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Olympics in Charlotte?


brianb0518

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In the spirit of the Olympics and out of boredom I would like to pose this question; If Charlotte were to host the Summer Olympics, what existing facilities would be utilized and for which event? If a new facility is required, like an Olympic Stadium, where would it be located and what would its post Olympic use be. Below is a list of events for the 2012 Olympics and possible current facility.

Archery:

Athletics (track and field):

Badminton:

Basketball: Time Warner Cable Arena

Boxing:

Canoe/kayak: (Whitewater): US National White Water Center

Canoe/Kayak: (Flatwater): Mountain Island Lake or Lake Norman

Road cycling:

Track cycling:

Mountain bike:

Skateboarding:

BMX racing:

Diving:

Equestrianisn:

Fencing:

Soccer:

Gymnastics:

Handball:

Field hockey:

Judo

Modern pentathlon:

Rowing:

Sailing:

Shooting:

Swimming:

Synchronized swimming:

Table tennis: Convention Center

Taekwondo: Convention Center

Tennis:

Triathlon:

Volleyball (Indoor): Halton Arena

Beach Volleyball:

Water polo:

Weightlifting: Convention Center

Wrestling (Graeco-Roman and Freestyle): Convention Center

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Swimming:

Synchronized swimming:

Where was that place that Michael Phelps competed at last year here in Charlotte?

Mountain bike: Sherman branch?

Skateboarding: Grayson skatepark

Tennis: The Palisades

Rowing: Lake Norman (where they already have the Dragon boat races!)

Sailing: Lake Norman

Soccer: BofA - though in reality there would probably be more stadiums used, possibly at Clemson, or one of the ACC schools in RDU. Maybe even UNC Charlotte if it was a very small match.

Track & field stuff could be split between BofA, Memorial Stadium, the (future) UNC Charlotte football stadium, and soccer stadium. Also, JCSU stadium. I don't know if it would be possible to have a track placed in BofA.

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It's nice to envision where events would be held, but more importantly, where would all of these people stay and how would they get around? I know it's quite obvious, but I have to say it: Charlotte is not qualified to host the Olympics and won't be for some time.

Taking the step of assuming Charlotte were qualified, could we use the Atlanta model and construct a new olympic stadium for use as an MLB stadium. Also, i think a new aquatics center would be in order for the swimming events

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I think the Atlanta model (at least in name) is something we would want to avoid due to perception issues with the over-commercialization of those games. I know this isn't what you meant, but I think Atlanta's handling of the games actually hurts Charlotte's chances regardless of our ability to host (which I agree with krazeeboi - is something that is not in the near future).

I rather see Charlotte go for a National Political Convention, Superbowl or World Cup to be honest.

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Yea, I don't see Charlotte or any city in the Southeast (except maybe someone like Miami) getting the Olympics for a LONG time. Too many other places on this earth and as Urbanity pointed out Atlanta hurts our chances because they just had them in 1996. I too would LOVE to see the Super Bowl here. However, that wouldn't happen until a new stadium, with a roof, is built. Since we aren't located in a year-round warm climate a roof is needed to host (NJ/NYC is talked about as a possible host with the new Giants stadium, but I still consider that a long shot, even if it is NYC). I would imagine that it wouldn't be before 2020 until that could be a discussion. Charlotte is on the short list for the 2012 Democratic convention. So, that is certainly a strong possibility.

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Lake Norman would be a great venue. And the Harris hole in Quail Hollow could finally be utilized for something.

I concur that ATL left a bad aftertaste for many. And the judging scandal at SLC was a drag too. We are on the outs for awhile when it comes to Olympics.

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Lake Norman would be a great venue. And the Harris hole in Quail Hollow could finally be utilized for something.

I concur that ATL left a bad aftertaste for many. And the judging scandal at SLC was a drag too. We are on the outs for awhile when it comes to Olympics.

i agree with everything being said, but can't a guy dream knowing all to well the realities associated with it? i am simply curious about the infrastructure not the politics and realities...

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I think the olympics will stick to the much larger cities. Even after Atlanta hosted the summer olympics in 1996, some say that was a mistake and that it wasnt organized like in the larger cities like Los Angeles. I think for a city to qaulify, its has to be a "world class city" that has venues to host the olympics and the city must have enough hotel rooms and enough flight connections. Also the city needs to have enough attractions for people who are staying in town for the olympics. Its a very tall order for most cities. Its not out of the question in the future. I think its a possibility for Charlotte but it will be a very very long time. I'm 31 and it may not happen in my life time.

