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Should Boston Host The Olympics?

March 6, 2013
Olympic rings for the 2014 Winter Olympics are installed in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, southern Russia, Sept. 25, 2012. (Ignat Kozlov/AP)

Olympic rings for the 2014 Winter Olympics are installed in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, southern Russia, Sept. 25, 2012. (Ignat Kozlov/AP)

Last month, the U.S. Olympic Committee sent a letter to the mayors of 35 cities, including Boston, to find out if they would be interested in hosting the games. Now, a group of private individuals has formed the Boston Exploratory Committee to investigate the viability of hosting the 2024 summer games.

But does hosting the Olympics make economic sense for Boston? Or do the intangible benefits of hosting the world’s biggest party outweigh the billion-dollar price tag?

Guests

Eric Reddy, chairman of the Boston Olympic Exploratory Committee

Victor Matheson, associate professor of economics at Holy Cross

Rikk Larsen, former Boston Olympic bid organizer and adviser to the current 2024 Olympic Exploratory Committee

Other stories from this show:

  • Joachim

    Please stop this idea right now. Should we in Boston bleed even more on taxes as we already do for an event that does not do anything for the majority in this city? It is a private sector event and we still pay dearly for Romney’s tunnel project. We do not need this corrupt event here. 

    • J__o__h__n

      I can’t stand Romney, but it wasn’t his project. 

  • Lvcbhmg

    What about Rio

  • http://www.facebook.com/bkort Barry Kort

    The Greater Boston Metropolitan Area is not one city with one mayor.  The actual City of Boston is quite small.  Somehow there would have to be a collaboration among all the dozens of municipalities that make up Greater Boston to organize an event of this magnitude.

    To my mind, the politics would be horrendous.

  • http://www.fibrowitch.net Jan Dumas

    NO! 

  • forstudentpower

    There’s already a Facebook page against a Boston Olympic bid (that was quick!) http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Boston-Olympics/161957870626008

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