Welcome to the newest edition of the ‘Money Games’, brought to you by the ‘Russian Riviera’

The Fisht Olympic Stadium amid the opening ceremonies for the 2014 Winter Olympiad

So the time has come, and the 22^nd edition of the Winter Olympiad is now open for business. Hosted by the Black Sea summer-resort town of Sochi, you may now have heard many controversial storylines leading up to the Games. From the threat of “black widow” terrorists from not-so-far-away diplomatically-torn territories, to packs of stray dogs gathering in unfinished hotel room lobbies; Sochi is definitely faced with an uphill-battle to win back the hearts of media members from across the globe. However, the one unnoticed and overlying issue that I am most concerned with, is the fact that this year’s winter games is the latest in a line that I like to call the “Money Games.”

What are the “Money Games” do you ask? Well this Winter Olympiad has already become internationally-acclaimed as the most expensive Olympic Games to ever take place. How so? Sochi and the Russian government have pledged nearly $50 billion – four times more than originally proposed – to make this all happen. This price-tag rings in at just under $10 billion more than the previous holder of this record, Beijing. So after answering these first two questions, you still probably have at least one more. Why are the “Money Games” a bad thing? Well, history has shown that in a scenario of the sort, they usually are not the best organized – both for the Games presently at-hand, as well as for the future that awaits.

For the Games at-hand, the Sochi Olympic Games Organizing Committee had crews working around the clock to finish construction on venues, as well as install a few knobs on hotel room doors, as guests quickly realized as they descended upon the tiny resort town. And because of this last-second “scramble,” how could the SOCOG possibly have had enough time to plan for the future? Granted, the Russian government has said that through the Games, they will “transform an old-fashioned summer destination for some Russians into an international sports and conference and winter destination.” However, without solidified plans, these words are pretty much all but empty (…said Athens, post-2004 Summer Games).

Although the weather may have been a bit warmer than what we currently have in Sochi, for the most positively played-out example in Olympic Games hosting history, you must look all the way back to Barcelona’s shot at the ‘92 Summer Games. What the Barcelona Olympic Games Organizing Committee did that give them this honor in my book, is that they spent just over $15 billion (adjusted for inflation); and only 9.1% of which was spent on new and upgraded sporting facilities. In addition to this, only 38.5% of all expenditures were spent within the city limits of Barcelona. The goal of the BOCOG was to create new urban sub-centers, producing regional prosperity in the form of new transportation, housing, and telecommunications infrastructure. At the end of the day, the forward mindset of the BOCOG produced an economic impact that rang in at significantly more than that of all final expenditures. And in the time since, Barcelona has become one of the most frequently-visited tourist destinations in the world.

So to sum-up my answer as to why the “Money Games” are quite honestly only “fun and games” at the time of their happening, look no further than the precedent set-forth by Barcelona in ’92, and duplicated by Sydney in ’00 and London in ’12. In each example, each cities respective organizing committee did not attempt to build a truly international city from the ground up. Therefore, each city had the opportunity to properly plan for the future, without spending last year’s entire GDP to do so. Although Atlanta, Athens and Beijing all looked good on television when their time was called, each now faces the issue of having rusty, unused venues that had millions upon millions of dollars pumped into them. Surely, each had their benefits; Atlanta put themselves on the map, Athens developed a highly-effective subway system, and Beijing spread the Olympic spirit all-throughout the world’s most densely-populated country, enhancing and increasing overall sport participation.

Like the “Money Games” before them, Sochi experienced much of the same issues leading up to this month’s winter games. If my predictions are spot-on, they could see many venues go unused afterwards, and may only see minimal economic stimulation figures in the years to come (…especially given their location). As argued, you cannot build a truly international city from the ground up, or through simply bringing the Olympic Games to town. But through the power of regionally sustainable and impact-worthy Olympic Games planning, history shows that you can surely give people a reason to visit one.