Could Jacksonville host the 2024 Olympic Games?

[blizz01]

Would we even throw money and/or effort at this?  Looks like Tulsa will...

Jacksonville invited to make Olympic bid

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Jacksonville is among 35 cities contacted by the U.S. Olympic Committee to gauge its interest in hosting the 2024 Summer Games.
The USOC sent letters Tuesday to Mayor Alvin Brown, as well as mayors in Orlando, Miami and 32 other cities, to see if they would be interested in a potential bid to bring the summer games back to the country for the first time since 1996.

"We would like to begin having discussions with interested cities about possible bid themes as well as the infrastructure, financial resources and other assets that are required to host the Games," wrote USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun.

Following failed bids by New York and Chicago for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, the USOC is taking a measured approach before moving ahead with a new campaign and wants to be sure it has a good chance of winning.

"This letter does not guarantee that the USOC will bid for the 2024 Games, but rather is an initial step in evaluating a potential bid," the committee said.

In addition to the three Florida cities, the other cities that received the letter were Phoenix; San Jose, Calif.; Los Angeles; Sacramento; San Diego; San Francisco; Denver; Washington; Atlanta; Chicago; Indianapolis; Baltimore; Detroit; Minneapolis; St. Louis; Las Vegas; New York; Boston; Rochester; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Tulsa, Okla.; Portland, Ore.; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Memphis; Nashville and Davidson County; Austin, Tex.; Dallas; Houston; San Antonio; and Seattle.

The USOC letter sought to remind the mayors of the huge undertaking involved in hosting the Olympics. Blackmun noted that the operating costs would be in excess of $3 billion, a figure that does not include venue construction and infrastructure costs.

The city would also require 45,000 hotel rooms, an Olympic village for 16,500 athletes and officials, an international airport and a workforce of up to 200,000, the letter said.

When hosting the Super Bowl in 2005, the city of Jacksonville brought in cruise ships to provide 7,000 additional rooms to satisfy the National Football League requirements of 100,000.

The U.S. hasn't hosted the Summer Olympics since Atlanta in 1996; Salt Lake City was the last American city to stage the Winter Games in 2002.

The USOC has also said it would consider whether to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, although the bigger and more prestigious Summer Games would seem to be the preference.

Los Angeles, Dallas and Tulsa, Okla., had already expressed interest in hosting the 2024 Games. New York, Chicago and San Francisco have either bid or expressed interest in bidding in the past and could also get in the mix.

New York finished fourth in the international bidding for the 2012 Olympics, which went to London. Chicago suffered a stinging first-round exit in the vote for the 2016 Games, which were awarded to Rio de Janeiro.
Chicago's defeat was blamed partly on the revenue-sharing feud between the USOC and IOC. The two sides have since resolved the dispute and signed a new agreement that clears the way for a U.S. bid. USOC leaders have also worked hard to improve the committee's standing in the international Olympic community.

"Now more than ever, we need to use the power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to encourage our youth to be active and engaged in sport," Blackmun wrote.

Other cities around the world that have expressed interest in bidding for the 2024 Games include Paris; Rome; Doha; Dubai; and Durban, South Africa. The IOC vote on the 2024 Games will be in 2017.

The USOC is skipping the bidding for the 2020 Olympics. The three candidates for those games are Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo, with the IOC to vote Sept. 7 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The USOC said Tuesday it has two and a half years to decide whether to submit a 2024 bid and would do so in an "economically efficient way."

While New York and Chicago were selected by the USOC after a domestic bid process that cost up to $10 million, the USOC said it would embark on any new bid through "a thoughtful but more efficient process."
"The games have had a transformative impact on a number of host cities, including Barcelona, Beijing and London," Blackmun said.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/Jacksonville-invited-to-make-Olympic-bid/-/475880/18999026/-/ruav7jz/-/index.html

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/2013/02/could-jacksonville-host-the-2024.html

[tufsu1]

considering Tampa and Orlando applied jointly for 2012, and didn't even make the first cut of US cities, NO!!

[funwithteeth]

The Olympics? This city barely got it together to host a Super Bowl!

[duvaldude08]

I bet Khan will get the willies about this one. Financial backing sure wouldnt be an issue. Khan is hell bent on Jacksonville being an international city, so I dont think this is just going to go away. I say put in the bid and make them tell us no. Wont harm anything. I think our infrastructure is the hugest issue. Unless Im reading it wrong, the hotel requirement is almost half of what was required for the superbowl, so I think we would be okay on that front. (I think).

[fsquid]

Olympics?  You must be having a laugh.

[fsujax]

Well, if Tulsa can do it...well never mind.

[thekillingwax]

I thought one of the big problems with the olympics in Atlanta was the heat/humidity? Are they expecting a sudden weather change or something?

[If_I_Loved_you]

The Olympics? This city barely got it together to host a Super Bowl!

^^^

[I-10east]

St Louis did it before, so why not! Just kidding, I know that was in 1904 when STL was like the fourth biggest city in the country at the time or whatever the hell. Yeah, this Jax hosting the Olympics news even way in 2024 is pretty much a laugher. 

[ricker]

Why so much negativity?

This is excellent news to spread!

An invitation to bid?

2024 could happen if the moratorium on the mobility plan and fee are shelved permanently.

(we have to learn from the recent soccer traffic clusters too though)

[tufsu1]

2024 could happen if the moratorium on the mobility plan and fee are shelved permanently.

you are joking right....is the mobility plan going to build all the hotels, venues, and athletes village?

[fsquid]

they invited 35 cities to bid, so we are a top 35 city

[tufsu1]

not exactly...they invited 35 cities to express interest....USOC hasn't even decided if they want to submit a bid to IOC (they skipped 2020)

Having worked on the Florida (Tampa-Orlando) 2012 bid, I can tell you that several million dollars were spent putting the bid together...originally 10 cities were invited to bid and 8 actually submitted....then the list was narrowed to 5 finalists (FL didn't make the cut)...and New York was selected for submittal to the IOC

[cityimrov]

Could Jacksonville host the 2024?  Yes it can.  The Olympic Village could be that brand new development everyone's been clamoring for.  The streetcar system as well as the skyway extension could finally be built.  The bus system could finally have the routes needed to go places.  The Venues?  Everbank Field is big enough to host the opening ceremonies.  The natural landscape of the city could host other things.  The docks for kayaks and yacht races could finally be built.  The food trucks could finally roam the streets ready to serve millions.  The hotel rooms will be the biggest fundamental issue faced but that could be solved by making an Olympic Shipyards Hotel that could later be turned into a major development. 

If you brought all of MJ's articles together and build on that, you could bring the Olympics here.  There's nothing stopping this dream except by the people who live here. 

[ProjectMaximus]

I lived in Chicago during the failed 2016 bid. I remember one serious concern of the bid committee was improving the speed and efficiency of the el trains to an adequate and acceptable level for the enormous crowds that would flood the city.

It's nice that they were thinking of us, though.