Get ready DC, because you could be hosting the summer Olympic Games…in 2024.
Ok, so it’s a long ways off. But it’s not like these things get planned overnight, it’s the Olympics!
Today, the DC area took the huge first step, by announcing the formation of DC 2024, an exploratory committee that will investigate the city’s capacity and community willingness to bring the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games to the Greater Washington Region (Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.).
The whole process started back in February of this year. The US Olympic Committee (USOC) sent letters to the mayors of 35 US cities, including DC Mayor Vincent Gray, to gauge their interest in making a bid for the 2024 games. Upon hearing of the request, Bob Sweeney, President of the Greater Washington Sports Alliance, took the reins and began conversations with the larger D.C. community. Government, business, and local sports franchise owners were all giving positive feedback, resulting in the formation of DC 2024 with Sweeney taking the lead as President.
Between then and now 25 of the 35 cities have dropped out of the running, with Boston and San Diego among those still in the mix. But Sweeney says he believes DC is entering the race as a frontrunner. “We are the only capital city in the world to not have hosted an Olympic Games. You have the historic backdrop of our nation’s capital. There really is not better answer,” he says.
But the exploratory committee will have their work cut out for them in addressing some big questions for the local community, mainly, where this massive global event will take place in a city where open spaces are few and far in between. But Sweeney explains that DC has the local infrastructure to already support such an event. “The DC area has more sporting facilities in a 40-mile radius than any other city in the US, more than 100,000 hotel rooms, and an expanding public transportation infrastructure that could accommodate an event of this size,” he says.
Could you imagine this at RFK or the new DC United Stadium?
And from an economic perspective, having the existing transportation and venues will help DC. “It would not be the $50 billion that Beijing spent or the more than $50 billion that Soji is spending, because they are building every venue from scratch,” Sweeney explains.
As to whether DC has the space to host an Olympic Games, Sweeney compares the region to the recent London games. “London has around 9 million people and Washington has around 600,000, with 7 million outside of the District. We are a crowded downtown, but we are a large region,” he says, adding that an Olympic Games can also create significant growth for a city. “During the London Games, the Olympic committee went in and rebuilt an entire decimated part of the city in East London, and since then businesses have sprouted and the area has thrived,” Sweeney explains.
A recent study from the British government calculated that Britain’s economy enjoyed a 9.9 billion pound boost (or 15.3 billion USD) as a result of the 2012 Games and that spending by foreign tourists rose by 600 million pounds that year. Sweeney adds that he anticipates the same for the DC area. “I do think there would be development downtown and opportunities from all of this. Just think, who would have thought a new baseball stadium would be put where it was, or a new soccer stadium where it is planning to be put?” Sweeney adds. And should any new infrastructure projects be required, they will make sure it is focused on leaving a positive legacy that can be used by the community for years to come.
Another big topic of discussion over the next two years will be security, which also happens to be the largest expense of an Olympic games. Sweeney says that DC is actually at a considerable advantage. “We are the most secure city in the world… I think the fact that we have so much federal government security will actually benefit us on the budget side of security, rather than prove to be a disadvantage,” he says.
Take the Olympic pledge on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Sweeney points to the recent Army/Navy Football Game that took place at FedEx Field as a key example of security. “You had the President and Vice President of the United States there and all the Justices and future cadets under the same roof. It’s crazy to think they were all in that one location, but it’s also an excellent example of how much security is behind the scenes,” he explains.
A question likely on the mind of locals is how this massive global event coming to the District could impact daily life, i.e. the crowds of people not just downtown but throughout Virginia and Maryland. “I hope it creates more excitement than making life hectic,” Sweeney says. “But remember, this is 2 weeks out of the year in 2024 and another week and half of Paralympics shortly thereafter. DC is thriving and bustling and exciting and I don’t’ think there would be any more disruption to life than right now.”
But Sweeney says that the biggest question of all for the committee to answer is what the legacy would be for the DC Olympic bid. “What is the worldwide social leftover of an Olympic Games in our community,” he asks, adding, “London very much focused on green sustainable development and did a fantastic job. So much so, in fact that I think now the norm going forward will be that every Olympic city will have to maintain a type of green footprint and look at facilities not as white elephants but as sustainable reutilize venues going forward after your games.”
So what will the DC area’s legacy be? That will be one of many conversations started this fall and over the next 2 years. Stay tuned…
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