2016 Summer Olympics preparations 'worst' seen

[southsider2k5]

Much more at link

 

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/apr/...reparations-ioc

 

John Coates, the vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, has called Brazil's preparations for the 2016 Rio Games "the worst" in his experience and critically behind schedule, but warned there was no "plan B" to find another host.

 

Attending an Olympic forum in Sydney, Coates told delegates that construction had not commenced on some venues, infrastructure was significantly delayed and water quality was also a major concern two years out from the Games.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Much more at link

 

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/apr/...reparations-ioc

 

How can these organizers pretend to be surprised by this? Look at where they have been awarded major sporting events recently. No s***.

[cabiness42]

So which US city ends up bailing out the IOC and organizes an Olympics in less than 2 years?

[MexSoxFan#1]

They're behind in WC preparations too I believe. How the hell does a 3rd world country get the WC and Summer Olympics two years apart anyways? Pretty stupid if you ask me, and I'm not even mentioning the social unrest going on there.

[southsider2k5]

How can these organizers pretend to be surprised by this? Look at where they have been awarded major sporting events recently. No s***.

 

I think it is hilarious. They threw Chicago out of the balloting on the first round because of some silly politics. You can say a lot of things about Chicago, but they live for stuff like this. The Olympics, while probably way over budget, would have been done first class.

[LittleHurt05]

How can these organizers pretend to be surprised by this? Look at where they have been awarded major sporting events recently. No s***.

 

Wait a second, temperatures reach 120+ degrees in the summer in Qatar? We had no idea!

[Harry Chappas]

So which US city ends up bailing out the IOC and organizes an Olympics in less than 2 years?

 

Los Angeles

[GoSox05]

They're behind in WC preparations too I believe. How the hell does a 3rd world country get the WC and Summer Olympics two years apart anyways? Pretty stupid if you ask me, and I'm not even mentioning the social unrest going on there.

 

Brazil is far from a third world country.

[HuskyCaucasian]

So which US city ends up bailing out the IOC and organizes an Olympics in less than 2 years?

LA seems the most logical. I wonder if NY/NJ could do it, and they have more up-to-date facilities (Barclays Center, MetLife Stadium)

 

Or, maybe even the bay area: San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Clara (Levi's Satdium)

Edited April 29, 2014 by Athomeboy_2000

[southsider2k5]

LA seems the most logical. I wonder if NY/NJ could do it, and they have more up-to-date facilities (Barclays Center, MetLife Stadium)

 

Or, maybe even the bay area: San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Clara (Levi's Satdium)

 

The oddball sports are the hard one to find venues for. LA probably would be the best, because they might still have some of the venues for 1984 still around.

[HuskyCaucasian]

I'm a bit surprised we havent heard a few towns say they are working on a contingency plan.

[HuskyCaucasian]

The oddball sports are the hard one to find venues for. LA probably would be the best, because they might still have some of the venues for 1984 still around.

Honest question: How up-to-date is Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum? I know USC still plays there, but has it been modernized at all?

 

And, for the minor "oddball sports", do those facilities still exist? Sports like Canoeing and Cycling have pretty specific facilities. Many of the other sports can put in college basketball areans and other minor sports facilities.

[cabiness42]

Actually, a main Olympic Stadium, usually used for track/field, is one of the hardest things to find. Most NFL/NCAAFB stadiums do not have enough field square footage for an Olympic track. There is permanent seating too close to the end zones. I don't think the LA Coliseum has been significantly modified since 1984, so it may be suitable for that.

 

Most cities will have sufficient venues for basketball, gymnastics, and soccer, and most cities have a convention center than can be easily modfied for the "minor" sports like judo, table tennis, etc.

 

Another challenge would be finding suitable rowing and kayaking courses.

[southsider2k5]

Honest question: How up-to-date is Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum? I know USC still plays there, but has it been modernized at all?

 

And, for the minor "oddball sports", do those facilities still exist? Sports like Canoeing and Cycling have pretty specific facilities. Many of the other sports can put in college basketball areans and other minor sports facilities.

 

No idea. Last I knew they weren't using all of it because of prior quake damage, but I have no idea if that is still true or not.

[MexSoxFan#1]

Brazil is far from a third world country.

