Reno Tahoe declines invitation for an Olympic Winter bid

[Tricia]

You heard it here first, back on April 1st, 2017. Reno To Open Ski Area for 2026 Winter Olympics

Well, after much deliberation and an invitation to bid on being the location of the 2030 Winter Games, Reno Tahoe has declined the invitation.

In a press release on Monday November 12, 2018, the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition said that a bid for the Olympics to return to Tahoe would have to make sense economically, ecologically, and socially. Brian Krolicki, RTWGC board chairman, said in the release. "Given the parameters and conditions presented, we cannot make the numbers pass muster. To continue, at this point, would be untenable and unwise."
Regrettably and respectfully, the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition has to decline the USOC's invitation to provide a response.

From the press release:
“I’d like to thank the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition for participating in our process up to this point,” says USOC CEO Sarah Hirshland. “The leaders in Nevada and California have demonstrated an incredible commitment to the Olympic and Paralympic community and the athletes we all serve. The USOC looks forward to continuing to work with RTWGC to identify new opportunities to take advantage
of the tremendous assets the state of Nevada has to offer, from Reno-Tahoe to Las Vegas, to support Team USA and advance Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United States.”

The RTWGC says it remains committed to its role in helping bring elite sports competitions and events to the region and state, as well as to support the area’s Olympic Movement and Heritage.

“We have always spoken of the value of the process,” says Jon Killoran, RTWGC Chief Executive Officer. “Over the past decade the pursuit of our Olympic and Paralympic Games dream opened the door to host World Championships, World Congresses of Sport, World Cup events and other elite competitions, which would not have been possible without the tireless work of our board, staff, donors and stakeholders to raise the world-wide awareness of the Reno-Tahoe, Las Vegas and Nevada brands.”

 

[Andy Mink]

Good call. Lot's of money for a very short window. Many of the events would have to take place elsewhere (as they commonly do) but the infrastructure is just not there. It would be billions to make it work.

 

[Jilly]

It's time for the Olympics to be recycled at venues that have the infrastructure etc. Yes it's nice to get that in places that don't have it. But when I think of Sarajevo, it just doesn't make sense. That includes the summer games too.

Today is the plebiscite in Calgary on their bid. Heard it's about 50/50. The vote is not binding though. The city just wants to make sure that the citizens will support it.

 

[Andy Mink]

Today is the plebiscite in Calgary

I learned a new word today!

 

[Philpug]

The other part of this decision is that with the 2028 Summer Games being in Los Angeles, the odds of two back to back summer/winter Olympics in the western U.S. jsut would not happen. As much as it would be cool to have the Olympics in our back yard for access, Reno/Tahoe just does not have infrastructure to handle the games.

 

[4ster]

As much as it would be cool to have the Olympics in our back yard for access, Reno/Tahoe just does not have infrastructure to handle the games.

Salt Lake City does although by the time the Olympics may roll back around again, who knows.
I like the idea of the Olympics rotating around the world to a few select locations.

 

[Philpug]

Salt Lake City does although by the time the Olympics may roll back around again, who knows.
I like the idea of the Olympics rotating around the world to a few select locations.

I have been touting the rotating locations for a while...IF we did that...we could go to 2 year intervals...from the 4, both summer and winter. Would anything be wrong with that?

 

[cantunamunch]

It's time for the Olympics to be recycled at venues that have the infrastructure etc. Yes it's nice to get that in places that don't have it.

If we buy into the idea of recycling, the problem becomes one of long term societal economics.

'Have the infrastructure' can mean one of:

1) The economy at the venue has enough money to build pyramids. By 'pyramids' I mean "Large, expensive, fixed structures that have zero relevance to people's daily lives except in some aspirational, religious sense".

2) The economy at the venue is such that all facilities have non-Olympic usage and will continue to do so for the span of the investment, say 40 years.

Neither 1 nor 2 are sustainable. Achieving permanence and legacy in concrete is environmentally and economically silly. Then, we have zero idea what snow will be like in 40 years, let alone what the focus of public interest will be in that time.

