Winter Olympics Seattle connection (Vancouver, Bellingham: hotel, live, bus)

[pw72]

Kind of an inauspicious start to the Winter games in Vancouver, what with the tragic death of the luger, and the technical difficulties with the opening ceremonies, and the too warm weather...

and, the Washington State connection is seemingly a bust.

Local News | For Washington state, Olympics-related business mostly a no-show | Seattle Times Newspaper

Do the games really have any effect on Western WA? I say not so much.

[BB_206]

I think the fact that it's an International Boarder with customs is going to slow down the potential revenue for Blaine and the boarder towns.

[pw72]

Perhaps if the economy hadn't tanked, W. WA would see more benefit. But so far, a bust. I'm not even sure BC will be able to show a net gain with the games.

[iskray917]

Seattle was the largest viewing market in the country for the Opening Ceremonies according to the Seattle Times.

[packet]

Not a whole lot of tickets were available in the first place. Also, it's a 3 hour bus ride from Vancouver to Whistler via the Olympic Bus Network. Personally, I wouldn't want to stay just over the border and have to deal with customs on top of it.

[SonicsFan93]

This was written three years ago. Just another example of how Nick Licata is so completely out of touch!

Sports | Seattle watches from sideline while other cities participate | Seattle Times Newspaper

Vancouver is preparing to hold the Winter Olympics in 2010 and gamely putting up with all that it entails.

"People traveling to the Olympics will come to Seattle," said Licata. "We'll benefit more than if they had been held here."

[pw72]

Nice.

Thanks for pulling that out and exposing the wrong-headed thinking that goes on in Seattle.

[SonicsFan93]

Originally Posted by pw72

Nice.
Thanks for pulling that out and exposing the wrong-headed thinking that goes on in Seattle.

Well, I think that's a little harsh. While Licata's line of thinking is fatally flawed, it's not as if Seattle isn't considering hosting major international sporting events of our own. The city council passed a resolution supporting Seattle's bid for the World Cup. And in 2028, we could be co-hosting an Olympic games of our own:

City Wants 2028 Olympics

Vancouver and Seattle will join forces to try to attract a post-2010 global mega-event, with a wish list that includes co-hosting the 2018 World Cup of soccer, a world's fair around 2020 or the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The boards of Tourism Vancouver and the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau voted unanimously Thursday to create a study group to examine the viability of bidding for one of those events. The study group will report back to both boards when they meet again in Seattle early next year.

[cabocurtis]

Just got back from the Olympics. Drove through Border in Blaine on Friday opening ceremonies and back to Seattle Monday afternoon. First of all the border crossing was a piece of cake and traffic all the way back and to Seattle on I5 was fine. I think Seattle is basically a drive thru city for those not flying into Vancouver. In Vancouver the venues are spread out and I was able to get around on the Seabus and driving into the city quite easily. The Vancouver people are taking great pride in the games and showing up downtown in force. There are also selling out most games and medal ceremonies which is better than most recent games. Its was fun watching the games in the local pubs and watching them scream for their canadien athletes. There have been some issues but rectified quickly(ie shorten luge track). All in All I think Vancouver will look pretty good by the time its done. The city was gorgeous on sunday with huge crowds at the outdoor torch area. If your in the NW the drive up there is pretty easy and tickets can be scalped. There are live venues with bands, food, and big screen tvs. A good strategy is to get a hotel in Bellingham and drive up or amtrak in each day.