Right now (started at 7 pm), you can watch a discussion being held at the Institute of Contemporary Art between representatives of Boston 2024 (Juliette Kayyem) and No Boston Olympics (Chris Dempsey). Here’s the link.
UPDATE: Well, that was interesting. Hopefully the Globe will post the hour-long video shortly. I am left feeling like Boston 2024 wants to have it both ways. On the one hand, any time anyone brings up something like the possibility of public funds being used to address cost overruns or the like, Kayyem (on behalf of Boston 2024) says no, absolutely not, the bid we have submitted would not allow for that. But on the other hand, when the subject of (for example) replacing the food market at Widett Circle with an Olympic stadium came up, Kayyem’s response was whoa there, hold on a sec, no final decisions have been made, that’s all way off in the future, let’s not scare people when nothing like that has actually been proposed.
So what, exactly, has been proposed, and what hasn’t? Well, of course, we don’t know, because the bid is not public. Even Kayyem doesn’t know, because, as she just told us, she hasn’t read it. Seems to me a perfectly obvious, perfectly sensible first step in this process, which both Boston 2024 and the US Olympic Committee claim should have transparency as a goal, would be to release the bids submitted by all four American cities to the public. After all, what could they possibly be ashamed of? What could they have to hide?
I read this as not all the details are ironed out yet, but Boston 2024 is committed to not requiring public funds. I don’t see a contradiction here.
is that it’s a way for Boston 2024 and their backers to answer any objection. Hold on, hold on, wait, it’s too early to bring that up. Meanwhile, the train is racing down the tracks. So when, exactly, is it OK to bring up objections? You can be sure that, when the designated hour arrives, it’ll be too late.
let’s make sure it’s not ripe until it’s moot.
after the US picks its host city.
After it’s too late to fundamentally change any plans.
This is how things get ramrodded on the public.
Short of actual transparency and bringing the public into the effort, the appropriate thing to do is to assume that Boston will be on the hook for any money not raised privately, that the major sites we already know the bid committee is interested in (including the southie site which employs 700 workers) will be used, and so on and so forth.
There is a reason why this process has been done through absolute secrecy… and it isn’t good.
David D’Allesandro’s Op-Ed that there’s no reason to be nervous about the movement for a Boston Olympic bid is off the mark, and just another attempt by promoters to snow us. Now is the time to be anxious before promoters’ choices for venues and infrastructure construction become set in stone and can’t be changed. Citizens are the who who will have to live with these decisions, before, during, and after any Olympiad. Either we get informed and involved now, or suffer the consequences with no recourse.
“Relax, you’re being overdramatic.” When anyone minimizes your voice like that, you should give them the boot.
They can say it doesn’t require public funds all they like, but unless they put all the necessary money into a “lock box” up front, including extra for the inevitable cost overruns, there is no reason for anyone to believe they have the ability to actually back up that promise.
What happens when they run out of money with half-built venues? Will they happily declare failure and walk away, or will they come begging for a bailout from the government? What do you think?
I am really surprised that you have been so willing to accept every single claim made by the Olympic bid committee when you haven’t hesitated to show skepticism on many other issues in the past.
I’m just adopting more of a wait and see rather than heck no attitude.
In comparison-we already had several public forums prior to getting the USOC selection where people were asked what they wanted to see and the city council had been involved.
This is a real bad start…
…does it matter here to anyone that a required part of a successful Olympic bid is third-party polling showing public support? I am reading more bad things on here about rumors surrounding a possible bid for the Olympics a decade hence than about the conservative taking over as governor in a month.