Like many Americans, I got completely caught up in the Olympic games this summer. It had me longing to see the games come back to the states and disappointed that Chicago lost its bid to host the 2016 games to Rio. However, this got me thinking: What if Columbus, Ohio could host a games? How sweet would it be if my hometown could have a games of their own?! Fellow blogger Brock Hutchison and I got to thinking and we concluded that it wouldn't be that unrealistic:
Columbus is a rapidly growing city that's forward thinking and very cosmopolitan. Something like 70% of the US population are within a day's drive of the city so we can expect a huge turn out from fans of the host nation. We don't necessarily have the public transit system in place but Columbus's freeway system is very efficient--what if we just created a massive bus system to handle the traffic? After the games some of the extra buses could just be sold off. We can also probably figure out where to house all the extra tourists but we will cross the road when we get there.
As for venues and the Olympic Village I think I have an answer for that. Ohio Stadium, home of my near and dear the Ohio State University Buckeyes football program would make a perfect venue. At it's current capacity it seats 102,329 spectators which would be way bigger than London's Olympic Stadium.The old girl was built in 1922 however and she is showing her age. She could however use a major facelift and modernization to get her ready for the games. This update would be well worth the investment as the Buckeyes would be able to benefit from the upgrades long after the Olympic flame is extinguished.
For the indoor events Columbus has Value City Arena, Nationwide Arena, Saint John Arena, and the Columbus Convention Center all as potential venues. The Jesse Owens Track and Field Facility right by the Horseshoe could also be used for the games. Even if the Columbus bid cannot get baseball and softball returned to the Olympic games Huntington Park, the 10,100 seat home of the Columbus Clippers Triple-A baseball team, down in the Arena District could also be called upon to host some events, maybe beach volleyball. Crew Stadium, which holds 20,145, would be another ideal Olympic venue and could easily be expanded to seat more. The nearby Celeste Center at the Ohio State Fairgrounds could also be renovated/replaced to serve as yet another venue for some of the lesser events.
Typically, Olympic soccer utilizes large stadiums in nearby cities. Columbus has so many nearby venues that could be host--Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh would all be great. If the indoor stadiums in Indianapolis and Detroit (Lucas Oil and Ford Fields respectively) were big enough to accommodate the field they would be great too. Smaller venues that currently host American football at a collegiate level exist all over the state at University of Cincinnati, Miami University, Ohio University, Kent State University, University Of Akron, Youngstown State University, Bowling Green State University, and University of Toledo. If additional indoor arenas are needed there are a multitude of those within a short drive of Columbus--Unversity of Dayton, University of Cincinnati, and Xavier University all have basketball venues that would work and they are all relatively close. Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland would also be great. The games could really become an Ohio affair.
Sure we would have to build a new Aquatics Center because Columbus doesn't have anything that could handle Olympic swimming and water polo but with so many other stadia already in place this doesn't seem too bad. This venue would be a great legacy for the games and would allow Columbus to host future world class swimming events. For the canoeing and 10K swim the Hoover Reservoir would be a great place to have it. I Have no idea how much space is needed for the sailing events but just north of Ohio is one of the world's largest bodies of fresh water--I think we could host it there either somewhere near Cleveland or perhaps Put-in-Bay.
Building an Olympic Village to accommodate all of the athletes is a prerequisite for hosting the games. Why not partner with the Ohio State University and have the Olympic Village there near the campus and all the university's facilities being used for the games and have the university assume control of the Olympic Village after the games so that they can be used as dormitories in much the same way that Georgia State University, then a commuter school, did with the Olympic Village in Atlanta in 1996. In the process, much the slummy areas around campus could be revitalized by replacing run down houses with the new Olympic Village.
If Columbus got the 2020, or a future Summer Olympic Games, it would be huge for Ohioans and Americans in general. It would launch the city onto a global stage and for two weeks all the world's eyes would be on us. But how could Columbus convince the International Olympic Committee to pick us? We're not a huge metropolis by any means, nor do we have a storied history. The IOC loves a warm fuzzy story, particularly one with a progressive, open-minded flavor, and I think Columbus has one that we can use to steer the games our way. I think we make this games all about Ohio State alumnus Jesse Owens, who in 1936 at the Berlin Games defied Hitler and his theories of Aryan supremacy when he won 4 gold medals in track and field. If we make the games about celebrating diversity and combating racism and prejudice I think we can land these games.
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