The public "is skeptical and the polling in Boston’s Olympic bid has been consistently ugly for the last several months," but a review of IOC polling data "suggests it is too early to count Boston out on the basis of low poll numbers," according to Steve Koczela of COMMONWEALTH magazine. Koczela "reviewed 20 years of poll data from the IOC," which indicated public opinion "is not that important in the early stages of the bid process." There also is "precedent for major gains in a potential host city during the bid process." Finally, other cities have won the right to host the Olympics "without stratospheric support levels." The IOC "will be polling in the Boston area at some point in the next five or six months” and even if the polling “finds weak support for Boston playing host, it won’t make much difference." That is because public opinion "is hardly given any weight during the application phase." Public opinion "plays a minor role in just one of the 15 categories on which bids are scored during the application phase, not enough to drag down a bid that is strong otherwise." Local boosters "could coast along for the better part of the next 18 months with poll numbers." Other potential host cities have "made it deep into the selection process with support as bad or worse" than it is in Boston. National polling also "plays a role, and there, Boston’s bid appears to be doing just fine." The one national poll that exists this year shows 68% "support for a U.S.-hosted Games." IOC polling shows this "is consistent" with 69% support nationwide when Chicago was bidding for the '16 Games. If national support "holds in this range, this would be plenty adequate to satisfy historical norms for winning host city status" (COMMONWEALTHMAGAZINE.org, 6/22).
ATTENTION TO DETAIL: The AP's Bob Salsberg noted nearly three months after promising a statewide vote on its bid to host the '24 Games, "many unanswered questions remain about the referendum process even as Boston Olympic organizers prepare to roll out a new master plan they hope will begin to address the concerns of a skeptical public." Salsberg: "What may sound simple -- and up-or-down vote on the Olympics -- may well be more complex; for example, how will the referendum be worded? And will the results be legally binding?" The first deadline, Aug. 5, is the "filing of the initiative with the state attorney general" (AP, 6/20).
BEST IN SHOW: In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont wrote none of the recent "rapid lane changes" in venues "engenders much confidence in Boston’s bid." The plan "is a movable feast, changing almost hourly, one born of ill planning and blatant amateurism." The "raison d’etre of those who believe in Boston 2024 is to put Boston out to the world, show everyone what we’ve got." Dupont: "If we really want the world to think Boston is unique, seems to me the emphasis should be on showing what is uniquely Boston. ... What are we selling here, Boston as Hub of the Universe or Boston as various Cumberland Farms, beauty parlors, and collision repair shops in the suburbs?" He added, "What we can do best is give ’em Boston. If we are incapable of that, then we don’t deserve to be in the game" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/22).
