Abandoned Olympic venues

[targa88]

What happens to Olympic venues when the event is over....

I suspect that most fall into disuse and are poorly maintained and eventually abandoned.

https://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/22-eerie-abandoned-olympic-villages-after-the-olympic-torch-extinguished/87580138/

Can't imagine what the ROI is on these investments. 

Maintenance costs and repairs.

The Montreal Olympic stadium (1976) - requires a roof replacement estimated at a $1B.

The Calgary Olympic park has basically decommissioned the bobsled track along with the ski jump was closed pending a $25MM renovation. At the time of construction (1988) it cost $18MM.

Have to wonder is it programmed for obsolescence...

[Hammer Smokin']

Big Owe roof replacement has started. 

Just under $1B (to start). Should double that by time of completion, making it the most expensive roof on Earth.

[Arabian]

Investments made? Umm. I’m not sure who’s pocketing the money?

Dirty river that made athletes sick, cardboard beds and lack of A/C, poor food...etc.

 

 

[joeypots]

It’s pretty well known that the olympics are a money suck and have a poor record of benefiting the host city. Boston was a contender for the '24 games. Here’s a little history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_bid_for_the_2024_Summer_Olympics#:~:text=Polls conducted in early 2015,bid to host the Games.

[Puros Y Vino]

3 hours ago, Arabian said:

Investments made? Umm. I’m not sure who’s pocketing the money?

Dirty river that made athletes sick, cardboard beds and lack of A/C, poor food...etc

The way the actual athletes, "the show" are treated is disgusting. IOC needs to die and be replaced by another organization. Just hold the games in Greece every four years. Change the name, cut out the IOC parasites for good.  

[Shakey]

2 hours ago, targa88 said:

Can't imagine what the ROI is on these investments. 

The facilities are constructed with tax $$$, donations, and sponsorship money so the cost basis is $0, ROI is infinity. 🙂 

[Fuzz]

Pretty sure every venue built for the Sydney Games are still in use today (e.g. baseball field in Doonside, equestrian park at Horsley Park, regatta centre in Penrtih, shooting centre at Cecil Hills, etc). The Sydney Entertainment and the Sydney Exhibition & Convention Centres have since been demolished, but were replaced with new facilities. After the Games, the Athletes Village was sold off and converted into residential housing, and the suburb "Newington" was created. A lot of the games equipment was sold off to the public, including athletes beds and wardrobes.

Reminders of the Games are all over the city. Driving around Sydney, you can still see some of the blue lines painted on the roads for the marathon races. Going over the Anzac Bridge you will see the original Olympics artwork on the heritage listed Glebe Island Silos. The statue of Fatso the Fat Arsed Wombat, is once again outside of Accor Stadium (previously Stadium Australia), though he was stolen back in 2010 and only replaced in 2020.

I still believe the Sydney Olympic Games was an unmitigated success story and was very beneficial for the city. Without the Games, the city could not have expanded like it did and clean up the industrial mess of the early 1900s. Greater Western Sydney would not be what it is now. Our athletes still train at some of the Olympic facilities (e.g. Jess and Noemie Fox train at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium).

[Duxnutz]

Not to mention the Olympic village was a pre sold real estate success story.

[Fuzz]

2 hours ago, Duxnutz said:

Not to mention the Olympic village was a pre sold real estate success story.

If people only knew what that area looked like in the 80s, you'd never want to live there. I still remember going to the Homebush abattoir to get meat for bbqs. The smell in the summer would turn your stomach. And fishing is banned in Homebush Bay, due to the ridiculous levels of toxins like DDT. Not to mention the hill near the Olympic precinct that you can never develop, due to the hill being made from soil collected during the construction of the Olympic Village that is contaminated with industrial waste and heavy metals.

But we don't talk about that...