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Old 06-24-2012, 04:34 PM
 
7,112 posts, read 10,141,292 times
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There was an old story back in 2000 about Pittsburgh considering putting in a bid for the Summer Olympics.

How about it? Olympics 2020 in Pittsburgh?

My gut reaction is...no. But if Pittsburgh were to make it a long term goal...what would it need?

The airport, if parts are not scheduled for demolition, probably could handle the traffic. But a rail line to move people to downtown would be a good idea.

Where should it be? I'm inclined to follow the Atlanta model and build facilities at Pitt, CMU, Duquesne, Carlow U, and Chatham U. Athletic venues and dorms can be put to use after the games. Shoot, you probably could even build housing for visitors on the campuses as hotel space is very limited that can be converted to dorm space afterwards. And in which case, any rail line from the airport should go up through the Oakland area.

Consol Energy is located in the right area for some venues, David L Lawrence could be used too. As the story suggests, I guess the rivers could be used for rowing?

Erie could get involved for the sailing venues.

The Olympic stadium would be a problem as it pretty big and really has little use outside of the Olympics. Atlanta converted its stadium into Turner Field. Maybe it could be converted to give Pitt its own stadium again? Nothing like having your own field and giving Oakland back its Pitt tailgating.

It could be a great catalyst to transform Oakland and the surrounding areas and leave the universities with a lot more infrastructure.

And could Pittsburgh host the Winter Olympics or are the skiing venues not up to that standard?
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Old 06-24-2012, 06:19 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mathmanmathman View Post
and could pittsburgh host the winter olympics or are the skiing venues not up to that standard?

lol!!!!
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Old 06-24-2012, 06:31 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
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I would hope that Pittsburgh wouldn't have an Olympics here. An event like that has pretty extreme security, and with tens of thousands of out-of-towners around, it would bring the city to a halt during the festivities.

Even the build-up phase for 4 years before the event is awfully stifling.
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Old 06-24-2012, 06:47 PM
 
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The olympics would be an unbelievable opportunity for the city. I can't imagine it ever coming here though. The competition is incredible and if a city as amazing as Chicago can't get it, Pittsburgh certainly can't. Also, there would be no use for a 100,000 seat stadium in Pittsburgh after the olympics were over. If the Steelers still needed a new stadium maybe it would makes sense, but right now it does not. I am guessing that talk you are speaking of was during the planning stages for PNC park and Heinz field. At that time it may have seemed more realistic due to the impeding construction.

Maybe 50 years from now if Pittsburgh somehow becomes a top 5 city in the country. Maybe.
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Old 06-25-2012, 06:56 AM
 
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LOL Won't happen. If Chicago can make a bid and lose it won't happen here. At least not til we're a top 5-10 city.
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Old 06-25-2012, 07:02 AM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
12,526 posts, read 17,562,923 times
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A little food for thought:

Do Olympic Host Cities Ever Win? - NYTimes.com
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Old 06-25-2012, 07:12 AM
 
Location: North by Northwest
9,366 posts, read 13,028,693 times
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G-20 was enough of a spit-show. Atlanta was the rare smaller city that could effectively handle it by virtue of its sprawling nature.
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Old 06-25-2012, 07:30 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DukesDan View Post
The competition is incredible and if a city as amazing as Chicago can't get it, Pittsburgh certainly can't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dtrtrggr13 View Post
LOL Won't happen. If Chicago can make a bid and lose it won't happen here. At least not til we're a top 5-10 city.
Chicago didn't get picked because it wasn't even the United States turn to host the Olympics. The winter Olympics are only here every 20 years. The summer Olympics are even more infrequent. I think a mistake was made when Atlanta got it so soon after Los Angeles. As a result, I'll bet it it will be quite a while before the US gets the Summer olympics since 1984 and 1996 were so close together.

1896 - Athens, Greece
1900 - Paris, France
1904 - St. Louis, United States
1908 - London, United Kingdom
1912 - Stockholm, Sweden
1916 - Scheduled for Berlin, Germany*
1920 - Antwerp, Belgium
1924 - Paris, France
1928 - Amsterdam, Netherlands
1932 - Los Angeles, United States
1936 - Berlin, Germany
1940 - Scheduled for Tokyo, Japan*
1944 - Scheduled for London, United Kingdom* 1948 - London, United Kingdom
1952 - Helsinki, Finland
1956 - Melbourne, Australia
1960 - Rome, Italy
1964 - Tokyo, Japan
1968 - Mexico City, Mexico
1972 - Munich, West Germany (now Germany)
1976 - Montreal, Canada
1980 - Moscow, U.S.S.R. (now Russia)
1984 - Los Angeles, United States
1988 - Seoul, South Korea
1992 - Barcelona, Spain
1996 - Atlanta, United States
2000 - Sydney, Australia
2004 - Athens, Greece
2008 - Beijing, China
2012 - London, United Kingdom
2016 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2020 - Candidate host cities: Istanbul, Tokyo, or Madrid (host city to be selected September 2013)


Winter Olympic Games Sites

1924 - Chamonix, France
1928 - St. Moritz, Switzerland
1932 - Lake Placid, N.Y., United States
1936 - Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
1940 - Scheduled for Sapporo, Japan*
1944 - Scheduled for Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy*
1948 - St. Moritz, Switzerland
1952 - Oslo, Norway
1956 - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
1960 - Squaw Valley, California, United States
1964 - Innsbruck, Austria
1968 - Grenoble, France
1972 - Sapporo, Japan
1976 - Innsbruck, Austria
1980 - Lake Placid, New York, United States
1984 - Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina)
1988 - Calgary, Alberta, Canada
1992 - Albertville, France**
1994 - Lillehammer, Norway**
1998 - Nagano, Japan
2002 - Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
2006 - Torino (Turin), Italy
2010 - Vancouver, Canada
2014 - Sochi, Russia
2018 - Pyeongchang, South Korea

Olympic Game Cities - Host Cities for the Olympic Games
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Old 06-25-2012, 07:43 AM
 
4,412 posts, read 3,963,752 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HeavenWood View Post
G-20 was enough of a spit-show. Atlanta was the rare smaller city that could effectively handle it by virtue of its sprawling nature.
Except Atlanta couldn't effectively handle it.
There was little preparation for the high heat and humidity; the MARTA was completely overwhelmed and inadequate for the crowds; the distances between venues was a massive hassle; and the fully chromed pick-up trucks and cheerleaders in the opening ceremonies were just embarrassing.
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Old 06-25-2012, 07:51 AM
 
43,011 posts, read 108,124,939 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Mon View Post
...and the fully chromed pick-up trucks and cheerleaders in the opening ceremonies were just embarrassing.
That's hillarious! Someone should have told Atlanta that they were supposed to represent US culture, not southern culturer.
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