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NYC 2012, WHY?


rbdetsport

Should Detroit put in a bid for the 2016 olympics and what should they do to get one?  

101 members have voted

  1. 1. Should Detroit put in a bid for the 2016 olympics and what should they do to get one?

    • Yes, but have to share the games with Windsor, more shops.
      18
    • Yes, need to fix up all of the "dinosaur buildings"
      15
    • No, they have no chance
      29
    • Not Ready at all. City does not have enough money.
      39


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Detroit will be host to most of the venues while Windsor will be the site of the actual Olympic Stadium and a few other venues. The Detroit Gondola project will be ressurrected joining Cobo Center in Detroit to the new stadium in Windsor.

Olympic Stadium will be built on the block bounded by Caron Ave to the East, University Ave to the south, Crawford Ave to the west, and Riverside Dr to the north. The stadium will be constructed and operated by the government of Ontario. The block has a total area of about 15 acres. The Stadium will have a view of Detroit's skyline.

Freedom Gondola will be built on the northwest section of that block and travel across the river to Cobo Hall. The stadium will also be connected to Detroit through the old rail tunnel that travels below the stadium. The tunnelway (which will be jointly operated by Transit Windsor and DARTA) will directly connect Detroit's metro rail system to Windsor's light rail line. Windsor's system will consist of a light rail line that travels along University Ave from McKee Park near the Ambassador Bridge to Casino Windsor on the East Side of downtown. Detroit's rail system will be broader and travel from Pontiac to Detroit and on through to Metro Airport and Ann Arbor.

Olympic Village will be constructed at the State Fairgrounds. It will be central to many of the venues in the region and have access to the Detroit Metro Rail line. The Fairgound Coliseum will also act as a venue. Other venues will include Cobo Arena, Cobo Hall, Belle Isle, Joe Louis Arena, Ford Field, Wayne State University, Michigan Stadium, Windsor Arena, Tiger Stadium, Comerica Park, Wayne State University, the Palace of Auburn Hills, and possibly the Pontiac Silverdome.

Belle Isle will play host to several of the Olympic events including Rowing, Tennis, and a portion of the Marathon.

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I lived in Atlanta during the entire process. I would not wish an Olympics on my worst enemy. If you think the perception of Detroit is bad now, wait until the Press arrives and all try and get a scoop on the decay, etc. It will be brutal. Let this one go, bubba.

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I voted yes on this. Its not entirely realistic whatsoever for Detroit to hold them in 2016, but it takes several bids to win the bid. If that means 2024 or 2028, I think Detroit should definetly put a bid forward.

I think the city and the state as a whole would benefit in making the investment in making Detroit an Olympic candidate, especially if that means investment in the city's infrastructure in rail and other services.

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Something to think about, if a city as small, decentralized and declined (at the time) as Atlanta was in 1996 could pull off the summer Olympics, any city could. Cities often use bidding to expediate the building of the infrastructure needed for the event.

I don't have a doubt in my mind that Detroit could be ready within a year or two of winning the bid to pull of an Olympics. Heck, some cities weren't fully ready for the games when they were held (i.e. Athens pieced together a lot of temporary and shoddy crap for their games) But, then again, I don't really care either way. lol

Kind of surprised to his this kicked back up near the top. :)

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We saw that regional cooperation can occur during the Superbowl and everyone including Kilpatrick, Ficano, Patterson, etc. knows that it would be nothing but good for the region to host the Olympics. Patterson and Ficano will be happy because most of the hotels are in the suburbs, and while most of the venues will be in Detroit a lot of the people will spend a lot of their time in the suburbs.

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Even if the downtown area had 6000 hotel rooms, most of the visitors would have to stay in the suburbs. The Ren Cen alone with its 1200 rooms would barely serve the IOC officials alone, let alone the media, and visitors. Dearborn, Southfield, and Windsor could also play important roles in the hotel market as there has to be a certain amount of hotel rooms in a 10 km radius and those three cities are the only other major hotel markets within 10 km of Detroit. Further out you have Troy, Canton, Romulus, Ann Arbor, etc. (10 km - 50 km)

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I guess i wasnt really thinking about how big of a draw the olypics have.

I watched those videos someone posted a link to. Im glad we didnt get the 68 olympics, that stadium was nasty lookin, just like Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

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When Seoul held the '88 games it had an impact on the entire country (granted it's a small country). If Detroit were to win the games, it'll have a huge impact across the entire region. Heck, it'll probably even wake this region into investing in a great public transit system as it might be a deal breaker for the Olympics committee.

As LMich pointed out, the suburbs would have plenty left over even if Detroit were to magically triple/quadruple/whatever guest accomodations available today.

I do hope that we don't spend too much money on venue developments that are not earmarked for other future uses, though. For example, building an arena in "Foxtown" that'd become home of the Red Wings after the games would be great.

Actually if the new Red Wings stadium were to be built, I hope it comes sooner than 2012, but you get my point.

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