Olympics in Charlotte? Could it ever happen?

[Jrb986]

What is everyone's thoughts about the possibility of the Charlotte hosting the Olympics? How many years in your the future until we are ready. Everyone post your thoughts. I'm curious to see what other Charlotteans think. :-)

[JerseyBoy]

2040 and beyond seems when we might have the greatest possibility.

[AuLukey]

I agree, just as with the Super Bowl thread, Charlotte isn't quite at the Olympic level yet. We will be eventually, but then we will be competing with world class cities on a global level. It still amazes me that Atlanta won them. I doubt Charlotte will even start campaigning for one until the 30's or later. There are a lot of things we would need to improve a LOT in order to land the Olympics. Hotels, airport capacity, transportation, venues, money, etc etc etc.

[JerseyBoy]

I would hold out on a bid till all lines of LYNX are completely built out and we have enough efficient means to shuttle the mass amounts of people that will come.

[NcSc74]

I would hold out on a bid till all lines of LYNX are completely built out and we have enough efficent means to shuttle the mass amounts of people that will come.

[krazeeboi]

^And look how those massive facilities are sitting empty today while the country has gone into debt funding their construction.

[ScottCLT]

I would hold out on a bid till all lines of LYNX are completely built out and we have enough efficent means to shuttle the mass amounts of people that will come.

[krazeeboi]

Building transit solely around tourist attractions is a bad idea anyway (see: Cleveland).

[Mobuchu]

I seriously dont even see us contending for an Olympics in the next 50 years, if ever. We may be moving up in the south, but this is a global competition and there are cities around the globe moving much faster then we are...

We have much more important issues localy to deal with first!

[monsoon]

I think if Salt Lake City could hold the Olympics, then it would be possible for Charlotte as well given that it is the defacto "capital" of the Carolinas. If they seriously considered Charlotte, I could see where both the NC and even SC state governments could offer up some money to help pay for the require infrastructure. SC would work if some of the events and/or lodging was put in York or Lancaster counties.

This is a way to accelerate transit in and to a city. Vancouver's Skytrain, was built for the Olympics there in the 1980s and it is being dramatically expanded to accommodate the Olympics which will be held there in the next few years. (forget the date) SLC got a LRT to support it. And Japan built a Shikanzen line to Nagano for the Olympics that was held there. In fact almost every modern city has built transit, which remained later, to handle the crowds generated by the Olympic events.

Given that Charlotte has won almost everything that it has set out to win, I could see where if the city wanted the Olympics here, they could probably pull it off. Maybe about 2020 or so.

[A2]

I think if Salt Lake City could hold the Olympics, then it would be possible for Charlotte as well given that it is the defacto "capital" of the Carolinas. If they seriously considered Charlotte, I could see where both the NC and even SC state governments could offer up some money to help pay for the require infrastructure. SC would work if some of the events and/or lodging was put in York or Lancaster counties.

This is a way to accelerate transit in and to a city. Vancouver's Skytrain, was built for the Olympics there in the 1980s and it is being dramatically expanded to accommodate the Olympics which will be held there in the next few years. (forget the date) SLC got a LRT to support it. And Japan built a Shikanzen line to Nagano for the Olympics that was held there. In fact almost every modern city has built transit, which remained later, to handle the crowds generated by the Olympic events.

Given that Charlotte has won almost everything that it has set out to win, I could see where if the city wanted the Olympics here, they could probably pull it off. Maybe about 2020 or so.

[eastsider]

I agree totally. SLC was a great example as that city is relatively small compared to other cities round the globe that could have won the Olympics. Not to mention when ATL won the Olympic games they were not exactly a megalopolis. They were a city of well under 4,000,000 in the metro at the time the Olympics were held.

If those cities have a shot, then CLT definately does.

A2

[cltheel.sdl]

I think if Salt Lake City could hold the Olympics, then it would be possible for Charlotte as well given that it is the defacto "capital" of the Carolinas. If they seriously considered Charlotte, I could see where both the NC and even SC state governments could offer up some money to help pay for the require infrastructure. SC would work if some of the events and/or lodging was put in York or Lancaster counties.

This is a way to accelerate transit in and to a city. Vancouver's Skytrain, was built for the Olympics there in the 1980s and it is being dramatically expanded to accommodate the Olympics which will be held there in the next few years. (forget the date) SLC got a LRT to support it. And Japan built a Shikanzen line to Nagano for the Olympics that was held there. In fact almost every modern city has built transit, which remained later, to handle the crowds generated by the Olympic events.

Given that Charlotte has won almost everything that it has set out to win, I could see where if the city wanted the Olympics here, they could probably pull it off. Maybe about 2020 or so.

