Posted Aug 16, 2016, 2:25 PM
|
Registered User
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 3,132
|
|
Quote:
Can LA really win its Olympic bid?
Bill Hanway thinks so, and he’s in a position to know. As global head of sports at engineering firm AECOM, and before that with EDAW, Hanway has overseen plans for the games in London and Rio de Janeiro and is currently advising on the 2020 games in Tokyo. He’s also been deeply involved with LA’s bid for the 2024 games.
"I wouldn’t be committing two years of my life to this if I didn’t believe that LA has a very strong chance," he tells Curbed LA.
Part of the reason that Hanway and others are optimistic about LA’s chances is that the games have succeeded here before. The 1984 games, arguably the most successful ever, resulted in a surplus of $232.5 million—of which the city kept $93 million. Hanway says that leaders of LA’s 2024 bid are already analyzing ways to ensure future games would remain financially viable. "For us," he says, "the games are all about being financially responsible—creating a great games that takes advantage of the creativity and innovation that amasses in Southern California, and also bringing back some of the youthful enthusiasm to the games that only California can bring."
Another advantage for Los Angeles is that many of the facilities used in 1984 are still here. Plus, nearly every venue LA 2024 has proposed for use in the games exists today or is under construction. And while that means the games won’t result in a stunning cultural icon like Herzog and de Meuron’s Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing, it also means LA wouldn't be stuck with any big and expensive venues that sit empty for most of the year.
"We have to show the world there’s a very, very responsible and responsive way to host the games without huge expenditures," Hanway says. "And the fact that we have all the venues in place can only be a fantastic asset to our bid.
Moreover, where other cities have used the Olympics as a means of improving infrastructure and mass transit projects, much of that work is already being undertaken in LA. "That infrastructure that is typically seen as part of Olympic games is already being done regardless of whether the games come to LA," Hanway points out.
Those improvements include a massive overhaul of LAX and the many transit projects planned, in progress, or recently completed. Hanway says these changes can only help to strengthen LA’s bid for the games. "Just the simple act of opening up the Metro from Downtown to Santa Monica Beach has transformed people’s perspectives of how to get to Santa Monica and the ease of doing so."
|
http://la.curbed.com/2016/8/15/12440...om-bill-hanway
|