Los Angeles Makes Deal to Host the 2028 Summer Olympics

[sopas ej]

Speaking of Olympic footprints, here's a map of the 1932 Summer Olympics in LA. All of the events took place in LA County, mostly near downtown. The only non-city of LA venues were track cycling at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and sailing and rowing in Long Beach.


architectureofthegames.net

Many of the events took place at the Coliseum itself. Gymnastics were actually held outdoors at the Coliseum; it wasn't until the 1948 London Olympics that gymnastics were held indoors.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by ocman

Well, exposure is part of it. I think politicians welcome it more because you can use it as an excuse for more funding and fast-tracking infrastructure. But exposure has it's validity. By 2028, LA can show off an extensive rail system revitalized areas and at least half a dozen new/renovated institutions. Maybe with luck, the country's only high speed rail, if that gets fast-tracked.


As for traffic? Not serious enough. It's a convenience issue. 30 minutes longer commute to work for a few weeks. Boohoo. Even that, I doubt will actually happen. History shows that huge events like these have a paradoxical effect on LA traffic, where the streets are less congested than usual.

Going back to Carmageddon, people were warned for MONTHS that the 405 would be shut down for a weekend. That gave the populace more than enough time to plan around. There were Carmageddon parties and whatnot. People even had dinner on the 405. It created some surreal scenes.


https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/2K...ar1_165258.jpg


http://www.sportfit.com/blog/wp-cont...1/07/photo.jpg


http://morganlinton.com/wp-content/u...mageddon12.jpg


http://www.charlesapple.com/uploads/...717LATimes.jpg

Los Angeles has a full decade to prepare. That's outstanding.

[SLO]

LA will have no problem with the increase in tourists and traffic for an Olympics. Residents will scramble to take vacations, rent out their homes and condos, the city will be ready. There really is no downside.
1984 was a huge deal, and for those not around then, LA was just as big and congested, but now its a tad denser but the roads and transit are much better and have far more capacity.

[badrunner]

Residents won't have to scramble for anything. Most won't even notice it's going on.

People are really overstating the congestion aspect of it. Rio only had half a million foreign visitors for the 2016 games. LA will have a lot more than that, but it's already built to handle throngs of tourists. LA county had 47 million visitors last year.

The largest event of the games will have about 90k attendees. That's routine. It's not even in the top ten in attendance records at the Coliseum. The other venues will have crowds smaller than your typical Dodgers game or even an LA Galaxy game. For most LA residents it will just feel like a slightly busier week of traffic.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by badrunner

Residents won't have to scramble for anything. Most won't even notice it's going on.

People are really overstating the congestion aspect of it. Rio only had half a million foreign visitors for the 2016 games. LA will have a lot more than that, but it's already built to handle throngs of tourists. LA county had 47 million visitors last year.

The largest event of the games will have about 90k attendees. That's routine. It's not even in the top ten in attendance records at the Coliseum. The other venues will have crowds smaller than your typical Dodgers game or even an LA Galaxy game. For most LA residents it will just feel like a slightly busier week of traffic.

Exactly. There are plenty of times where we handle major, massive events at the same time, such as in September / October, when you can have a USC Football, UCLA Football, Galaxy, Dodgers and Pre season NBA / NHL often times all going on at the same time. LA is built for events like this.

Also, calling our transit system weak is an old argument. By 2028 (and mostly before) all of the clusters as well as LAX and Union Station will be connected. This will be very smooth. Getting from the downtown cluster to the Westwood cluster will be a one seat ride that will take 25 min. Downtown to Santa Monica? 1 seat ride in 40 min and on and on. Downtown LA, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Koreatown, Pasadena, Westwood, Mid City, Long Beach, West Hollywood, USC, UCLA, LAX, Union Station will ALL be connected via rail.

Lastly, lets not forget the massive influx of money we are getting prior to the games to build multiple facilities for the community, funding that will make all city sports basically free for residents and so on. Please listen to the Bill Simmons podcast with Mayor Garcetti yesterday. It was awesome and spells out all the great benefits we are getting.

Oh and the latest poll shows an 83% support level from city residents.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by ocman

Well, exposure is part of it. I think politicians welcome it more because you can use it as an excuse for more funding and fast-tracking infrastructure.

