Olympics in Charlotte? Could it ever happen?

[ohioaninSC]

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.

[Neo]

I think you can pretty much forget this one. Wikipedia is a poor excuse for a definitive guide to reality. I could delete the entry in Wikipedia just as easily as it was created so I wouldn't get my hopes up about the prospects of Charlotte hosting the Olympics.

Quite honestly, the Olympics are extremely expensive for any city to host and being that I think we should just leave it up to the big guns of the world. If this city was up in arms about a couple hundred million for an arena you can be certain no one would want to foot the bill to host a sporting event, regardless of how much fame in gained for the city. Our money is better spent here at home on transit, offering services such as parks, etc.

[ScreamShatter]

This will not happen for a couple of reasons:

1) For the first time an African city and South American city will bid for the Olympics in 2020. Most likely one of them will be given the Olympics. And I assume the other will put a bid in for 2024. So the next Olympics Charlotte could potentially get is 2028 because I really think 2020 and 2024 will be taken by the first timers.

2) Chicago has a really good chance of winning the bid for 2016. London has 2012, 2010 is Vancouver, 2014 is Russia. The Olympic Committee is aware of the situation for 2020 and 2024. In recent years, the only Olympics that have been profitable have been held in the US...so I think that the Committee will want to have a profitable Olympics before they take some risk with the 2020 and 2024.

I only know this stuff because I'm a gymnasts and actually just got back from training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado, and we had this discussion while we were there.

Charlotte has a chance down the road but will face some tough competition from cities like Philadelphia, DC/Balt, and San Fran. The city really should push for things such as the Super Bowl and Political Conventions before doing an Olympic bid.

[elvigy]

Yeah, this is a no-starter. The cost of hosting the Olympics runs into the 10s of billions (yes, Billions, with a B). And that doesn't even figure in the post-Olympics problems of what to do with all those new facilities that we (Charlotte) simply would not have much use for.

Maybe, and I mean maybe, Charlotte could be in the running 50 or 60 years down the road, if current growth continues and we have a metropolis in the 4-5 million range in population.

[Temeteron]

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?

[Spartan]

I agree. Super Bowl first.

Quite frankly, I don't think Charlotte has the infrastructure to support the kind of population surge that the Olympics would bring. We're going to need adequate transit for all those people to get around.... We may not even have it at all next year. Maybe the Olympics down the line.

[Alabadrock]

Yeah, this is a no-starter. The cost of hosting the Olympics runs into the 10s of billions (yes, Billions, with a B). And that doesn't even figure in the post-Olympics problems of what to do with all those new facilities that we (Charlotte) simply would not have much use for.

[Andyc545]

This is a joke. Not going to happen anytime now or in the near future. We'll see how the city is in the long future and how much growth and money the city has, then we'll talk.

[HopHead]

I agree with most everyone on here. We don't need the Olympics. That's just a waste of our tax dollars. I'd much rather it go towards something further supporting the growth of our metro area. It seems to me that the interest in the Olympics keeps dying more every year. I'd rather see and effort to bring the Super Bowl here instead.

[Alabadrock]

I agree with most everyone on here. We don't need the Olympics. That's just a waste of our tax dollars. I'd much rather it go towards something further supporting the growth of our metro area. It seems to me that the interest in the Olympics keeps dying more every year. I'd rather see and effort to bring the Super Bowl here instead.

[AuLukey]

Let me tell you though, the luster of the olympics is an american-only trend for the most part. I was living in Sydney during the 2004 Olympic games in Athens and every major network had the olympics on the entire run. It was a HUGE deal there. I'm aware that having had the summer olympics there the previous go around may have had a lot to do with that, but the games became a big deal there for people of every nationality (I lived in an international-exchange/study abroad complex with a large number of people from 37 different countries.)

Charlotte will not get the Olympics this half of the 21st Century. I'd say, at very earliest, 2052.

With the sudden influx of hotels, the Super Bowl is a much more realistic goal as there is a lot less competition for it than the Olympics. If Jacksonville and New Orleans can host the SB, Charlotte will be able to do so very soon. They had the aid of cruise ships and their ports to house the population it brings in, but remember, if Concord can host 100-300K for NASCAR fans and crew during Speedweek week, the Super Bowl is within earshot. Remember, we probably have some of the largest privately owned RV space in the country right next door. The Olympics won't happen, the Super Bowl will.

[Andyc545]

Let me tell you though, the luster of the olympics is an american-only trend for the most part. I was living in Sydney during the 2004 Olympic games in Athens and every major network had the olympics on the entire run. It was a HUGE deal there. I'm aware that having had the summer olympics there the previous go around may have had a lot to do with that, but the games became a big deal there for people of every nationality (I lived in an international-exchange/study abroad complex with a large number of people from 37 different countries.)

