Cleveland Rocks!!!
London Olympics and the False Promise of Sports-Led Redevelopment
Nick Gillespie | July 28, 2012
With the London Olympics now in full swing, all that’s left is to count up the number of medals awarded – and the debt accrued by city residents and taxpayers.
The total cost of staging the London games is around $15 billion and more than 100 percent over budget. Mega-activities such as staging the Olympics are often sold as economic development programs for dreary local economies, but they almost never deliver anything other than big bills and useless infrastructure.
Yet politicians love the idea of using big sporting events and stadiums and teams for economic development. As the games continue, take 10 minutes to watch this portion of Reason Saves Cleveland in which we lay out actual ways to help jumpstart local economies.
Here’s the original writeup of “Encourage Bottom-Up Development,” episode five of Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey. Original release date was March 18, 2010.
Cleveland has spent billions on big-ticket urban redevelopment efforts including heavily subsidized sports stadiums and convention centers that have utterly failed to revitalize the citys economy. Should the city be pouring even more money into and pinning yet higher hopes on long-odds mega-projects? Or should they realize that bottom-up projects driven by the actual residents and private-sector investors are the best was to build a vibrant city for the long haul?
Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey is written and produced by Paul Feine; camera and editing by Roger Richards and Alex Manning; narrated by Nick Gillespie; music by the Cleveland band Cats on Holiday. This is the fifth of six episodes that will air March 15-19, 2010.
Approximately 10 minutes long.
Go to http://reason.tv for iPod, HD, and audio versions of this video.
A Real American says:
Cleveland, Detroit, Dayton, and Cincinnati should be razed, the scrap sold to China, and the inhabitants repatriated to Africa.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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28th July 2012 at 4:05 pm
Stan says:
My hope is in Barack Obama. It is TRUE hope.
He has never let me down yet!!
Like or Dislike:
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28th July 2012 at 6:11 pm
fwiw imho says:
Those who can, do.
Those who can’t, hope.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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28th July 2012 at 6:32 pm
SSS says:
Well, at least the Cleveland Indians are still, unlike the hapless Phillies, in the running for the American League Central Division title. And it’s late July. The Indians are usually out of it on opening day. Go Tribe!!!!
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28th July 2012 at 6:57 pm
KaD says:
SSS: Here’s a Cleveland joke for you:
Why are people in Cleveland told to go to the Brown’s Stadium in case of a tornado?
It’s well known there will be no touchdown there.
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28th July 2012 at 12:16 am
Novista says:
ARA
How dare you include the great city that had the first professional baseball team in America, and the first law school, and the first professional symphony orchestra?
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28th July 2012 at 8:27 pm