So let me get this straight: we can't even organise a bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and yet John Banks wants Auckland to hold the 2020 Olympics.
Banks will be widely ridiculed for this, so there's no need for me to join that stampede.
But let's go with this for a moment. Why don't we consider some of the potential issues an Olympic bid would face?
- lack of an Olympic stadium to hold events
- lack of anywhere sensible to put an Olympic stadium (The waterfront? No, not that debate again!)
- lack of sufficient accommodation facilities
- lack of money to build the necessary infrastructure
- lack of popular will to get this done (just think back to the chaos over whether to build a waterfront stadium for the Rugby World Cup)
- Mayor Banks' previous steadfast refusals to contribute towards Rugby World Cup costs
- the likelihood that, being a relatively small city by world standards, holding the world's biggest sporting event would bankrupt Auckland.
I'm all for big thinking, but big thinking has to be accompanied by realism. Bidding for the Olympics is like planning to visit the Moon before learning how to fly.
So why not bid for the Commonwealth Games first?
So why not bid for the Commonwealth Games first?
Or the next G20 conference? Imagine the financial windfall, especially to balaclava manufacturers and window repairers.
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