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This is interesting in light of another trend: Just recently the citizens of Hamburg rejected having the Olympics in the city in a referendum. And they weren't

by hannob 11y ago

This is interesting in light of another trend: Just recently the citizens of Hamburg rejected having the Olympics in the city in a referendum. And they weren't the first, a number of cities have rejected major sports events when the people were asked. What's going on there is imho quite similar: By default it's expected that the costs of major sports events are largely payed by the public. But a large part of the population has no interest in that and asks why they should pay to make people rich that they don't care about. It seems the sports complex is in large partsdepend ing on income payed by people that don't care about it. It's only good if that's going to end. Sports events should be payed for by the people who like it, not by everyone else.

leviathant 11y ago
There was a time that I felt the same as you. As the years passed, my view shifted: Thank goodness for stadiums and sports franchises. Where would all those particular assholes (and I'm not saying all, or even the majority of sports fans are assholes) congregate if it weren't for sports bars and stadiums? The price we pay is definitely inflated, but I've come to appreciate the societal separation it provides.
Rudism 11y ago
The Olympics are particularly notorious for being a complete money sink. The host city builds all kinds of infrastructure to support them which become useless eyesores after the Olympics are done. You can find photos of abandoned and unused Olympic venues from as recent as the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics.
tallanvor 11y ago
The issues with the Olympics are a bit different. Cities and countries are looking at the costs and realize that, for the most part, there's no way for them to recoup the money they'd have to spend on the infrastructure. Plus, at least in Norway, people were really unhappy with the demands of the IOC - among other things, there were silly demands such as a cocktail reception with the king, and a bunch of other perks that don't sit well with people.

by hannob 11y ago

leviathant 11y ago

There was a time that I felt the same as you. As the years passed, my view shifted: Thank goodness for stadiums and sports franchises. Where would all those particular assholes (and I'm not saying all, or even the majority of sports fans are assholes) congregate if it weren't for sports bars and stadiums? The price we pay is definitely inflated, but I've come to appreciate the societal separation it provides.

Rudism 11y ago

The Olympics are particularly notorious for being a complete money sink. The host city builds all kinds of infrastructure to support them which become useless eyesores after the Olympics are done. You can find photos of abandoned and unused Olympic venues from as recent as the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics.

tallanvor 11y ago

The issues with the Olympics are a bit different. Cities and countries are looking at the costs and realize that, for the most part, there's no way for them to recoup the money they'd have to spend on the infrastructure. Plus, at least in Norway, people were really unhappy with the demands of the IOC - among other things, there were silly demands such as a cocktail reception with the king, and a bunch of other perks that don't sit well with people.