This will probably be the biggest lasting benefit for the city. LA doesn't need the extra exposure, but it could use the extra impetus for finally building out the metro system. It might even help get things going on the LA river project or HSR.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

There are plenty of times where we handle major, massive events at the same time, such as in September / October, when you can have a USC Football, UCLA Football, Galaxy, Dodgers and Pre season NBA / NHL often times all going on at the same time.

Yeah a big sports weekend in LA can get pretty crazy and yet the city somehow doesn't come to a screeching halt. It's crazy that LA just added two NFL teams on top of all that like it was nothing.

[lio45]

That 1932 map is really cool!

(Was TJ originally named after Aunt Juana? Didn't know that nor would I have guessed.)

[Quixote]

LA's a first world city with Olympic-ready venues already in place, so it won't be scrambling to get its shit together like Beijing or Rio. Add in the extra four (!) years of preparation and there's absolutely no reason to believe that things won't go off without a hitch. I'm just hoping that the city wisely uses this event as a convenient excuse to accelerate projects that are sorely needed regardless, such as Blue Line express trains and various aesthetic improvements.

Traffic-wise, I'm inclined to agree with my fellow Angelenos. If LA could handle Carmageddon, then it would certainly be able to manage hosting the Olympics. Many of the facilities have (or will have) proximal rail access, and the ones that won't will only be a 5-15-minute shuttle ride away. The only potential clusterfuck I foresee is at the Rose Bowl. As beautiful as it is, and as cool as it would be to have major Olympic events held just 10 minutes away from where I grew up, I think it would be best to use the Coliseum instead if possible.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by badrunner

Yeah a big sports weekend in LA can get pretty crazy and yet the city somehow doesn't come to a screeching halt. It's crazy that LA just added two NFL teams on top of all that like it was nothing.

Remember a few years ago when the Lakers, Clippers, and Kings were all (deep) in the playoffs? Staples Center worked overtime. This was over the course of 4 days.

• Video Link

[muppet]

I'd be very wary about hosting an Olympics. Ever since Athens 2004 it's become increasingly a PR curse, hijacked by geopolitics and trade bloc(king), and our own biased media. It's no longer a time when the world puts down its arms and unites, but an opportunity to push our own superior, sardonic rhetoric (either by looking down on the struggles of the host nation, or being the host nation wowing the world with our successes), all via the media spotlight, and cultural gaze. Increasingly a return to Berlin 1936 when superiority complexes were all the rage.

https://supermouse.blog/2016/08/10/the-olympic-chalice/


"It’s just our media are increasingly finding the Olympics as a useful tool to promote our own rhetoric, and the superiority of whatever is the regional demagogue du jour. Start off with a good kilo of global audience, add 100g of competition, 100g of emotion, a generous sprinkling of national pride (hell just throw the damn box in), and feed it through a tight nozzle of media interpretation. In hindsight Hitler’s attempt at making the 1936 Olympics a [failed] promotion of his political ideals was a masterstroke so to speak. We’re just here for the mutherfucking cake."


In other words fully expect a worldwide critique of the host country's culture and history, where any tiny mishap in the run up will be viewed as a cultural trait and rot-in-the-system, and any mishap in the actual event a sign of gross negligence and amassed stupidity. It will also be a great opportunity for wronged people's or forgotten history to be taken out, and for protest. - Resulting in schadenfreude writ large for the onlookers. I don't think it's about the sport any more, but about the cultural dick measuring, as divisive as it's meant to be uniting. The world will be out to get you.

Hopefully by 2028 the current trend of oneupmanship, infighting and thinly veiled jealousy may have fizzled out. We might even enjoy the show, rather than the mishaps.

[MolsonExport]

again?

No offence meant to LA, but you guys have had the Olympics twice already. I think China should host the games twice before LA does thrice.

[BrandonJXN]

^ Beijing is hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics. So that's already happening.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

again?

No offence meant to LA, but you guys have had the Olympics twice already. I think China should host the games twice before LA does thrice.

London hosted their third Olympics just five years ago, and Paris will host their third before LA does.

What's so great about China, anyway?

