N.Y. Mayor Bill de Blasio has "no plan to pursue" the Olympics for the city, a position that "virtually assures that New York won't be considered" for the '24 Games, according to Michael Howard Saul of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Scott Schiamberg, who "worked as an architect" on N.Y.'s bid for the '12 Games and later helped with London's bid, said that there "had been excitement about New York trying again" for '24. Schiamberg: "There's a lot of people who were very supportive of the bid in 2012, and before that, who still have the bug. If it's done right, it would be a great thing for the city." USOC Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer Patrick Sandusky said that officials are "currently discussing the possibility of a bid for the 2024 Summer Games with roughly 10 U.S. cities and 'hope to make a decision on whether to bid, and if so with what city, by the end of this year or early 2015.'" The cities that are "currently exploring a 2024 bid" include Boston, Dallas, L.A., Philadelphia, San Diego and S.F. A spokesperson for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that the city, which lost out to Rio for the '16 Games, "isn't planning a bid" for '24 (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/20).
THE ALMATY DOLLAR: Kazakh Olympic Committee officials today said that the city of Almaty, which is bidding to host the '22 Games, has "no plans to emulate the Sochi Games and will be spending only a fraction of what the Russians have invested." Kazakh Olympic Committee Exec Board member Andrey Kryukov: "It will be many, many times less. It will not be a big budget." Kryukov added that Almaty has "about two-thirds of venues already in place." REUTERS' Karolos Grohmann writes Almaty "was initially seen as a long shot." However, since the "withdrawal of Stockholm shortly after formally announcing a bid and the refusal of traditional winter destinations Germany and Switzerland to run," Almaty's "chances have improved." The city is going against Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; and Oslo (REUTERS, 2/20).
TRYING TO AVOID WHITE ELEPHANTS: CNBC's Brian Sullivan yesterday toured the construction site for the track set to be used for the F1 Russia Grand Prix. He said the "race to Russia has been more than a 30-year journey for Formula 1," and the cars will speed "into what is now the Olympic Park." Sullivan noted Russia has "faced so much heat for the spending" around the Sochi Games, but "much of that spending is on permanent infrastructure investments, like this track." F1 has a seven-year deal to hold an annual race in Sochi, which is "all part of a bigger plan ... to make Sochi the vacation and tourist destination of the country." Sullivan: "A lot of the stuff they're spending on will remain here for years, and perhaps decades, to come, permanent infrastructure improvements" ("Street Signs," CNBC, 2/19).