Charlotte will not get the Olympics this half of the 21st Century. I'd say, at very earliest, 2052.

With the sudden influx of hotels, the Super Bowl is a much more realistic goal as there is a lot less competition for it than the Olympics. If Jacksonville and New Orleans can host the SB, Charlotte will be able to do so very soon. They had the aid of cruise ships and their ports to house the population it brings in, but remember, if Concord can host 100-300K for NASCAR fans and crew during Speedweek week, the Super Bowl is within earshot. Remember, we probably have some of the largest privately owned RV space in the country right next door. The Olympics won't happen, the Super Bowl will.

[kpryde4u]

What do you guys think about the World Cup being in America sometime in the next 10 yrs and Charlotte being one of the host cities? I think the World Cup has a more international appeal than Olympics...

[Batou]

I agree that we have a better chance with trying to get the Superbowl first. Though, would it be kinda cold here around that time, thus having the possibility of having to equip BOA Stadium with a dome? Would we pay for that scenario if necessary? Could it even be done with how the stadium is designed currently? I'm curious on this aspect of the idea.

[HopHead]

I agree that we have a better chance with trying to get the Superbowl first. Though, would it be kinda cold here around that time, thus having the possibility of having to equip BOA Stadium with a dome? Would we pay for that scenario if necessary? Could it even be done with how the stadium is designed currently? I'm curious on this aspect of the idea.

[AuLukey]

No, the dome is not a requirement to landing the Super Bowl as our average temperature in February is high enough that we qualify for the Super Bowl despite not having a dome. This was discussed in the Super Bowl thread some time ago. The World Cup wouldn't really excite a lot of Americans, but would bring a lot to this city from a worldwide spectrum. While some companies in Europe are already looking at Charlotte and we already have a few direct flights there, this would really increase our appeal to European cities. At some point Charlotte is going to have to stop trying to impress other American cities and start looking Global.

[monsoon]

Other than possibly the Republican National Convention, I don't see any global newsworthy event being placed in Charlotte by 2020.

[DeeMan]

What about Summer Olypics "Carolina". We could have both North Carolina and South Carolina host events with the main city being Charlotte. You coulf have all swimming and volleyball and sports like that say in Charleston and have several cities in the Carolinas host events. That way you would get funding from both states and a lot of cities so Charlotte wouldn't have the whole bill. The Olympics have been held in two different countries at once that were on opposite sides of the world, why can't they be jointly held in two states.

[DeeMan]

What about Summer Olypics "Carolina". We could have both North Carolina and South Carolina host events with the main city being Charlotte. You coulf have all swimming and volleyball and sports like that say in Charleston and have several cities in the Carolinas host events. That way you would get funding from both states and a lot of cities so Charlotte wouldn't have the whole bill. The Olympics have been held in two different countries at once that were on opposite sides of the world, why can't they be jointly held in two states.

[dubone]

[i have merged the Olympics 2020 thread with the general Olympic thread to avoid confusion and duplication.]

[Manolos]

What about Summer Olypics "Carolina". We could have both North Carolina and South Carolina host events with the main city being Charlotte. You coulf have all swimming and volleyball and sports like that say in Charleston and have several cities in the Carolinas host events. That way you would get funding from both states and a lot of cities so Charlotte wouldn't have the whole bill. The Olympics have been held in two different countries at once that were on opposite sides of the world, why can't they be jointly held in two states.

[Spartan]

True, but weren't the Atlanta Olympics pretty spread out?

[cityboi]

As far as the Olympics go...no way. The Olympics are usually held in much larger world class cities such as London, Bejing, Paris, Los Angles, ect.....Atlanta was sort of an anomoly. Maybe Charlotte will host it one day but not in my life time. On top of that....I dont the the Charlotte area has enough hotel rooms for such a large event.

[DeeMan]

I think Charlotte should pursue a Super Bowl before anything, I mean if Jacksonville hosted it then Charlotte could too very easily. Another possibility is in 2012 when the World Cup is taking place. If South Africa isn't ready to host it, which is very possible, then either the U.S or Germany will host it. Don't forget that when the U.S hosted it the attendace record was shattered. Charlotte could maybe be a venue city if the World Cup is held in the U.S. BoA Stadium is one of the best in the NFL and is among the highest in capacity.

[cltheel.sdl]

I think Charlotte should pursue a Super Bowl before anything, I mean if Jacksonville hosted it then Charlotte could too very easily. Another possibility is in 2012 when the World Cup is taking place. If South Africa isn't ready to host it, which is very possible, then either the U.S or Germany will host it. Don't forget that when the U.S hosted it the attendace record was shattered. Charlotte could maybe be a venue city if the World Cup is held in the U.S. BoA Stadium is one of the best in the NFL and is among the highest in capacity.