The Chainlink

PROTEST CHICAGO'S OLYMPIC BID

*Please post widely*
PROTEST CHICAGO'S OLYMPIC BID
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
5:30PM at CITY HALL (121 N. LA SALLE ST.)

LET THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE KNOW THAT
CHICAGOANS DO NOT WANT THE OLYMPIC GAMES.
The City of Chicago currently has a $500 million budget gap. Chicago Public Schools
are being closed and the CTA is crumbling. The city is staggering from one budget crisis
to the next - and the Mayor's Office is already predicting that the 2010 budget will be worse
than 2009.

Meanwhile, Chicago's City Council has put the taxpayers on the hook for any cost overruns
that would occur if the city gets the Olympics. And Olympics and cost overruns go hand in
hand. Currently, the City of Vancouver, host of the 2012 Winter Olympics is on the hook for
$6 billiion in Olympics cost overruns - which may bankrupt the city. The 2012 Summer Games
in London are 4-times over budget, with a total bill of at least $20 billion.

On October 2nd the International Olympic Committee will decide on the host city for the 2016
Olympic Games. Let you voice be heard... Protest the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid.

CHICAGO NEEDS BETTER HOSPITALS, HOUSING, SCHOOLS AND
TRAINS... NOT OLYMPIC GAMES.
Endorsed by: NO GAMES: Chicago, Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP),
Answer Chicago, Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE), International Socialist
Organization, Northside Action for Justice, Green Party Chicago, March 10th Movement, Pilsen Alliance.

For more information or to endorse this action contact: nogameschicago@gmail.com, call (312) 235-2873
or visit nogameschicago.com.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Korn on September 29, 2009 at 6:09pm
"CHICAGO NEEDS BETTER HOSPITALS, HOUSING, SCHOOLS AND TRAINS... NOT OLYMPIC GAMES."

That's a false choice. As the Sun-Times editorial (which the Active Transportation Alliance had a hand in) notes, the Olympics would provide an opportunity to make improvements in all of those areas. It's not about Chicago spending a bunch of money, it's about getting a bunch of money, which would otherwise go to Rio, Madrid, or Tokyo.

The reasons for the cost overrruns in Vancouver and London were mainly due to the worldwide recession and the collapse of the real estate market, which exposed some heavily leveraged infrastructure financing by those cities' bid committees. Chicago's bid doesn't include those same kind of (known now to be) risky deals, and Chicago 2016 has billions of dollars of insurance coverage to protect taxpayers. An independent analysis of the bid by the Civic Federation confirms the soundness of the Games' financing and that the risk of taxpayer money being used is minimal. Another independent review by Anderson Economic Group projects the Olympics would trigger $4.4 billion in additional tourism and infrastructure spending.

I support the Olympic bid because the potential rewards are much greater than the risks. And I believe in Chicago.
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on September 29, 2009 at 6:24pm
Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
Zeroth: Tank, baby? Cue awkward silence.

Kevin Conway said: I thought that'd get your attention... Sixth: LOL, and I doubt you will in 2012.
Kevin Conway said: To sleep, perchance to dream. Aye, there's the rub-
Permalink Reply by yaj 7.4 on September 29, 2009 at 9:15pm
I agree with you about most of this, but the jobs won't only be that summer. I've got friends and family in the building trades; they're plumbers, electricians, garbage men, etc. They and the unions that employ them are pretty excited about the Olympics because it means a couple of years of steady employment, which is very, very hard to come by right now in their industries. I suspect the same predictable companies will get the contracts, but still a lot of folks who need jobs will get jobs.
Permalink Reply by Dan Korn on September 29, 2009 at 11:13pm
h3 said:Meaningless fluff.
...
Not necessary-- just get a nice screensaver of some prominent Chicago sight, and a TV tuner card (they run $40-$100), and watch the games in a window on your PC framed by Buckingham Fountain or the Skyline.
...
Not exciting to me, sorry . . .
...
Meaningless fluff.

One could easily apply the same criticisms to many of the CCM flyers over the years. Just because you don't have an emotional attachment to the Olympics, that doesn't mean that millions, maybe billions of people, don't either.
Permalink Reply by jonathan on September 29, 2009 at 11:38pm
I spoke to a Chicago Olympic planner( ICOG)at the ward by ward presentations. They plan to convert the velodrome to a running track or multi use facility. They also said no tax payer money was going to be used for the games and then went on to say Washington park construction would use TIF funds.

yellow jello said:
A velodrome in city limits would be awesome, but I'd rather it be funded by the IOC and/or part of the various taxes I already pay now. Not an increase in taxes for future generations, which the city council committed to, when we go over budget.
[http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/1761087,chicago-olympics-2016...]

I wouldn't worry too much about the velodrome becoming too ironic...since there's nothing ironic about track bikes in velodromes....

But this can only mean that full suspension 30 speed mountain bikes will be the next big thing if we get a velodrome. There's a business idea!


