No Boston Olympics means no BC Olympics

The USOC pulled Boston's Olympic bid for the Summer 2024 games. But it seems like most in Boston are saying "good riddance."  As someone who doesn't live in Massachusetts this seems like a missed opportunity. As someone who cares about BC sports, I think this could have been a nice little niche and a chance to have someone else pay for facilities upgrades.

I didn't live in Atlanta during the Olympics, but have seen how it was a plus for the city. Boston could have been the same way. Because of the numerous colleges, the games could have avoided many of the White Elephants other Olympic hosts face. The one area that I was glad to see Boston draw the line on was the overruns and built-in five star demands for the IOC and its members.

As of the last plan, BC wasn't set to host any big events. So it wasn't like we lost out on a new pool, track stadium or basketball arena. But it still would have been neat to see some of the other sports at Conte or in the eventually renovated Plex.

This probably keeps Boston out of the Olympic talk for a long, long time, which also kills my idea of a Winter Games in Boston!

Boston Summer Olympics and other links

My pipe dream of a Boston Olympics is gaining steam. If BC plays its cards right we could host events in Conte (boxing, volleyball, basketball) and Alumni (field hockey?).

Here is a Q&A with incoming women's basketball transfer Karima Gabriel.

BC is going hard after 2014 basketball recruit Dominique Uhl. He's another wing player. Right now we don't have a second scholarship, but I bet one frees up soon.

Revisiting a Boston (BC) Olympics using London as an example

During the 2010 Winter Olympics I tossed around the idea of Boston hosting a summer or winter games. My point then remains that the same: Boston is ideal because the local universities could already supply many of the venues. The big obstacle would always be the main stadium for Track & Field and the opening and closing ceremonies. Nearly every city that hosts is left with a White Elephant that costs hundreds of millions of dollars. But London may provide a solution. They built their Olympic Stadium as a temporary venue. It looked great on TV, holds enough for the games and can be shrunk as soon as it all wraps up. Londoners haven't decided what they will do with the space. There are a few different bidders looking to take over the remains of the stadium. Boston would probably have similar suitors depending on the location. I would guess that UMasss Boston would want a small stadium or maybe the Revolution would want to convert it to a soccer only facility. The possibilities are endless.

I would still love to see Boston host the games and wish our partner Fenway Sports Group would get behind it. I am practical too. This wouldn't just be a vanity project for BC. It would be a backdoor way to get the IOC to fix the air conditioning in Conte!

Could Boston (and BC) host an Olympics?

I know BC has to sell its soul to the neighbors just to get a Thursday night ESPN game, but with the Olympics on every night, I've been wondering should Boston put a serious bid together for a future games? The city could join with a New Hampshire resort to host the Winter Games, but I think the Summer Games would be ideal. The Olympics are an infrastructure nightmare, but Boston could pull it off precisely because of all the colleges in town. The city also benefits from having an international airport, plenty of hotel rooms and decent public transit. Think about, BC alone could potentially host basketball and/or boxing at Conte. Field Hockey could be played Alumni. BC could also host softball. I assume the Marathon would use the Boston Marathon's route and run right by campus.

Fenway would probably host all the baseball events. Gillette could host soccer. The Garden could host gymnastics and/or basketball. And most local colleges could get in on the sports we only care about during the Olympics: badminton, wrestling, weight lifting, etc.

The three things Boston would need would be a Track & Field Stadium, a Swimming & Diving Center with significant spectator seating and an Olympic Village. But instead of building three "white elephants" a Boston bid could follow the lead of my current hometown of Atlanta. Atlanta built a Olympic Stadium and converted into a baseball stadium. They turned the Olympic Village into dorms. The Aquatic Center was built on Georgia Tech's campus and then renovated to remove some of the stands.

I am sure UMass Boston would gladly "host" the Village in exchange for new dorms. Many local schools would gladly take a brand new swim complex. The tricky Boston venue would be the Olympic Stadium for Track & Field. The only current complexes near the city that might have the space to convert to an Olympic Stadium and then convert back to a more appropriate permanent space seem to be Alumni, Harvard Stadium and Nickerson Field. Would any of the schools be willing to go through four to six years of building and reconfiguring just for the honor hosting the Opening Ceremonies and getting a face lift to their current stadium? I think BC would pass. I don't know about the politics or logistics at the other schools.

Just because Boston could be a good host doesn't mean it ever will. To secure the Games, you need a major driving force. The Fenway Sports Group would seem like a logical leader, but my guess is that they would rather invest in sports and events that have a more predictable and immediate return on investment.

For now I guess it is just blog fodder but certainly let me know what you think.