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  • 1 year later...

^ No. Going by this article, the 2004 Olympics cost them about $11b in 2009 dollars. Add $1.2b for security and even throw in another $2b for infrastructure improvements and you have about a $15b cost.

That may seem like a lot (and I agree it is) but compared to their overall debt of $382b at 2009 you can see it was not the Olympics that caused or even majorly contributed to the crisis.

Back to Charlotte though - I think the Olympcs is a great dream, but not even a feasible one just for an attempt at a bid for at least 25-30 years going simply by the rotation of continents and other U.S. cities that already have commitments to have bids in for the next couple of Olympics.

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The Olympics will NOT happen in Charlotte. Not after the fiasco that was the 1996 Atlanta games. Charlotte is not only too small, but also doesn't have the cultural prominence cities that usually host the summer games do.

Charlotte should try for the Superbowl instead. That is a much more attainable dream.

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One of the things that I remembered was everyone was up in arms about it being over-commercialized. Coke was the official drink of the games. Then there was the transportation and overcrowding. The other thing was all the jokes about it being the "redneck games". I'll always remember the bombing though. A good friend of mine actually witnessed it, luckily injury free. All that being said, I think Charlotte would have a lot of work to do to make it happen. Definitely more than what Atlanta had to go through. Agreed that the Super Bowl is a much more logical and better possibility. The Panthers have recently hired a consultant to study a makeover for BofA Stadium (which would be required to land the game). I think Richardson being pretty tight with the NFL commissioner may help.

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I think that Charlotte could hold events but not host the olympics. We could have soccer games like Birmingham, Alabama did in recent past years or perhaps whitewater rafting, etc. I believe that if Charlotte was closer to the mountains and the mountains were larger, we would have an excellent chance. Munich hosted the olympics in the seventies and we are of similar population. Of course their advantage was the alps ot their backdoor.

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I was only 10 when the Olympics were in Atlanta, so I don't remember much about them. What happened in Atlanta that was so bad (other than the Eric Rudolph bombs)?

Dbull75 pretty much answered this, though I wanted to add, that the Atlanta games were the first ever that the IOC president did not label as the best games ever at the conclusion. I beleive a good deal of this had to do with the crassness which many international attendees viewed the commercialization of the games as DBull75 mentioned.

and before anyone takes a notion to think I'm trashing Atlanta decides to but in about this - I;m not. It did happen and frankly if there was one U.S. coty most likely to copy Atlanta's style of over commercializing something - it would be Charlotte;

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  • 6 months later...

Urbanity, you must be clairvoyant. Quote from you in an earlier comment back in Feb, 2010:

"I rather see Charlotte go for a National Political Convention, Superbowl or World Cup to be honest." Anything else you holding back from us.

Anyhow, it would be years. I don't why, except for the publicity, that a city would take on that task.

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Urbanity, you must be clairvoyant. Quote from you in an earlier comment back in Feb, 2010:

"I rather see Charlotte go for a National Political Convention, Superbowl or World Cup to be honest." Anything else you holding back from us.

Anyhow, it would be years. I don't why, except for the publicity, that a city would take on that task.

That is what we live for here. Keeping up with the Joneses. :lol:

That would build our International profile and make it easier for us to recruit people, companies, and talent.

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Why not go after the 2019 Pan American Games?? I feel like that is actually an attainable task and is much more affordable. Plus, it would be an excellent "test of the waters" if one day, maybe 2028 or 2032, we went after a summer Olympics. Geez 2032 is a long way out.

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Charlotte is not ready for the Olympic stage.

Look at the cities that have hosted the event: Athens, Paris, London, Stockholm, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin, Helsinki, Melbourne, Rome, Tokyo, Mexico City, Munich, Montreal, Moscow, Seoul, Barcelona, Sydney, Bejing, and Rio gets 2016.

The only US cities are St Louis (1904), Los Angeles (twice) and Atlanta.

St. Louis in 1904 was much more prominent on the world stage than Charlotte in 2012.

Maybe it was a good thing that the flight to London was cancelled. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/05/22/3257857/us-airways-ceo-apologizes-to-chamber.html

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