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Lake Tahoe Olympic Games?

post #1 of 13
6/29/12 at 12:28am
Thread Starter 

Well, there are groups researching and promoting the idea for 2022.  Finding terrain for a DH and SG is easy, as is lodging for the Olympians.  Funding for a bobsled run and a jumping hill sheltered from the gusting wind is needed.  The 1960 Olympics at Squaw didn't include the events associated with the bobsled track, which was deemed too expensive to build.

 

See: http://www.renotahoewintergames.org/archives/tag/lake-tahoe-winter-games-exploratory-committee

 

The Bay area got screwed (some people think so) for their summer Olympics bid, and a winter Olympic bid would be nice.  Utahn's think differently, and will pull out the stops for another bid.  What Utah offers is more recent experience, and venues that are already built.  Their promoters would also love to offer an Interconnect, but it will take a while for that issue to play out.

 

See: http://www.utahsportscommission.com/exploratorycommittee.html

 

My perfect USA Winter Olympics will never occur, but it would have the men's DH and SG at the Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek,  the SL and GS at Vail,  with the women's events either in Aspen (better shopping and restaurants) or Squaw (better holier than thou attitude).  The bobsled/luge/skeleton would be held in Park City, along with the freestyle events.  I'd stick the jumping in Lake Placid just for nostalgia.   Mary Jane can handle the mogul events with the  boarding events taking place in Oregon (less likely to be arrested for smoking weed there). Ski Cross should be run at Hunter Mountain since so many skiers there are like Honey Bagers and  don't give a ____."  See (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg ) .   That makes sense because ski cross is like riding a WROD at a New York ski area, which is more or less a demolition derby on skis.  Cross country events would be held at Stowe, with the participants staying at the Trapp Family Lodge.  This way NBC can find more useless stuff to talk about instead of actually showing the events.  Curling must be held in St. Louis so Anheuser-Busch Inc. can stick Budweiser logos all over the ice in their home town.  Besides, you almost have to be in a drunken stupor to watch that sport.  Hockey?  Boston.  The fights in the crowd will always entertain you if the game is a blowout.  Figure skating?  New York City, of course.  Heck, I'd make them skate at Rockefeller Center.   Biathlon?  Alaska is the only choice.  They have 17.7 gun related deaths per 100,000 residents there and can appreciate good shooting.


Edited by quant2325 - 6/29/12 at 12:39am
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post #2 of 13
6/29/12 at 7:04am
Denver has been contemplating a bid too. They just reported that submitting a bid will cost upwards of $25 million. That's for submitting, not for hosting. The latter would be a couple billion. Seems stupid to me.

I actually like the idea of a nationwide olympics making use of existing facilities.
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post #3 of 13
6/29/12 at 8:38am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kneale Brownson View Post

Denver has been contemplating a bid too. They just reported that submitting a bid will cost upwards of $25 million. That's for submitting, not for hosting. The latter would be a couple billion. Seems stupid to me.
I actually like the idea of a nationwide Olympics making use of existing facilities.

Colorado missed in 1976, I think.  The state should be able to host a great games: http://olympicsdenver.com/  .

 

The exploratory and bidding process is expensive, and the building for the events can be astronomical.  However, the results can be amazingly beneficial to the state and local communities.  The issues as I see it include corruption (Utah is better equipped from experience this time around), honest leadership that understands business (public/private partnerships) and recognizes their fiduciary responsibility, safety, public access, and finding/building outstanding venues.   Peter Uberoth (summer games) is probably the best example in the modern era of a great leader who offered a blueprint to others.  How Utah turned around a potential disaster is also memorable and worthy of study.

 

Is chasing an Olympic bid a good use of public funds?  That is a tough call given the worldwide economic environment.

 

When I'm in Park City, I sometimes visit the Olympic Park and watch young kids luge, freestyle, jump, etc.  A lot of this training takes place in the summer.  Some of these kids aren't even old enough to remember the 2002 Olympics that funded the nine-figure trust to make it all happen.  My younger son looks at the kids jumping and tells me he also wants to fly.  Someone his age will be jumping in 2022, which isn't that far off.  I hope the 2022 Winter Olympics is somewhere in North America. Denver, Reno or Salt Lake could all provide great venues.  Regardless, I'd rather see the ski-cross at Hunter Mountain.

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post #4 of 13
6/29/12 at 10:22am

Tahoe does not have the infrastructure to accommodate an Olympics. There will be more press at a modern Olympics than there were total visitors at the 1960. Can you imagine what 89 would be like at an Olympics? I cannot handle the traffic of a holiday weekend. 

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post #5 of 13
6/29/12 at 11:09am

I think any hopes for a Tahoe Olympics took a major hit when Sacramento failed to construct a new Arena.  I just don't see a venue capable of holding the indoor ice events getting built in Reno, and especially anywhere near the lake.  The transportation infrastructure might be overcome by busing from Reno, but there are a lot of missing elements here.  I think that other regions can probably compete much more easily, and it's going to be hard to beat bids from Utah and Colorado.

