Are the NY Olympics Worth It?

Former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberoth and the mastermind behind the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles spoke to NYC's Olympic bid committee. While he supports the concept of the Olympics moving to NYC in 2012, he did say this: "A two-week sports event doesn't pay for anything." Nice. Times sports writer George Vescey calls Ueberoth's L.A. Olympics the "Cheapo" Olympics since there was no money to fund the effort and they were faced with using all old buildings and stadiums. The other interesting thing is that L.A. was passed over for the Olympics in 1976 and 1980, but won in 1984 because the competition was Teheran.

It seems like New Yorkers would like the Olympics: 77% say the 2012 Olympics in NYC would be a good idea. Other things gleaned from this Marist College survey: Republican Convention, 59% say it's good; 64% support the Nets moving to Brooklyn; people are divided between whether or not a Jets stadium is good for the West Side (48% against, 45% for).

More on NYC's Olympic bid from NYC 2012. And Gothamist on NYC's Olympic bid logo.