This is why I don't believe in 'recycling' of facilities. I believe in Option 3: Follow the money and the interest, make the infrastructure as cheap as functionally possible, build it and tear it down afterwards. Have your party and have it on a budget. Then let the next guy willing to splash out do so. Otherwise you're stuck with year-round Christmas ornaments, which is both expensive and sad.

 

[Jilly]

Well in Calgary everything is being used by the community or national teams. Upgrades may be necessary to modernized, but not the cost to start all over again. Also Calgary has just enlarged the airport, so that is a plus.

From what I hear, housing is the issue for sure. Where to house the athletes in the mountain towns? Canmore is crying for more housing and they want the games so they can build it.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

likely a close vote in Calgary,
lack of affordable housing is often brought up by those opposed, although seriously if an athletes village is built it creates more housing not less.
the other biggest complaint is with the IOC itself. Complaints about the self entitiled making decisions for their own benifit is popular these days.

get rid of the excessive security, fringe sports, and elaborate infastructure. get the budget down - and most would be in. I would. .

today heard one Vancouver media source saying some of the alpine events were planned for Whistler to take advantage of some of the newer facilities
- that seems too disjointed -while Parks Canada won't allow development in Banff there is Nakiska

 

[blackke17]

SLC in 2030!

 

[James]

get rid of the excessive security, fringe sports, and elaborate infastructure. get the budget down - and most would be in. I would. .

Get rid of the ridiculous, corrupt Ioc. They demand their own highway lane, chaufferred cars, and on and on. Plus you have to pay them off.

At this point, Denver might wish that they'd gone ahead and built a train up into the mountains for their 1976 dropped bid, instead of just relying on I70.

 

[cantunamunch]

Get rid of the ridiculous, corrupt Ioc.
I70.

Lance made an intellectually interesting point recently. All the sports associated with doping in the public mind are IOC sports. Want to change the image of a sport? Give it an independent governing body not affiliated with the Olys. FIFA is possibly more corrupt than the IOC but the sport looks cleaner from outside.

Weird point, innit? Flip the logic around and one has to conclude that somehow or other the PED drama actually plays into IOC pockets.

 

[focker]

There should just be 3 rotating locations for the summer games and 3 for the winter games. This whole building a new site for every Olympics is insane.

 

[Wasatchman]

What about Sarajevo for another winter Olympics? They could use the Olympics to repair their image following a brutal war.

I'd also like to see the corrupt IOC disolved and a brand new (hopefully not corrupt organization) take over.

 

[scott43]

What about Sarajevo for another winter Olympics? They could use the Olympics to repair their image following a brutal war.

I'd also like to see the corrupt IOC disolved and a brand new (hopefully not corrupt organization) take over.

No east bloc money anymore..

 

[Wasatchman]

No east bloc money anymore..

Unfortunately the Olympics is all about the money. I'm surprised the whole Russia fiasco didn't damage the IOC more. And of course the shenanigans that took place in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics (both City selection and figure skating judging scandals).

 

[raisingarizona]

There should just be 3 rotating locations for the summer games and 3 for the winter games. This whole building a new site for every Olympics is insane.

Insanely wasteful.

 

[SSSdave]

Unlike some other areas on the planet where in winter it snows and ice is everywhere, especially Alps region, most people in our region live in none to little snow urban areas. Even about Tahoe and Reno, skiing is secondary in popularity to gambling. In our urban areas people have a wide range of leisure interests. Consider how we in an area with tons of wealthy people could not even fill seats at Levi stadium for the recent college football national championship. Waz dat?...Boring...Yawn!

Thus also not the same level of enthusiasm for winter sports except with minor numbers of enthusiasts and civic booster types. If they held an Olympics here would many local region members on this board actually pay the usual IOC Olympic expected ticket prices for events versus have fun themselves skiing a day after a storm passes? Especially after they can probably just record or stream to watch events later?