[Justadude]

SLC had the Winter Olympics which is now where near the level of the summer games. It's a nice idea, but not happening in our lifetime.

Also, just look at how much outrage the building of one arena has caused, could you imaging the endless beotching that would happen about the dozens of additional facilities that would need to go up. I think the Triangle would have a definite leg up in that regard.

[dubone]

We could try for the Special Olympics.

Beyond that, I cannot see in my lifetime Charlotte either getting it or wanting it. It takes significant money from the federal government, and I'm not sure they'd support Charlotte over the many other cities in the country that already have much of the infrastructure to handle the number of people.

Frankly, the threat of terrorism has caused costs go up so much, it is just crazy.

[suburban george3]

I'm not sure the IOC would award another Summer Olympics to a Southern U.S. city anytime in the near future. Even though most fans enjoyed the Atlanta games, it was well known that the IOC was pretty disappointed with the job Atlanta did. They felt the displays of corporations and consumerism "cheapened" the games. I'd say thanks to Atlanta that even if this was in Charlotte's dreams that the chances are almost nil.

[Rufus]

Remember, in 1999, Raleigh was the host of the World Special Olympics, so that is probably not out of reach.

[rockhilljames]

We would only be in the running for the Summer Olympics, and I'm not sure what we would do with all the facilities we'd have to build. We'd have to build a huge stadium for track and field (Panther's Stadium would not work), a large facility for swimming and diving, a velodrome for cycling, and so on). Infrastructure wouldn't be too tasked, except for the fact that we'd need about twice the amount of hotel rooms we currently have. A good leg up would be the Whitewater Center, which is an Olympics-ready venue right now. Surrounding communities like Rock Hill, Concord, Gastonia, Pineville and even Winston Salem would have a good shot at getting events too.

In all likely hood, I don't see it happening. I was in Salt Lake City last week, and although you can tell the community benefitted from it, a lot of the locals were still complaining about the money spent on many of the facilities and projects.

[Justadude]

I'm not sure the IOC would award another Summer Olympics to a Southern U.S. city anytime in the near future. Even though most fans enjoyed the Atlanta games, it was well known that the IOC was pretty disappointed with the job Atlanta did. They felt the displays of corporations and consumerism "cheapened" the games. I'd say thanks to Atlanta that even if this was in Charlotte's dreams that the chances are almost nil.

[Jrb986]

Well I think over the next fifty years that things will change. Charlotte is growing quickly, and our national importance has grown at an astounding rate as well. Charlotte is beginning to get its name out to the world as well. I agree that we do not have the infrastructure right now. However, you never know what the city will be like in 20 or 30 years. It's certainly reasonable to consider the possibility. I have a feeling that the city will be capable of hosting the Olympic games by 2030. It would be an amazing sight to see. What would make me the most proud is to see the opening ceremonies on tv with the beautiful Charlotte skyline in the background of a future olympic stadium. I remember quite vividly when the Atlanta games happened. I lived in Georgia then, and we were so excited that the Games were finally about to happen. It was something that the whole state scrambled to organize for years.

If we continue to have progressive leaders, then I think the Olympics could be a real possibility during the first half of this century...unless our incompetent leaders start a nuclear war..but that's another discussion ;-)

[AuLukey]

While the possibility for Charlotte to someday get the games is there, we have to remember that we are not like most other Olympic cities in the US. We are not the center of attention of the state we occupy like Atlanta, NYC, and SLC. The only exception to that rule in our country is Los Angeles, and let's face it, we don't have the money that LA has. While I'd like to think that the state would back a Charlotte bid for the Olympics, we would stand a greater chance of getting money from South Carolina than from Raleigh.

IMO, American cities that will definitely get the games before Charlotte: Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas/Ft Worth, Phoenix, and Chicago.

[Justadude]

I don't think Phoenix will get them. Too hot in the summer.

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

Dallas Fort Worth and Philadelphia and prob. LA have the best chances. They could go back to LA with little construction costs. A renovation of the LA coliseum or Rose Bowl would need to happen, but probably will for the NFL. And Dallas with its new Cowboys stadium could host many events along with the multitude of sporting arenas and universities. Philly also has lots of arenas but would require an Olympic stadium. I think NY is too big a threat for terrorism. But London got the games, so who knows.

[Jrb986]

So I was reading about possible Olympic bids for future Summer Olympics on Wikipedia, and I found something interesting. There is an article hinting that Charlotte is interested??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Olympics...Carolina.2C_USA

Was this some bored Charlottean, or is this official talk that has leaked? I have a feeling a bored guy put that in the website. Does anyone know anything?

[archiham04]

I think they need to work on the Super Bowl before they can even hint at an Olympics. If there are not enough hotel rooms for a Super Bowl, then surely not enough for an Olympics.