While Brazil's income inequality has declined slightly over the past 14 years, it remains one of the most unequal countries in the world.

 

The top 10% of the Brazilian population earns 39 times more than the bottom 10%. In other words, the top 10% earns 40 percent of total income in the country, whereas the bottom 10% of wage-earners earns just 0.9% . The smaller towns are the ones that normally show higher levels of poverty.

 

According to the CIA World Fact Book, 21.4% of Brazilians live below the poverty line. That statistic is even more shocking when taking into account that Brazil is the eighth country in the world in terms of GDP (purchasing power parity), with $2,362,000,000,000 “in 2012”.

 

http://www.globaljournalist.org/stories/20...h-distribution/

 

Ok, so I might've been wrong on the 3rd world part but my point still stands. Lot's of poor people, and pretty pissed off that the government is spending so much money on the WC and Olympics instead of on education, health services, public transportation, infrastructure, etc...

Edited April 29, 2014 by MexSoxFan#1

[StrangeSox]

pedantry

 

"third world" is a Cold War-era classification that was for everybody who wasn't a part of the first world (US/NATO) or the second world (USSR/Warsaw/Communist). It didn't necessarily have anything to do with economic status.

 

Brazil is still considered a developing country by the IMF and other international bodies.

 

/pedantry

 

 

[Buehrle>Wood]

I feel we hear this about every Olympics/World Cup and nothing is ever done.

[HuskyCaucasian]

I feel we hear this about every Olympics/World Cup and nothing is ever done.

And nothing will be done. There's too many logistical issues. It'll be in Rio, come hell or high water... or incomplete facilities.

[Jake]

http://www.globaljournalist.org/stories/20...h-distribution/

 

Ok, so I might've been wrong on the 3rd world part but my point still stands. Lot's of poor people, and pretty pissed off that the government is spending so much money on the WC and Olympics instead of on education, health services, public transportation, infrastructure, etc...

 

Hmm, I wonder what other countries suffer from profound inequality while the government neglects spending on education, health, public transport, and infrastructure

[Quin]

I think it is hilarious. They threw Chicago out of the balloting on the first round because of some silly politics. You can say a lot of things about Chicago, but they live for stuff like this. The Olympics, while probably way over budget, would have been done first class.

 

Chicago would have thrown one hell of an Olympics.

 

Obviously it wouldn't happen, but I wonder if the IOC called up Chicago if they could throw it together in time.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Quinarvy

[HuskyCaucasian]

Hmm, I wonder what other countries suffer from profound inequality while the government neglects spending on education, health, public transport, and infrastructure

i see what you did there....

:usa

[MexSoxFan#1]

i see what you did there....

:usa

More of this and it's getting moved to the Fili...

[witesoxfan]

Hmm, I wonder what other countries suffer from profound inequality while the government neglects spending on education, health, public transport, and infrastructure

 

The World Bank lists China's Gini Coefficient (which is why is being talked about here, income equality distribution) as very similar to the US's. Most of eastern Europe and Scandanavia has very little inequality, with Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland all coming in with Gini Coefficients (according to the World Bank) at less than 27, while the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Ukraine, Belarus, and Bulgaria also at relatively low terms. Germany is up there too, but then you also see Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iraq, and Afganistan in there too, and those aren't always pleasant places to live.

 

Not trying to get this 'bustered, just wanted to point this out. It's a fun topic to discuss given the theoretical implications that come with such and how they different from expectations. Income equality is not always a good or bad thing.

 

Sorry, forgot to include this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_count...income_equality

Edited April 30, 2014 by witesoxfan

[StrangeSox]

(I think that was Jake's point)

[cabiness42]

Chicago would have thrown one hell of an Olympics.

 

Obviously it wouldn't happen, but I wonder if the IOC called up Chicago if they could throw it together in time.

 

The problem is that we are now 28 months away, and that isn't enough time to build much of anything. The only city that might be able to pull it off without substantial construction is LA. but then if you are going to take the unprecedented step of moving the Olympics 2 years out, then you might as well do the also-unconventional thing of splitting the events among several cities.

 

Have track/field in LA, swimming/diving in Indianapolis, basketball in Chicago, etc.