thatsnotmypuppy Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 OK – so as you all know my final report has proven unsalvageable, and as such I am winging this. I have decided on a seven city final list. The finalists are – Boston Cape Town Cologne Dortmund Hamburg Miami Quebec City I had issues with the three German bids – I only wanted to put one forward – however they are of more or less equal feasibility. I had more questions with Dortmund’s ‘Rhine Games’ concept – however overall they are all quality bids. I feel Cologne was the best presented package out of the three - and if forced to chose one, Cologne would be in, then Hamburg. Dortmund was a close third though. I also was leaning towards dropping Boston just as I had more issues with the venue plan – however Miami had a few dodgy ideas – thus I put both forward. Cape Town was never in doubt. One of the best presentations any GB competition has turned out – however the time the Games are planned for will include days where the maximum temperature will top out near 10 degrees Celsius. I could not fault Quebec City, nor was I overly excited by it. The reason Belgrade missed out was that the bid book seemed to be basically an advertisement for the Belgrade Arena – which while a great venue, the rest of the bid plan was far from as in-depth. I just didn’t get into it. Cairo missed out as the plans would involve a huge amount of infrastructure upgrade. Great concept – but just a bit too fantasy at this point. Calabar missed out not because it came from James – but my main concern was that funding for the Games would come from Cameroon? Also I just felt the city was obscure and a Lagos bid would have been better. I know James withdrew, but I had finished his assessment by the time he bailed. Hong Kong was never in the running. Pyongyang surprised me – a great, compact venue plan – most of it in place. How much is usable today is another matter – but I didn’t know Pyongyang had such a huge amount of sporting infrastructure. I doubt if many North Korean athletes get to use them though. So in conclusion in my opinion the continuing bids fall in to two categories – EXCELLENT – Cape Town, Cologne FEASIBLE – Boston, Dortmund, Hamburg, Miami, Quebec City. So we have half a week of lobbying. For the final vote I have decided on this - You will get two picks. Choice A will get two points. Choice B will get one point. The city with the least points at the end of a round will be out. If we have a draw there will be a 3 hour vote off where you will select one or the other candidate. If a city gets more than 50% of the entire round's votes, they are declared the winner. Feel free to discuss this below. My decision is final and no correspondence will be entered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord David Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Ok so until say Wednesday Gamesbids time (whenever that is), we gots extra lobbying. Then what is it? A day per round? Or half a day to vote then the next day is the next round? Understandably you can't vote for your own city. But if you are competing can you vote at all? Well just some questioning as I have never done this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Boston is not a clustered games, so what, doesn't mean that the venue plan is bad. This how clustering the Olympics in one area is absurd and not every city has the land needed to build a mammoth Olympic Park. Dortmund is on the Ruhr not the Rhine. And its about time that the games should be suited to the city and the area, not the city bending to what is 'normal' for the Olympics. Its pointless to spend millions of tax payers dollars on new venues when world-renowned venues are within a reasonable distinct and the money would be better spent upgrading and adding to an already existing legacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord David Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 I haven't seen the Boston bid book, is there a link to that? Could you link me? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 I haven't seen the Boston bid book, is there a link to that? Could you link me? Thanks. Its in the bid book thread, 3rd page I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Congratulations to all the finalists _ a really deserving bunch. I wasn't surprised Cairo didn't make it, especially against such a collection of really high quality bids. I'm not making excuses (I knew it was a long shot, I did it more for my own curiosity to see if it would be feasible), but it was a rushed job, and I was really surprised by the paucity of information about sports facilities in Cairo. Even firm information on the real Cairo 2008 bid is almost impossible to get (beyond a few notes saying not much is known about it). Still, on the plus side, I do think that in the El Nasr complex around their Cairo International Stadium, Indoor Hall and Convention Centre they have the foundations for a future Olympic Park. It was fun hunting up what I could. Good luck to all the rest _ I'm ready to receive your lobbying and promises! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatsnotmypuppy Posted February 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Boston is not a clustered games, so what, doesn't mean that the venue plan is bad. This how clustering the Olympics in one area is absurd and not every city has the land needed to build a mammoth Olympic Park.Dortmund is on the Ruhr not the Rhine. And its about time that the games should be suited to the city and the area, not the city bending to what is 'normal' for the Olympics. Its pointless to spend millions of tax payers dollars on new venues when world-renowned venues are within a reasonable distinct and the money would be better spent upgrading and adding to an already existing legacy. Ruhr/Rhine - my mistake. Sorry As for Boston it wasn't the clusters - the distances between them seemed high at places. I've been to Boston, and the metro area is surprisingly big. Either way that is my opinion - and you made the shortlist - so start lobbying. The voting will be a round a day - each session lasting 12 hours. Everyone can vote - you can vote for your own city if you want - there are no reules in that respect. And Cairo almost took out Boston, roltel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Gaberone 2020!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 Ruhr/Rhine - my mistake. Sorry As for Boston it wasn't the clusters - the distances between them seemed high at places. I've been to Boston, and the metro area is surprisingly big. Either way that is my opinion - and you made the shortlist - so start lobbying. The voting will be a round a day - each session lasting 12 hours. Everyone can vote - you can vote for your own city if you want - there are no reules in that respect. And Cairo almost took out Boston, roltel! Boston is no bigger then Sydney. The biggest problem is that Boston is one huge city that is densely packed. There is little to no open space. Even NYC has more open space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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