Boston 2024

Looks like typical Olympics bloat to me. Kind of disheartens me about the seriousness of the proposal.

I'm interested to see what they'd suggest, but Cabot is not a "straightforward" decking project like the Pike would be. Cabot is not below-grade, which I think would greatly complicate the process.

I agree with others who are pointing out that we have plenty of open or underutilized land in the inner Metro area. If the committee's primary site suggestion is Cabot Yards it doesn't instill positive feelings about a Boston bid.
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
I agree with others who are pointing out that we have plenty of open or underutilized land in the inner Metro area. If the committee's primary site suggestion is Cabot Yards it doesn't instill positive feelings about a Boston bid.
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Well, let's wait for the official proposal. The Globe has had major problems understanding transportation and infrastructure projects since the Henry purchase, and the article this was taken from quoted anonymous sources and was really more of a conversational ramble than a piece of factual reporting.

We really have no idea if this is what they're proposing. John Fish IS on the record against white elephants and in favor of 2030 legacy planning, so I'll withhold serious judgment until the committee actually announces something.

Incidentally, I wonder if Fish's 2030 model had anything to do with this:

"The people who fabricated this thing – and who are working on similar models for Midtown Manhattan and Boston – hope it will be useful in providing a physical presence that digital models lack."

http://www.citylab.com/design/2014/...e-future-of-san-francisco-real-estate/371781/
 
This is MA. The more coverage this gets, the more that gap will close/reverse.
 
The mayor of Fall River wrote a letter to none other than... Mitt f'ing Romney asking him to (somehow?) help make Fall River part of the Olympics if Boston wins the bid.

I... literally can't even right now...

Fall River Wants to Host a Portion of the 2024 Summer Olympics
Let the games begin.

By Steve Annear | Boston Daily | July 10, 2014 5:00 pm

If Boston hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics, Fall River wants a piece of the action.

At least, that’s the hope of the city’s mayor, who has called on former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney to help him put together a package arguing why Fall River should get some of the Games. “I would love nothing more than for the 2024 Summer Olympics to be held in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and specifically in the great city of Fall River,” Mayor William Flanagan wrote in his letter to Romney, dated July 10...

Full article and scan of the letter the mayor sent to Mittens here: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2014/07/10/fall-river-2024-summer-olympics-letter/
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Why write to Romney instead of Fish? Fish is the one leading the charge on the bid. Is Romney even still involved with the US Olympic Committee?
 
kmp1284 said:
Sure thing skippy. Newport, Marion, Padanaram, Marblehead.
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Those are all better places to put sailing but that isn't a reason that they couldn't or are unable to put sailing in Fall River.

While it is incredibly unlikely that Fall River would get any Olympic events and it isn't the best choice available, it wouldn't be physically impossible so the Mayor may as well bother with lobbying for it.
 
Aside from the fact that it is an utter shithole with no facilities or history in the sport it would be impossible to set up a course on the Taunton River
 
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^And while we're on the topic of outsourcing sporting events to nearby cities if Boston were to host an Olympics.....

Holyoke should definitely get volleyball!
 
Whats weird about writing to Romney? He was governor, he was in charge of the Olympics, and he has a national profile. I really don't get the outraged sputtering, other than any concerns about Fall River as a location.
 
DominusNovus said:
Whats weird about writing to Romney? He was governor, he was in charge of the Olympics, and he has a national profile. I really don't get the outraged sputtering, other than any concerns about Fall River as a location.
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Well, other than the paternalistic derision with which any New England city other than Boston or its immediate environs is viewed on this board (see "Soccer Stadium, Somerville"), it's dangerous for this sort of thing to happen before a bid is fleshed out and widely endorsed. The Olympics need to be about investment in the center of Boston, because that's the only place where billions of dollars in infrastructure investment are even remotely worthwhile. If the bid instead becomes about regional centers begging to host anything and everything, it makes the entire effort seem less serious and runs the risk of building political pressure to farm events out to the boonies.

Of course, some of them should go to the boonies (whitewater, BMX, etc.) and some matches between sports and cities make sense (like tennis and sailing in Newport or basketball in Springfield). Also, I'm not saying that investment in regional centers in general is bad. Billions in investment for an Olympics built on these sorts of requests, though, would never be worth it.
 
DominusNovus said:
Whats weird about writing to Romney? He was governor, he was in charge of the Olympics, and he has a national profile. I really don't get the outraged sputtering, other than any concerns about Fall River as a location.
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Plus, if you are a South Coast bigwig and you tell your constituents "I wrote to Mitt Romney," they'll understand that you're "working the system" on their behalf and so will the media, confident that Mitt will pass along the letter to the right people. Made perfect sense to try.

If the South Coast would be content to just get rail (and no venues) then maybe they could contemplate upgrading the Fall River-Newport Secondary Line (which is RI-owned, has an operating scenic railway) and having tennis and watersports in Newport.
 
The thing about holding an event or two in Fall River that makes perfect sense is the bid's going to need state-wide buy in if it's going to need some state funding.
 
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