Brian Ellison said:
though I'm not necessarily a fan of the games possibly being in chicago, i would love having an indoor velodrome that is easy to get to and indoors. i just hope the place doesnt get too... "ironic"
Permalink Reply by mattbikes1 on September 30, 2009 at 3:06am
If I could sublet my place for the endurance of the games for a huge markup then hell yea! Give Chicago the games! I really don't care either way. Have the games here or not, I couldn't care less. I understand why the city would want to host the games (huge revenues), they are a business! Life goes on either way...
Permalink Reply by Dan Korn on September 30, 2009 at 7:36am
h3 said:
Thanks, Dan.
Do you know where the money for construction comes from?

If we win the Games, most of it will come from ticket sales and sponsorships, including TV broadcasting rights fees.
Permalink Reply by Amber K on September 30, 2009 at 8:06am
mattbikes1 said:
I really don't care either way. Have the games here or not, I couldn't care less. I understand why the city would want to host the games (huge revenues), they are a business! Life goes on either way...


I agree, but I do think it would be pretty cool to have the games here!
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on September 30, 2009 at 12:13pm
Excerpt from the Chicago 2016 Fact Sheet:

FINANCE
A responsible, conservative and feasible plan
• Games revenues of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) are budgeted to total $3.8 billion.
• Planned expenses are $3.3 billion, plus $450 million in “rainy day” contingency funds that represent a significant cushion against potential revenue shortfalls or cost increases.
• When adjusted for inflation, OCOG expenditures are less than a 5-pecrent increase from the initial budget established during the domestic phase of the bid.
• Total OCOG and non-OCOG expenditures equal $4.8 billion, which is the sum of $3.3 billion plus the Olympic Village and permanent venue construction costs.
• When adjusted for inflation this represents a reduction in total expenditures of $80 million from the domestic budget.
• Chicago 2016 has developed its own built-in “safety net” of a minimum of $1 billion to protect against a budget shortfall. This safety net consists of an array of financial risk mitigation strategies that are separate and apart from – and would kick in before -- the City of Chicago’s financial guarantee.
• The safety net begins with a financial contingency of $450 million, meaning that actual projected expenses are $450 million less than projected revenues.
• Three additional public and private safety nets have been identified and will be available to mitigate financial risk, if needed, including:
• IOC Games cancellation insurance as much as $375 million to cover approximately 55% of the budgeted IOC contribution revenue which reflects the pre-Games distribution of that revenue to the OCOG.
• OCOG captive insurance of $500 million to cover named perils in addition to those covered by the IOC’s Games cancellation insurance.
• As a last-resort set of funds to be invoked only after the bid’s own safety net, a City of Chicago Public Guarantee of $ 500 million to cover a potential shortfall, comprised of two layers at $250 million each.
• The IOC provides a host city revenue from broadcasting rights and revenue from international TOP sponsors. The OCOG share of the broadcasting rights has been identified to be $675 million. TOP revenue has been set at $335 million.
• Domestic and local sponsorship revenue of $1.2 billion, which will flow through the joint venture marketing campaign between the USOC and the OCOG.
• Ticket revenue of $705 million has been estimated on 7.6 million tickets—a very conservative number based on past Games.
• 51% of the competition tickets are priced at less than $50, making the Olympics an affordable spectator experience and to help ensure full venue.
• Private donation revenue of $246 million is comprised of permanent venue construction capital requirements and private donations, some based on non-Games related naming rights for the permanent structures or other capital programs.

h3 said:
Most of it? 60%? 75% Where does the rest come from?
Any link to a definitive source appreciated.

Dan Korn said:
h3 said:
Thanks, Dan.
Do you know where the money for construction comes from?

If we win the Games, most of it will come from ticket sales and sponsorships, including TV broadcasting rights fees.
Permalink Reply by mike w. on September 30, 2009 at 12:35pm
The ONLY thing about having the Olympics here i could've gotten excited about was construction of a PERMANENT velodrome and going there to watch the races and perhaps one day riding it -even as an aging cat 4. This news of it being repurposed after any games completely bums me out. Feh!

GO RIO! GO TOKYO! GO MADRID!

jonathan said:
I spoke to a Chicago Olympic planner( ICOG)at the ward by ward presentations. They plan to convert the velodrome to a running track or multi use facility. They also said no tax payer money was going to be used for the games and then went on to say Washington park construction would use TIF funds.

Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on September 30, 2009 at 1:00pm
I assume you own as opposed to rent. I have a feeling landlords would want a cut (or all) if you subletted for a bunch of money during the Games.

mattbikes1 said:
If I could sublet my place for the endurance of the games for a huge markup then hell yea!
Permalink Reply by mattbikes1 on September 30, 2009 at 1:14pm
Absolutely, but my landlord is a pretty cool guy. I would take a vacation or at least pay off some of my students loans with my cut.

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
I assume you own as opposed to rent. I have a feeling landlords would want a cut (or all) if you subletted for a bunch of money during the Games.

mattbikes1 said:
If I could sublet my place for the endurance of the games for a huge markup then hell yea!

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