Tulsa: bidding for Olympic Summer Games 2024.

[okclee]

http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=13046483

Good Luck to Tulsa. This would be incredible if Tulsa were chosen as the host city.

[semisimple]

Tulsa doesn't have a chance in hell of being chosen.

[Jesseda]

It could happen... I mean look at the last u.s city that hosted it, It wasnt L.A, new york, Houston etc it was a medium size city back then

[Spartan]

It could happen... I mean look at the last u.s city that hosted it, It wasnt L.A, new york, Houston etc it was a medium size city back then

Atlanta.

And in recent years both Houston and Chicago have been turned down as a host city.

[SkyWestOKC]

Disclaimer: This post is not OKC vs. Tulsa.

There are several reasons working against them. Starting off with their airport. It'd need to be able to represent the United States, just not Oklahoma, or just Tulsa. It represents the entire United States to foreign travelers, etc. Their airport is still in the 1960's and 70's. They could probably upgrade it within 10 years in time for it. Second: arena space. They don't have a big enough arena, and I doubt they have the money to build one big enough within the amount of time available. Third: hotel space. They are pretty similar to OKC when it comes to hotel space, and we really don't have that much.

It'd take a MAPS1 and MAPS3 type of investment over the next 14 years all in to airport, transportation, infrastructure, arena, etc.

I wish Tulsa good luck, but I think this is a pretty big dream and hopefully OKC won't be blamed for stealing (lol) all of Tulsa's funds when they are not selected.

[Thunder]

Tulsa? *laughs hysterically* Not a chance! OKC has a far better chance. Tulsa... *laughs hysterically*

[bluedogok]

It could happen... I mean look at the last u.s city that hosted it, It wasnt L.A, new york, Houston etc it was a medium size city back then

Atlanta is not a "medium sized" city, they boast one of the busiest airports in the world. They also had Coca-Cola and Ted Turner money behind their bid. Atlanta is the 9th largest MSA, Tulsa is 53rd.

[z28james]

You would think the city of Tulsa would spend their time and money elsewhere considering all I hear is bad news from their own paper on spending cuts.

[semisimple]

It could happen... I mean look at the last u.s city that hosted it, It wasnt L.A, new york, Houston etc it was a medium size city back then

http://www.census.gov/popest/archive.../MA-99-03b.txt

Metropolitan Atlanta had about 3.5 million people when it hosted the Olympics in 1996. If you consider 3.5 million (now 5.4 million) "medium size," fine. But, by comparison, Tulsa is downright "small" at 930,000, which by 2024 might be around 1.1 to 1.2 million given its slow growth rate.

More importantly, consider that Atlanta had urban rail, one of the country's busiest airports, multiple pro sports teams with large stadiums, etc., back in 1996. Tulsa's infrastructure simply does not compare and it is a waste of time and money to even pretend like Tulsa is capable of hosting an event of this magnitude.

[semisimple]

Tulsa? *laughs hysterically* Not a chance! OKC has a far better chance. Tulsa... *laughs hysterically*

OKC doesn't have a chance either, for the same reasons mentioned for Tulsa. I'm curious as to what gives OKC "a far better chance" than Tulsa?

[Easy180]

OKC doesn't have a chance either, for the same reasons mentioned for Tulsa. I'm curious as to what gives OKC "a far better chance" than Tulsa?

Simple really...The global power and influence of Mary Fallin

[Spartan]

Simple really...The global power and influence of Mary Fallin

Of course, she's on Olbermann all the time... #

[Thunder]

OKC doesn't have a chance either, for the same reasons mentioned for Tulsa. I'm curious as to what gives OKC "a far better chance" than Tulsa?

I realize that OKC do not have a chance, but OKC still have a greater chance than old-age Tulsa (where Sally Kern resides).

I do not watch any Olympics games, but I enjoy watching the opening event.

[ljbab728]

The people in Tulsa know they have no chance at hosting the Olympics. This is, at best, a publicity move to draw attention to the city.

[mugofbeer]

I wonder where Tulsa plans to get the $3-4 billion it would take to construct the necessary facilities? Where are they getting their corporate sponsorship? They would have to build virtually from scratch. Not to mention Tulsa has a fraction of needed hotel rooms.

[rcjunkie]

I realize that OKC do not have a chance, but OKC still have a greater chance than old-age Tulsa (where Sally Kern resides).

I do not watch any Olympics games, but I enjoy watching the opening event.

Where to start, Tulsa is not "old age" and Sally Kern lives in OKC, when responding, try to get your facts straight.

[Spartan]

I realize that OKC do not have a chance, but OKC still have a greater chance than old-age Tulsa (where Sally Kern resides).

Wow.

[dmoor82]

The only way OKC could even sniff The Olympics is if DFW was awarded The games and The rowing,kayaking,canoeing competitions were on The Oklahoma River,but even then thats a stretch! as it stands OKC already is The official Olympic training site for all three of these sports!

[Oil Capital]

The only way OKC could even sniff The Olympics is if DFW was awarded The games and The rowing,kayaking,canoeing competitions were on The Oklahoma River,but even then thats a stretch! as it stands OKC already is The official Olympic training site for all three of these sports!

That analysis looks about right. And it exactly to that extent that it could be said that OKC has a better chance than Tulsa, which is to say Tulsa has exactly zero chance. The difference is, there is no committee or group in OKC foolish enough to spend time and money on an olympic bid that has zero future.

[okclee]

If Tulsa is bidding for the summer games, I think Okc should bid for the Winter Olympics.

[Kerry]

The Olypics are a financial disaster for every city that host them. In the future, the games will have to scaled way down or they won't be held at all. It is possible that by 2024 very few cities will have the financial resources to even pay for an Olympic brochure, let alone host the games. Chicago - broke, New York - broke, LA - broke, Tulsa - not broke.

[BG918]

The city won't put forth a dime for this 'bid'. It's the work of a group of businessmen and has no chance. A Dallas olympics is possible and in that case some events like rowing could be in OKC, kayaking in SE Oklahoma or W Arkansas, and sailing at Lake Texoma. That would be good for our region.

[okclee]

Kayaking in SE Ok or Arkansas? That could be interesting. Not sure how the locals in this region would take to the Olympics coming in, especially the foreigners.

[bombermwc]

It's just a publicity stunt by some folks trying to get the Tulsa name out there yet again. So stop getting your panties all in a twist. The entire state of Oklahoma couldn't muster enough to host the games, so let's just back off all the comparisons.

Not to mention the fact, like kerry said, everyone that hosts ends up HEMMORAGING on the deal. They have to spend SOOOO much money to get things ready (unless they've previously hosted) and have no use for the facilities once the games are over, they just lose money out the wazoo.

What would need to happen, is someone would need to approve something like C2C with a 25 year plan....not 10. Then the first 10 years could be used to clear out the land and ready it for construction. You'd have to build according to the masterplan and orient the games in a way that make the facilties sustainable for the future. Things like the olympic village COULD be designed in such a way that it could be normal housing for rent after the games. But how many people need a 100K seat stadium afterward? We have world class aquatics at OCCC, but are they really olympic worthy? Is the COX center Olympic worthy? Is the State Fair Arena worthy? You do need multiple arenas for all the indoor events...gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, etc. We have some private facilties for things like Tennis, but that sort of public/private relationship is SOOOOO difficult to get right. There are just so many variables that aren't sustainable in the aftermath.

[Kerry]

Kayaking in SE Ok or Arkansas? That could be interesting. Not sure how the locals in this region would take to the Olympics coming in, especially the foreigners.

What is that supposed to mean? Is it anything like how someone from rural Arkansas would be treated in NYC?