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post #6 of 13
6/29/12 at 5:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cirquerider View Post

I think any hopes for a Tahoe Olympics took a major hit when Sacramento failed to construct a new Arena.  I just don't see a venue capable of holding the indoor ice events getting built in Reno, and especially anywhere near the lake.  The transportation infrastructure might be overcome by busing from Reno, but there are a lot of missing elements here.  I think that other regions can probably compete much more easily, and it's going to be hard to beat bids from Utah and Colorado.

I think Colorado gets it before Utah gets it again. 

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post #7 of 13
6/29/12 at 6:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kneale Brownson View Post

They just reported that submitting a bid will cost upwards of $25 million. That's for submitting, not for hosting. 

 

Wow, that's a lot of bribes.

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post #8 of 13
6/29/12 at 7:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by epic View Post

 

Wow, that's a lot of bribes.

plus bribes. 

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post #9 of 13
6/30/12 at 2:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philpug View Post

Tahoe does not have the infrastructure to accommodate an Olympics. There will be more press at a modern Olympics than there were total visitors at the 1960. Can you imagine what 89 would be like at an Olympics? I cannot handle the traffic of a holiday weekend. 


Maan, it was a joy reading this thread until I got to your post :), but I'll have to agree.

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post #10 of 13
7/1/12 at 8:12am

Came across this interesting video, thought this would be a good thread to share it:

 

 

I think a Reno/Tahoe Olympics would be awesome! 

SLC's success was dependent on setting up workable public transportation to all the venues. 

How about an Olympic train from Reno to Truckee?

JF

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post #11 of 13
7/3/12 at 6:15pm

Hi All:

Regarding all of the venues in the USA.  While we in the snow world automatically start to think about stuff like sheltered ski jumps and runs...the over riding need for any modern Olympic venue in the USA is to be located close enough to a major Military establishment to provide the required Security.   SLC has Hill AFB, which has F16 fighter wings.  Reno-Tahoe has The Fallon NAS (Navy Air Station) which is home to the "TopGun" air combat school.  Denver has the AF Acadamy, NORAD, and Buckley AFB.  Lake Placid has Plattsburg AFB.

 

Both Plattsburg and Hill were used in the respective 1980 and 2002 games as bases for the security shield that now is a mandatory part of the Games.

Sad....but true.

Jim (Jimmy Mac) McAndrews.  

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post #12 of 13
7/3/12 at 7:27pm

I guess f16 fighter wings could be helpful in chasing the squirrels off cross country tracks. But unlikely a deal breaker for anyone else.  

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post #13 of 13
7/4/12 at 12:23pm

Got an email (yesterday) from Jon Killoran-Reno/Tahoe Winter Games Coalition that no bid for the 2022 Winter Games would be submitted by the United States. The Reno Gazeette Jounal reported that a bid could possibly be prepared for the 2026 Winter Games, (providing that there is no US bid for the 2024 Summer Games).  From additional reading, it sounded like NBC and the US organization have come to an agreement for revenue sharing, (kind of pushed all efforts back), so the report was that there was insufficient time to prepare a credible bid in time for the 2013 US selection, and subsequently the 2015 IOC selection. 

 

Reno Tahoe can really use the economic push, things in the Truckee Meadows remain a mess since the banking fall in 2008/9. (I won't go into the long-term economic impact that permitting 10 WalMarts to serve Northern Nevada and Tahoe has had on killing small businesses, the lack of any governmrnt programs to stimulate business growth and bring in measurable new businesses to the area, and the continued effect of the gaming industry to perpetuate low-level service industry wage scale in the area). The games continue to appear to be the region's best hope for economic gain. 

 

There were some good plans to handle traffic in, out, and around the basin; and developing new alpine speed courses at Heavenly from East Peak to Stateline, would improve a fire scarred hillside and provide tremendous new terrain and skiable acerage.  Airway traffic from Reno, Sacramento and Las Vegas, would spread the flow path.

 

I've also read a ton of hate mail from the Squaw locals who are against the games, (just a few womans alpine events were ever proposed there).  KSL will continue to develop Olympic Valley (business as usual per their master plan). What skiers and borders would see with the games is all resort areas that host events expanding skiable terrain and lifts to cut mountain congestion.  Without growth good luck to the 30,000 and growing Squaw/Alpine passholders on powder days when they all have the same goals and the hill is wasted in record time. Without growth, the song remains the same.  I hope a 2026 comes about, but after this week's news, it sounds more improbable than a 2022 bid.  The US continues to fall behind pace in resort development conpared to the rest of the world, (sounds just like the US math and science rankings declining).

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