On the Olympics, tread with caution
In the brief, pleasant afterglow of a successful sporting event — in this case the Pan Am Games — there are renewed murmurings of a possible Toronto bid for the 2024 Olympics. Mayor John Tory, to his great credit, has been wisely cautious about the sudden interest.
“They say it’s not a good idea to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry and (we’re) in the euphoria of what were a tremendously successful (Pan Am) Games,” he said Monday. “This is a serious, rational decision that has to be made.”
We’re glad to hear it. Toronto, as with many cities, has a semi-permanent cabal of relentless cheerleaders who see any international spectacle as an opportunity to showcase the attributes of their community. There is nothing wrong with civic pride. But before the city decides to pour billions of dollars into the Olympics, it’s important to step back and ask some hard questions.
The Olympics have become an enormously expensive spectacle that offer a brief opportunity for local boosterism at huge cost and longterm disruption to residents. Even as Toronto was getting revved up about a potential bid, Boston — a city of similar prominence and character — was dropping its bid for the 2024 Games over the high cost and lack of public support. Mayor Marty Walsh said the city couldn’t afford the estimated US$8.6 billion ($11.12 billion) cost, and refused to sign bid documents if they left the city on the hook for overruns, which have plagued many previous hosts. “No benefit is so great that it is worth handing over the financial future of our city,” Walsh said.
Montreal, which hosted the 1976 Summer Games, finally paid off the debt on the Olympic Stadium in 2006 — 30 years later. While supporters argue that the price tag comes with splashy new facilities — Vancouver got an upgraded highway, a convention centre and a train line to the airport — research for the Canadian Olympic Committee noted those were almost entirely paid for by the provincial or federal governments. Yet neither the province nor the rest of Canada gained much, it said. There was no boost to tourism, no gains outside the regions hosting the events and no discernible change to Vancouver’s international image.
Toronto must consider this. Launching a bid, especially so late in the process, will only makes sense if both the province and the federal governments sign up right away and agree to shoulder the majority of the costs. This would be a tall order, given the financial, and political, realities facing both the federal and Ontario governments. Dropping billions on throwing a gigantic party in Toronto may not sit well with voters in other parts of the country and the province. Only if Ottawa and Queen’s Park rapidly agree to pony up the cash, should Toronto move forward with a bid.
And not necessarily even then. Toronto has plenty of challenges facing it. Traffic congestion is a chronic problem and Tory is still pleading for funds to pay for his planned SmartTrack rail project. The downtown relief line is a badly needed addition to the subway system, but remains on hold for want of funds. Dozens of schools face closure and the city’s public housing has a backlog of repairs that will cost billions. An Olympic bid could divert time, energy, expertise and money from these crucial needs, while providing only momentary benefits.
Toronto has a lot to offer the world and is certainly capable of hosting major international events. We aren’t saying no to bidding for the Olympics in Toronto, but urge caution. Though decisions would need to be made quickly, they need not be made in undue haste. Mayor Tory should move cautiously to determine whether a potential bid would have the support of the other levels of government. If so, he will have some difficult decisions to make.