Let’s be clear: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) isn’t looking for a site selection company like Vista Site Selection for Olympic city site selection. When it comes to the most important component of modern Olympic site selection however, we have plenty of experience... and it might not be what you think!
It’s tough to blame you if stadiums and other athletic sites immediately come to mind. They’re necessary but they don’t dominate the conversation anymore. Maybe you’ve seen the pictures of Beijing’s abandoned, unused event spaces or perhaps you’ve heard about Athens surpassing its 2004 budget by more than $15 billion. Following the backlash to events such as these, the IOC has amended its recommendations to discourage new facility construction.
For example, Los Angeles’ most updated plans include no new venue construction and the 2028 softball competition will occur in Oklahoma.
New venue builds might generate a bad reputation, but another piece of Olympic infrastructure still brings glowing reviews: transport systems.
French authorities extended two lines in the leadup to this year’s games and the “Grand Paris Express” will continue to add four more lines, after being nudged forward by the event.
Vancouver is celebrated for leveraging big events into social benefits. After adding a new line to its SkyTrain rapid-transit network for the 1986 World’s Fair, the city again added a line for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Even Athens can claim a victory for its three-line tram system, which remains well-traveled after the Olympics.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority gives a hint within its “Vision 2028” plan why these projects tend to be more successful:
“As a start, LA’s commitment to host the 2028 Summer Olympic Games creates a strong added incentive to quickly improve mobility across the region,” it reads. “Metro has the opportunity to advocate for accelerated resources, particularly from the state and federal government, to deliver 28 projects that have been identified for improving the transportation system before the start of the Games.”
In short, a headline event like the Olympics gets the gears of bureaucracy turning.
It would be wise for governments to act before the Olympics come to town however, based on the numbers suggested by the American Public Transportation Association. Its 2020 “Economic Impact of Public Transportation Investment” suggests that every $1 billion invested in public transportation results in nearly 50,000 new jobs.
There are two sides to this coin. Obviously, the ability to get to a job empowers the labor supply. At the same time, major projects in retail, manufacturing, medical and other industries require that labor supply to get those projects off the ground in the first place. Appreciating this dynamic is important when making a site location.
Can Vista help land the Olympics for your city? Maybe not. But as a site selection company, we can certainly help businesses and developers find sites that are accessible to large numbers of qualified employees. Our analytic software emphasizes public transportation access when considering locations for such projects.
Every client has unique needs, so this is just one metric to consider. Reach out to us and we can discuss what elements are essential for your needs and learn more about how Vista can help identify the ideal site.
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