NYC Is Iffy About 2012 Olympics

Mayor Bloomberg really wants construction on the Jets Stadium (aka the NY Sports and Convention Center) to start by the spring on the West Side, to better help NYC's chances of landing the Olympics, not to mention resolve the whole West Side development thing. Even though the Mayor said he might might might consider developing in Queens, Mayor Bling emphasized that having the stadium and a new convention center together (in Manhattan) would be the best economical decision. City Council Speaker, and mayoral hopeful, Gifford Miller said, "I don't understand why the Olympics would care if the stadium is here or in Queens." Now, Gothamist knows that Giff needs to say that because he needs Queens constituents and unions to back him, but when he says stuff like that, Gothamist feels he's a huge dope. It's pretty clear why the International Olympic Committee would want the stadium in Manhattan - the excitement and energy of being in the center of the greatest city in the world. When people think of New York City, they tend to think of Manhattan first.

As for our fine city's support of the Olympics, it's generally positive, with 59%, but it turns out that's tepid compared to other cities. NYC 2012 estimated public support to be 64-79% (wishful thinking!), the IOC poll found only 59% support. In other candidate cities, the IOC found 68% in London, 91% in Madrid (even higher than what Madrid's 2012 committee found), 85% in Paris (8% higher than Paris 2012 found), and 76-77% in Moscow. This is so going to Madrid or Paris. And the city's support of the Mayor seems to be faulting because of West Side Stadium, making Gothamist realize if you want to flame out, you might as well flame out big.

And speaking about NYC support, have you seen the NYC 2012 spoofs from 2012 Land Grabs?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on March 4, 2005 8:10 AM

Comments [rss]

Captain Obvious

"I think the people who vote on awarding the Olympics are smart enough to realize that getting 60% of New Yorkers to agree on anything is pretty tough."

True enough, but the city is physically incompatible with such a large scale event and most New Yorkers are just flat out against this.

One of my clearest memories of how few people want this thing is during the Holiday Fair at Bryant Park this past winter. There was an NYC 2012 booth manned by two people and nobody--and I mean nobody--stopped by to even get free stickers and such.

There is really no grassroots enthusiasm for this at all. And without that, who cares. I think the Olympic city selection people are smart enough to know the difference between hype and reality, and the reality is a an NYC Olympics is a horrid idea.

Oh, and I think New Yorkers are generally into the idea of a large scale event, but NOT in Manhattan. Look at the World's Fair. It happened in Queens. Lots of open space. Lots of support. Now, if you mention Queens people dismiss it.

Boris

According to an article in Newsday, Vancouver had 58% support when they were awarded the Winter Games over Salzburg (76%) and PyeongChang (85%). http://www.nynewsday.com/sports/olympics/ny-spoly044164864mar04,0,3228602.story?coll=nyc-sports-headlines

I think the people who vote on awarding the Olympics are smart enough to realize that getting 60% of New Yorkers to agree on anything is pretty tough. This is a city and country with a much different culture than anyone else. The press is just maknig mountains out of molehills. They are all Olmypic-haters who want to kill what's great for the city.

tien

the stadium is what it is, and like it or not, the jets want it at that location. they don't want a stadium in queens and the giants are content with staying in new jersey.

Tim N.

Thanks for the info, DG and KH.

I'm actually not talking about the billboards or the ads inside the subway cars. I'm talking about the 2012 stickers that are on the outside of the subway cars and under the bus driver's windows, where the MTA logo used to be. Because they're not in the normal ad spots, it looks like an MTA endorsement of the 2012 bid. Which would be odd considering their relationship to the stadium deal.

On the other hand, maybe it is on the up and up.

King Hippo

I believe that NYC2012 took donations for the ad campaign:

“‘Every country gets home field advantage,’ ‘people will speak your language’ and ‘humanity will shine’ are a few of the copy lines for this advertising campaign which capture the spirit and feel of a Games in New York,” said NYC2012 Director of Marketing & Communications Amy Stanton. “We are grateful to the more than thirty companies and organizations that have donated these ads – another example of the extraordinary commitment to helping bring the 2012 Games to New York City.”

http://www.nyc.gov/html/sports/html/mayor-2012-ad-pr.html

I'm torn on the idea of a Queens Stadium. I'd welcome more development in Queens, especially if it means replacing Shea Stadium. But Gifford's an idiot if he doesn't recognize how difficult it would be to reproduce the same metropolitan, "center of the universe" feel that you'd get from having the stadium in midtown. I guess it would depend on how they designed the Flushing stadium, but I find it hard to imagine it comparing to the nightly blimp shots of a stadium nestled among the skyscrapers of manhattan.

dirtgirl

Tim N, bus shelters, subway and bus cards are not MTA property. They don't have an ad sales unit. Instead, the space is licensed to private companies to sell ad space with a portion going back to the MTA or DOT. The franchise is currently held by Viacom outdoor, but the bus shelter portion of that franchise is up for new bids by DOT.

So if those ads were put up for free (and are we sure that they were?), it was at the expense of Viacom, not the City or MTA.

Tim N.

Has anyone noticed these 2012 ads that have sprung up on every subway car and bus? Does anyone know if the MTA got paid for those ads, sicne they are so broke? If they didn't, it strikes me as odd that the MTA is accepting free advertising from what is, to the best of my knowledge, a private operation (NYC2012) while they are being taken for a ride over the sale of their rail yards. Something stinks here.

PS: If they put the stadium in Queens, out by the tennis center and refurbished Flushing Meadow Park, you'd be surprised how many people would change their minds on this Olympic thing. Mayor Bling has played this all wrong.

PPS: Mayor Bling - best nickname of the year! Nice job.