mr.x Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 City Wants 2028 Olympics Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun Published: Friday, October 06, 2006 Vancouver and Seattle will join forces to try to attract a post-2010 global mega-event, with a wish list that includes co-hosting the 2018 World Cup of soccer, a world's fair around 2020 or the 2028 Summer Olympics. The boards of Tourism Vancouver and the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau voted unanimously Thursday to create a study group to examine the viability of bidding for one of those events. The study group will report back to both boards when they meet again in Seattle early next year. "This is a great region of North America and it only makes sense that the two of us work together to pursue a common vision," Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau chairman Jeffrey Wright said in an interview. ". . . We're very excited about what you have accomplished here in Vancouver and we want to participate in that success." The cities' tourism boards met for the first time in Vancouver this week. Vancouver would enter uncharted territory if it ever won the right to co-host a Summer Olympics. No city has ever hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games and there have never been official co-hosts of any Games, although equestrian events for the 1956 Melbourne Games were held in Stockholm because of quarantine issues. Japan and South Korea co-hosted the 2002 World Cup of soccer. Vancouver and Seattle businessmen tried in the early 1990s to create a two-city bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics and even met with International Olympic Committee officials in Europe. But they were told the cross-border concept wouldn't work and Tourism Vancouver refused to support the proposal. Tourism Vancouver president Rick Antonson said city tourism officials at the time felt a Summer Games would overwhelm Vancouver's transportation and accommodation infrastructure. But he said the growing Vancouver-Seattle corridor is becoming a huge economic region that should be able to handle a Summer Olympics by 2028. He agreed the Canada-U.S. border remains a challenge to the free movement of traffic between the two countries but feels politicians can find a solution if they have to. Antonson said tourism officials chose to consider a 2028 Summer Olympics bid because it seemed to be an appropriate amount of time following the 2010 Winter Games. "After Vancouver proves itself in 2010, we might look a little too presumptuous if we went for it any sooner than that," he said. Paris hosted Summer Games 24 years apart -- in 1900 and 1924 -- while Innsbruck, Austria held the Winter Games in 1964 and 1976, when it agreed to host the event after Denver backed out because of cost concerns. Antonson said the two-city Olympic co-host theme makes sense now because it spreads the financial burden over a larger area. It cost Athens an estimated $15 billion to hold the 2004 Summer Games. "The cost of holding the Summer Olympics is becoming more and more onerous so the chance to share the cost could become an important business model for the whole viability of the event," he said. Tourism Vancouver chairman Jim Storie said Vancouver and Seattle want to match the great job done by Japan and South Korea in hosting the 2002 World Cup. He knows IOC officials traditionally award Olympic games to single destinations but feels globalization can help them accept a two-nation event. bconstantineau@png.canwest.com © The Vancouver Sun 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave199 Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 Are you serious? Not going to happen, especially for 2028!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 Sigh ... Why do these places come up with these crazy bi-national bids that don't have a hope in hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted October 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 A Vancouver-Seattle bid is quite unneccessary, considering that the Vancouver region and British Columbia would have enough population to support and finance the cost of the Summer Olympics, as would also have sufficient accommodation and infrastructure to host the Summer Games. We're talking about a metro population well over 3 million (from 2.3 million today) and a provincial population well over 5 million (from 4.3 million today). Winning the bid nationally and internationally is a different story, for obvious reasons......including with ever increasing US-Canada border security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 If Seattle's amateurish, I can understand. But I'm surprised Vancouver officials even agreed to release this. It really does no harm to anyone but Vancouver sure comes out very rank amateurish considering they are the next Winter host and should know the hoops and protocol (that won't change) that it took to win the bid. They should really come here (GB) and visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted October 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 If Seattle's amateurish, I can understand. But I'm surprised Vancouver officials even agreed to release this. It really does no harm to anyone but Vancouver sure comes out very rank amateurish considering they are the next Winter host and should know the hoops and protocol (that won't change) that it took to win the bid. They should really come here (GB) and visit. i agree. they asked local politicians (including the premier, mayor, city councillors), business leaders, and sport clubs in Vancouver....and i was surprised that they were all for it, though this was a non-government initiative by Tourism Vancouver. regarding Seattle, how can they even afford something like this? they have perhaps some of America's worst infrastructure, with very little public transit and rapid transit, and they couldn't even find the required funds for their monorail project, which was later cancelled. hell, they couldn't even pay for the monorail all at once at a cost of $1.8 billion.....but instead, would borrow money which would accumulate into $12 billion of interest over a few decades. and of course, the monorail is now cancelled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafa Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 uhm ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCD 2012 Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 FIFA would nerver agreed to that . A few years back Blatter said Bi-national bid are a no no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted October 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 FIFA would nerver agreed to that . A few years back Blatter said Bi-national bid are a no no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceNarcissus Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 This plan may work if Seattle tries very hard to surmount an SOG bid solo. The city has so much potential and Washington State's construction industry is large. The only problem is that relatively few sporting events are held in Seattle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 (edited) 1. FIFA hoped that it would be its first and last. 2. They are not too thrilled with an Argentina-Chile tandem. 