Dallas is a "no-go" for the 2024 Olympics (Houston: hotels, live)

[TowerGuy]

First and foremost, ENOUGH ABOUT THE HEAT! The Summer Olympics have been held from early spring to late fall…enough, people.

Second, a rant:
Good god the civic pride in this city sucks!! I have read a number of comments on other sites and…geeezzz….and it is all from lifelong LOCALS. Why is it that anything cool or progressive Dallas does is characterized by Dallasites as "trying to be something it isn't"? What the hell? Should the city just cease all operation and attempts at improvement? I have never lived in a place where every little project and development sparks harsh criticism and disdain. I am from California and I have lived in several places in California and, take it from an outsider, I think Dallas is a great place!! In Fresno, the Fresnans could run circles around Dallasites in the civic pride department. They are SO unbelievably proud of their town and fancy themselves as L.A.'s OBVIOUS replacement should the "big one" cause L.A. to fall into the ocean. One day after 9/11 the local yokels just KNEW that Fresno was "NEXT". Yet, the town is the butt of every joke within the state…but Fresnans are oblivious to it…they keep their pride in their city at the maximum level, no matter what. If only Dallasites had 1/10 of that passion for their own city……..

As for those who say there is nothing special about Dallas…there are many Londoners and New Yorkers who are just as apathetic about where they "have lived their whole lives" as well. That is precisely the problem with life long born and raised residents in ANY city. You are so used to Dallas that it is nothing special…but don't make the mistake of assuming the rest of the world agrees with you.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Eric Fred Norris

Merely hoping the games will push us to fix our problems is unrealistic - that's what places like Athens and Montreal hoped and it's been a nightmare for them since.

I agree.

Personally I think the IOC could consider choosing a dozen or so past sites and having the Olympics rotate between these sites with all participating countries contributing to the cost of maintaining/refurbishing the sites. Of course, a site's participation would be purely voluntary. And I say "past sites" because many of them still have at least some of the venues.

This won't ever happen because the IOC is hopelessly corrupt.

[Garethe]

Originally Posted by Big G

Why Atlanta? Simple.

I'd like to buy the world a Coke.

With an assist from ... This is CNN.

I was a construction worker for the Atlanta games and just UGH, that olympic cauldron resembling mcdonalds french fries still ticks me off.

Oh and I think Dallas would do a fantastic job hosting.

[stan4]

Oh, thank god.
Can you imagine the crowds?
No, thanks.

[jgn2013]

Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr

If that is the reason given, it's a very incorrect one. I've traveled several places around the world for work, to visit extended family, etc. "Dallas" is not just a city. It's a way of life that foreigners think we have here, where there are oil wells, horses, cowboys, etc... as far as the eye can see.

That perception is wrong of course, but EVERYONE has the same view of Dallas, whether you go to the UK, Brazil, even Hong Kong.

So as far as a brand name goes, we definitely have one, even though it's more based off a fictional tv series than the reality.

I just had my wife's family come visit for several months from Brazil. Her mother, father, sister, and cousins came to stay with us, and even though they already "knew" what Dallas is really like from what we've told them, that perception is there that we all live like an episode of "Dallas." Even other parts of the US think this, I have family in Iowa that used to think the same things.

No, we're not lacking a brand name at all.

I agree. But apparently, the USOC doesn't think we're on the same level as San Francisco, Boston, NYC and Chicago. I'm not sure what cities are involved for the international part of the competition.

Considering Sochi, Salt Lake City and Atlanta, it is kind of a head scratcher.

[jgn2013]

Originally Posted by TowerGuy

First and foremost, ENOUGH ABOUT THE HEAT! The Summer Olympics have been held from early spring to late fall…enough, people.

Second, a rant:
Good god the civic pride in this city sucks!! I have read a number of comments on other sites and…geeezzz….and it is all from lifelong LOCALS. Why is it that anything cool or progressive Dallas does is characterized by Dallasites as "trying to be something it isn't"? What the hell? Should the city just cease all operation and attempts at improvement? I have never lived in a place where every little project and development sparks harsh criticism and disdain. I am from California and I have lived in several places in California and, take it from an outsider, I think Dallas is a great place!! In Fresno, the Fresnans could run circles around Dallasites in the civic pride department. They are SO unbelievably proud of their town and fancy themselves as L.A.'s OBVIOUS replacement should the "big one" cause L.A. to fall into the ocean. One day after 9/11 the local yokels just KNEW that Fresno was "NEXT". Yet, the town is the butt of every joke within the state…but Fresnans are oblivious to it…they keep their pride in their city at the maximum level, no matter what. If only Dallasites had 1/10 of that passion for their own city……..

As for those who say there is nothing special about Dallas…there are many Londoners and New Yorkers who are just as apathetic about where they "have lived their whole lives" as well. That is precisely the problem with life long born and raised residents in ANY city. You are so used to Dallas that it is nothing special…but don't make the mistake of assuming the rest of the world agrees with you.

Texans are generally proud of who they are and where they are from. I do sense that sometimes, we native Dallasites temper our enthusiasm regarding the city.

I remember kids in high school that desperately wanted to attend LSU, Oklahoma, Texas A & M etc., to avoid going to SMU, UT Dallas or any other local school. They always reasoned that Dallas/DFW was "boring." I never understood how going to a small one-horse town offered more excitement than a major metropolitan area. All of the clubbing in Baton Rouge, Norman and College Station combined is probably a fraction of what Dallas offers...with FAR LESS variety.

On a side-note, I think some of the negative feelings are from suburbanites and transplant suburbanites that have never really lived in Dallas proper. I'm amazed by how many people I've met that have never lived inside I-635.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by TXNGL

That's true. I see Dallas and Atlanta as very similar.

The fact that those two are similar is the reason why Dallas will NOT see the olympics. The common theme around the international and even domestic communities is that they don't want another Atlanta when it comes to the olympics.

[synchronicity]

Would the Olympics be a "good deal" for Dallas? I mean, I get the prestige issue and all, and they do bring in many outside visitors during the event (who one assumes will be spending money here one way or another), but does it really work out to a good IRR on the money Dallas would need to spend to be an Olympic venue? Looking at past events it seems as if much of the infrastructure completed for the Olympics has been wasted on "white elephants" and the event has had a minimal impact on improving the visibility of the cities in terms of attracting more business or tourism or whatever.

I could be wrong on this and would love some data, but it's not like Dallas is an unknown (who'd ever heard of Sochi before their olympics?). Again, I get the prestige/"bragging rights" aspect, but beyond that, does it make much sense?

[jgn2013]

Originally Posted by synchronicity

Would the Olympics be a "good deal" for Dallas? I mean, I get the prestige issue and all, and they do bring in many outside visitors during the event (who one assumes will be spending money here one way or another), but does it really work out to a good IRR on the money Dallas would need to spend to be an Olympic venue? Looking at past events it seems as if much of the infrastructure completed for the Olympics has been wasted on "white elephants" and the event has had a minimal impact on improving the visibility of the cities in terms of attracting more business or tourism or whatever.

I could be wrong on this and would love some data, but it's not like Dallas is an unknown (who'd ever heard of Sochi before their olympics?). Again, I get the prestige/"bragging rights" aspect, but beyond that, does it make much sense?

No, it doesn't make sense.

The only way an Olympics "works" is if a given city has most of the infrastructure already in place. If you're building a slew of white elephants that won't ever be used for anything else, it's pointless.

[Mr.Bungle]

We all saw how the Super Bowl went a few years ago...