© "ither press >>> SPORTS Paying the Price: the 2010 Olympics Patrick Witwicki Sports Editor Ever been to Vegas? | have. When | went there five years ago, | was on a strict budget. | found it very diffi- cult to gamble efficiently because | was restricted to the nicks! slots. Meanwhile, people around me at the quarter slot machines, or even the dollar slots, had enough money to get started, and just kept winning. | walked away from Vegas, a little ticked that the saying, “You have to spend money to make money,’ is true. Over the past year, | have inundated our sports columns with endless Olympic articles, to the point where my fellow editors all groan, “Not another one!” Yes, you can probably guess I’m pro-Olympics, but over the past year or so, I’ve learned enough to prop- erly endorse my own beliefs. The media has been screaming “how can we afford to host this?” My retort? How can we not afford to host this? Yes, | know, Campbell’s government has been going crazy cutting programs, and to promote something like the Olympics which would cost approximately 1 billion dollars to host might seem rather silly. But in compari- son, | want you all to think back to the 80s, and the build-up to Expo 86. The opposition government at the time (NDP) spent thousands on advertising lambasting the entire idea as a colossal waste of money, and claimed more should be spent on health care and edu- cation. However, Expo 86 went ahead, was a huge suc- cess, and led to the boom of the early 90s. | certainly didn’t hear any complaints coming from Mike Harcourt’s government when they acquired a provincial economy in excellent health. Everybody was moving here. We had a sudden influx of Asians buying proper- ty, and people from all over Canada (especially Ontario) couldn’t wait to pack their bags and move to Lotus Land. And of course, until recently, our tourism industry was booming. Prior to 1986, you would be hard pressed to find any foreigner who knew where Canada was, never mind Vancouver. Now, whenever | travel, especially to Asia, everyone knows Vancouver, and most people admit they can’t wait to come here and visit. And let’s talk about Asia for a minute. As you know, | just returned from the World Cup in Japan. During my visit, | received many opportunities to talk to both Korean and Japanese people. They spent a walloping 47 billion dollars in preparation for the World Cup. 47 billion! That makes the 1 billion we need to host the 2010 Olympics seem like bus fare. However, anyone | talked to—whether they were in the media, in busi- ness, or simply a sports fan enjoying a pint at the pub—couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful the World Cup would be for their respective countries. Tourism numbers for both countries went through the roof during that month, and let's be honest: how many people really want to visit South Korea or Japan? That isn’t a slight against the two cguntries, i i ion. Most people | know wo Australia. But again, most people | tries (England, Ireland, Mg ing about how much they | Yes, it helps that both tha | very polite, and could teat two about hospitality, but World Cup, both countries’ in the public eye on ante al level. Pec visited the countries woul, most definitely again, and will tell their friend& pack homg wonderful experience. Those only watched the games on sense of what the countries Jand ae consider a trip over there in the near | As for the economy, prepareqian iydhe ie Cup apparently created over 200,009) jab 17 country. Japan’s current unemployment _ example, is less than 4%. That’s an amazing num onsidering the city of Tokyo has 12.4 million people, M@arly half of Canada’s entire population. Hosting t rnament has also done wonders for the game of s¢ in Asia, especially in South Korea, so you could al at the tournament has created more opportunity { dren. So, with all the benefits in mind, why s try and host the 2010 Winter Olympics? We jobs in this province. Remember 10 years economy was booming, and our unemploy was near the lowest mark in Canada. But since 1993 or so, our economy has been si downhill, to the point where the Liberals had no che but to resort to desperate measures to try to get spe’ ing under control. And of course, tourism has taken hit since September 11. And let’s not forget the a' reputation of Vancouver as a “no fun city.” For yeal now, many businesses and people in general hav been proclaiming that our province needs a “kick in the ass.” Hosting the Olympics would give Vancouver inter- ’ national exposure similar to what Japan and Korea * received during the World Cup. Honestly, for those two weeks in 2010, the entire world would be viewing Vancouver and Whistler close up. Who in their right ‘come here. In turn, this would create a better future 2 Our mind wouldn’t want to come here after that? And for the people out there who claim, “Yeah, but what's in it for me?” Specifically, what would the bene- fits be to Douglas College students? Well, jobs, for one. As a Print Futures graduate, | have to admit that jobs are scarce in our province. But, if we won the right to host the Olympics, a huge amount of opportunities based on my diploma would pop up. The same could be said for most students. Long-term benefits? If the 2010 Olympics are as successful as they should be, and bring more money into the provincial coffers, we will eventually be able to put more money towards those two things everyone always bitches about: health care and education. And don’t forget about all the opportunities this could present your children. It’s just like | said, you have to spend money to make money. But, like | alluded to earliar in this article, hosting the Olympics is a gamble. Montreal still hasn’t paid off their debt from hosting the Games in 1976. Atlanta spent a ridiculous amount of money in 1996, and the U.S. taxpayers are still footing the bill. But there are incidences where hosting the Olympics has paid dividends. Look at Calgary. Prior to 1988, Calgary had the reputation of being a “redneck” town. Now, everyone wants to live there. The Calgary Stampede, for example, is now a huge international event. Hosting the 1988 Winter Olympics put Calgary on the international map. Why shouldn’t we in Vancouver have the right to do the same? Which city do you think is better? | think the answer is obvious. The entire world should know about Vancouver, and should have the right to nt-and future. And if all ofa patty for two weeks, gepto do’ ‘anymore in this ju can’t tell me students for all students, past,’ Ise, it would bé Oinething we j boring, city of a Won't like a goo¢ When [was j lat much'fun: much. ‘ Dent a tolp< Mo ad to be my pi rs ago, | didn’t have ved about my budget to 1 ended the World Cup, ) all honesty, had the life. 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