3. How can these 2 cities hope to stage, or I guess spearhead a bi-national World Cup? I mean Canada is not even among the top 25 soccer nations; Seattle is probably #16 or #17 in US city size. ??? And even if it were to happen, say a Canada-US (OK, we'll give top billing to Canada), I mean the semi-finals would probably play in Toronto for Canada; and either New York or LA for the US. And the finals would be in either LA or New York. So what good would it do these 2 cities? They won't be the stars. (Just for discussion's sakes - Toronto, Montreal & Vancouver would be the 3 Canadian venues; so the other 6 for the US would be the 6 major population areas, so: New York, LA, Chicago, DC-Baltimore area, San Francisco Bay Area, and I'd give the last spot to Miami over Seattle!) 4. Did those Seattle coneheads think that they wouldn't have to deal with the Office of Homeland Security before hatching hare-brained schemes like this? The San Diego-Tijuana virusH3P must've cross-bred with the Madrid-Istanbul strainXQ7 and migrated to Seattle/Vancouver. Edited October 7, 2006 by baron-pierreIV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted October 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 ^ lol, i would be opposed to a Cascadia World Cup......so don't waste your time debating over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 This plan may work if Seattle tries very hard to surmount an SOG bid solo. The city has so much potential and Washington State's construction industry is large. The only problem is that relatively few sporting events are held in Seattle. It hosted the Goodwill Games in 1990 (but shared some of the Volleyball events with Spokane). It cancelled some Pan Pacific Sports Festival last year. I mean the USOC didn't even approach them this time around. God, I hope all that Starbucks coffee I drink won't turn me into these mush-headed Seattlites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted October 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 This plan may work if Seattle tries very hard to surmount an SOG bid solo. The city has so much potential and Washington State's construction industry is large. The only problem is that relatively few sporting events are held in Seattle. first, it has to fix its transportation network. and if it can't even afford to build a midget monorail line, how is it suppose to pay for a Summer Olympics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenadian Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 They've been smoking to much weed to come up with this idea. Considering the strain and pain Vancouver is going through for 2010, there certainly won't be any appetite for 2028. There is something called "Olympic fatigue" that hits every community that hosts the Games. No way will Vancouverites want to run into a summer bid right after the 2010 Games close. Slow news day for the Sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nykfan845 Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 Talk about a pipedream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted October 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 Poll says NO to 2028 Olympics YES to World Cup and World's Fair Darah Hansen and Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun Published: Saturday, October 07, 2006 British Columbians haven't lost their appetite to play host to a post-2010 international event like the 2018 World Cup of soccer, but few would support another Olympic bid, a new Ipsos Reid poll shows. According to the poll, conducted Thursday and Friday from a random sample of 390 adult B.C. residents, a joint Vancouver-Seattle bid for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games won favour with a scant three per cent of respondents across the province, and four per cent of those in the Lower Mainland. By comparison, public support was much stronger for a World's Fair in 2020, which garnered favour with 40 per cent of the respondents, and the 2018 World Cup of soccer, which won 36-per-cent support. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Pollster Kyle Braid said the continued level of support for big international events was "somewhat surprising." "I would have thought that with the recent talk about the Olympics and costs, that support for big projects would drop," he said. "But this is a clear sign that people support holding big events, just not another Olympics." The same poll also asked respondents if they would support or oppose the idea of Vancouver and Seattle making a joint bid to stage an international event. The idea, as The Vancouver Sun reported Friday, is under consideration by the boards of Tourism Vancouver and the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau. Support came in at a steady 71 per cent, regardless of the respondent's age, sex or place of residence. "British Columbians certainly think it's a good idea to share some of the costs and positive exposure with the Seattle region," Braid said. "It's just a question of finding the right event." B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell also welcomes the idea of Vancouver and Seattle co-hosting a future mega-event. But provincial financial support for those global dreams won't come any time soon. "I think it's great that people are thinking outside the box about how to improve our tourism industry and our international presence," Campbell said in an interview Friday. "But right now, I want to make sure the 2010 Winter Olympics is a huge success." The boards of Tourism Vancouver and the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau agreed this week to study the viability of co-hosting an event like the 2018 World Cup or a 2020 world's fair or the 2028 Summer Olympics. A study group will report back to both boards when they meet in Seattle early next year. "They certainly have my support in looking at it," Campbell said. "But it's just too early [to talk about financial support]. I tell you this, they will have to make a very strong business case." He said it makes sense for Vancouver and Seattle to share the costs and obligations of holding a future global event and thinks the two-city partnership probably strengthens any business case. "You never get there if you don't start and you don't think big," he said. "Now they've started. The question is can they cultivate it, can they grow it and can they nourish it so that it becomes successful." Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan said he's "consumed" with the planning and execution of the 2010 Games now, but it's always worthwhile to consider events a decade or two in the future. "It's important to have these ideas considered on a regular basis," he said in an interview. "But as far as the citizens of Vancouver are concerned, I think the real test will be 2010. "If the 2010 Games are an outstanding success and the citizens are delighted with the outcome, then that's the time to truly make some real plans about future events." Sullivan thinks the business ties between Seattle and Vancouver are not close enough now, so even if the co-hosting concept fails, it could still help forge new links between the two cities. "We need to be closer in the way we work together," he said. "It has always puzzled me why we don't have a closer tie with this major city that is so close to us." Tourism Vancouver president Rick Antonson said he has already received a tremendous amount of public feedback on the idea of sharing a future event with Seattle and the early winner is clearly soccer's World Cup. "It's easily the most popular idea, by a margin of five to one over anything else," he said. "I think it's because it is such an important world event and it has already been demonstrated that it can happen across borders." Japan and South Korea co-hosted the 2002 World Cup. Antonson said some people have questioned his sanity, but most understand the need to plan early for events to be held many years in the future. "Some people have asked me what I've been smoking but that's okay," he said. "Big ideas get initial reluctance but this is a way to get people to think outside the bubble." © The Vancouver Sun 2006 Ipsos-Reid also took a very quick snapshot of BC public opinion on Thursday/Friday and here are the results: 1. World's Fair: 40% 2. Soccer's World Cup: 36% 3. Summer Olympics: 3% 4. Nothing/Other: 21% Public opinion may change for the Summer Olympics, seeing as the Winter Olympics are just on their way. I'm sure if you asked in 1980 whether Vancouver should hold a Summer Olympics or another Worlds Fair, the public opinion would've avoided the second Worlds Fair. In 10 years they should take another poll......and I think it's brilliant that they are planning decades ahead on future events. 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dave199 Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 I don't even know why they are wasting their time with potential plans for a joint 2028 bid. Everyone knows if the country is bidding for a SOG it will be Toronto not Vancouver (and Seattle ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 (edited) Re the World Cup idea: again I post the following... "3. How can these 2 cities hope to stage, or I guess spearhead a bi-national World Cup? I mean Canada is not even among the top 25 soccer nations; Seattle is probably #16 or #17 in US city size. ??? And even if it were to happen, say a Canada-US (OK, we'll give top billing to Canada), I mean the semi-finals would probably play in Toronto for Canada; and either New York or LA for the US. And the finals would be in either LA or New York. So what good would it do these 2 cities? They won't be the stars. (Just for discussion's sakes - Toronto, Montreal & Vancouver would be the 3 Canadian venues; so the other 6 for the US would be the 6 major population areas, so: New York, LA, Chicago, DC-Baltimore area, San Francisco Bay Area, and I'd give the last spot to Miami over Seattle!)" I know they are just mulling it over. But like the 2-headed stadium of a dragon (idea) of Chicago, it's time to get it right from the start. The only thing I like about it is -- Seattle can light a fire under SoccerUSA to get the 2018 fires going -- not that SoccerUSA is asleep behind the wheel. And then I wonder what happens when SoccerUSA does not include Seattle in its venues? Edited October 8, 2006 by baron-pierreIV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenadian Posted October 9, 2006 Report Share Posted October 9, 2006 They missed a very basic element of the World Cup. COUNTRIES, not cities, host the event. If Vancouver wants to host the World Cup, they should talk to people in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton...not Seattle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mariposaskyman Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 Interesting concept, but hard to see how this works, even as far out as 2028 for a joint summer games bid. As far as a world's fair goes, likely would not be prohibited by the BIE, however, there's a possibility that Toronto bids for 2015 in the next month or so, and if that happens, and they win the bid, any future fair in Canada would be down the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA84 Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 Seattle is a beautiful city - probably up there with San Francisco and Chicago from an aesthetic viewpoint. But we are also talking about a city which, in addition to not seeing the monorail project through, still owes 10 years of payments on the imploded King Dome in addition to it's 2 replacements. Try for the next Pan Am Games first before thinking in terms of a joint something or other with Vancouver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCD 2012 Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 After 2002 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim856796 Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 Vancouver-Seattle Olympics? Sorry, ain't gonna happen in our lifetimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotguy Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 There is no way that this bid would win the summer olympics, especially so soon after staging the winter olympics. As for the World cup, there would need to be alot more stadia built that could host soccer evernts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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