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by Quixote

London hosted their third Olympics just five years ago, and Paris will host their third before LA does.

What's so great about China, anyway?

You should know that people will take shots at Los Angeles no matter what happens. It ALWAYS happens. People will find an excuse to hate on LA.

[dc_denizen]

Since world war 2, the summer Olympics have been held twice in the us.

They have been held 9 times in Europe.

Arguably major cities like SF and NYC should have already hosted, to even the score with europe--and due to the usas sporting clout.

[BrandonJXN]

I find it odd that some people will say that the US hosts the Olympics too often or some sort of variation. The summer Olympics has been in the US 4 times in 3 different cities (St. Louis in 1904, LA in 1932 and 1984, and Atlanta in 1996). Europe has hosted the summer Olympics 16 times, Australia twice, Asia 3 (4 when you count Tokyo in 2020), South America once, Mexico once, Africa and Arab nations 0.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by muppet

I'd be very wary about hosting an Olympics. Ever since Athens 2004 it's become increasingly a PR curse, hijacked by geopolitics and trade bloc(king), and our own biased media. It's no longer a time when the world puts down its arms and unites, but an opportunity to push our own superior, sardonic rhetoric (either by looking down on the struggles of the host nation, or being the host nation wowing the world with our successes), all via the media spotlight, and cultural gaze. Increasingly a return to Berlin 1936 when superiority complexes were all the rage.

https://supermouse.blog/2016/08/10/the-olympic-chalice/


"It’s just our media are increasingly finding the Olympics as a useful tool to promote our own rhetoric, and the superiority of whatever is the regional demagogue du jour. Start off with a good kilo of global audience, add 100g of competition, 100g of emotion, a generous sprinkling of national pride (hell just throw the damn box in), and feed it through a tight nozzle of media interpretation. In hindsight Hitler’s attempt at making the 1936 Olympics a [failed] promotion of his political ideals was a masterstroke so to speak. We’re just here for the mutherfucking cake."


In other words fully expect a worldwide critique of the host country's culture and history, where any tiny mishap in the run up will be viewed as a cultural trait and rot-in-the-system, and any mishap in the actual event a sign of gross negligence and amassed stupidity. It will also be a great opportunity for wronged people's or forgotten history to be taken out, and for protest. - Resulting in schadenfreude writ large for the onlookers. I don't think it's about the sport any more, but about the cultural dick measuring, as divisive as it's meant to be uniting. The world will be out to get you.

Hopefully by 2028 the current trend of oneupmanship, infighting and thinly veiled jealousy may have fizzled out. We might even enjoy the show, rather than the mishaps.

I think you're jumping to conclusions there.

Based on the fact that the media found lots of existing rot-in-the-system to criticize in Greece, China, Russia and Brazil, you're assuming it will somehow manage to do the same thing in California even though there isn't anywhere near the same amount of rot to be found.

As others have pointed out already, Los Angeles is basically the only place on this globe that has shown an ability to run Olympic games profitably. Just 'cause it's been a financial catastrophe for other places -- I actually think we just finished paying for the 1976 Montreal games, no kidding -- doesn't mean LA can't do it, especially given that they've proven they could.

In summary -- your warnings are appropriate for any developing world city that would consider hosting the Olympics, but they don't apply to LA.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Since world war 2, the summer Olympics have been held twice in the us.

They have been held 9 times in Europe.

Arguably major cities like SF and NYC should have already hosted, to even the score with europe--and due to the usas sporting clout.

SF?!? California will already have hosted three American Olympics out of five!

I'll give you NYC. The Northeastern quadrant of the U.S. is likely the wealthest region on this globe to never have hosted a summer Olympics.

Though they did host a winter one already (Lake Placid) and also had a summer one hosted within a stone's throw, in 1976.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by BrandonJXN

You should know that people will take shots at Los Angeles no matter what happens. It ALWAYS happens. People will find an excuse to hate on LA.

I don't think he's 'hating' on LA. I just think it's a bit bizarre how he's saying that other cities deserve the honor/burden when in fact they do not want any part of it. LA's always been the fallback option, and there just happens to be "tremendous" local support for it (83% according to the LA Times).