Boston 2024 Olympic bid officials have unveiled a revamped proposal, trying to rally support from sceptical taxpayers fearful of being stuck for the costs of the global sports festival.
With polls suggesting more opposition than backing for the idea of hosting the Olympics, the organising committee on Monday updated their plans with an emphasis on what lasting benefits hosting the Summer Games in nine years could have on the city, including 8000 new privately-funded apartment units and publicly-financed transportation projects.
"The bottom line is that while no project is ever completely without risk, our fact-based analysis shows that the Games represent historic economic development opportunities that we may not see again," said Steve Pagliuca, chairman of the Boston 2024 Partnership.
"There is no scenario in which this kind of infrastructure investment, this level of job creation, or this degree of revenue generation otherwise occurs on a similar timetable."
Olympic Bid 2.0 revealed a new budget, with $US4.8 billion in total projected revenues, with sponsorships, ticket sales, television rights and licensing among the profitable areas.
The budget features $US4.595 billion in projected expenses and a $US210 million surplus and contingency fund, to be tapped in case of higher expenses or smaller revenues than expectations.
Organisers plan to spend $US128 million on insurance premiums to safeguard against lost revenues and cancellation, what they say is the highest insurance level ever proposed for an Olympic bid, though rising costs make that largely a function of keeping bid insurance structures up to date.
AFP
source: newshub archive
