Providence that would probably be acceptable.

Really, though, the only way hosting the ceremonies in Gillette would make sense to me is if the Boston bid committee is actually planning on a smaller athletics stadium than they have indicated. If it ends up being a 40,000 capacity stadium for track and field, then Gillette/Foxboro becomes the only option for the ceremonies.

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Yes. It's the same issue with Gillette serving as a World Cup venue. You can't go from 4-5% of people using mass transit to 60-80% without serious problems. At least the existing rail line is a start, though. If they could set up a temporary BRT system and build a heavy rail line from Boston to Providence that would probably be acceptable.

Really, though, the only way hosting the ceremonies in Gillette would make sense to me is if the Boston bid committee is actually planning on a smaller athletics stadium than they have indicated. If it ends up being a 40,000 capacity stadium for track and field, then Gillette/Foxboro becomes the only option for the ceremonies.

If they're proposing a stadium that small for athletics, they shouldn't bother bidding (and probably wouldn't have been selected by the USOC in the first place). What Rio did is not necessarily a template for Boston to repeat. Again, Gillette Stadium is not the Maracana in terms of history, prestige, and location. And their athletics stadium holds 60,000 which is the IOC benchmark.

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