Olympics in Boston?

Our city of Boston is one of four finalists in a USA bid to potentially host the 2024 Olympic games. There is much controversy over whether the games should be held here. While the games would bring in a lot of money for the city, it will also cost an exuberant amount of money to set up and prepare for, costing tax payers a lot of money. The question is, if the Olympics do end up coming to Boston, will the good outweigh the bad?

A website called 2040boston.org believes that having the Olympics here "not only aligns with existing plans for the state's continued economic growth, but can also serve to accelerate the delivery of improvements in transportation, infrastructure, and housing. Put simply, the Olympics can help catalyze the long-term vision of the Commonwealth." To host the Olympics, roads would have to be paved, more buildings and hotels would constructed, and stadiums would be built as well. All the new infrastructure would create jobs for many people as well as bring in money to the city when people utilize the new roads and buildings. The committee that is handling this promises not to dip into public funds that are already being used on other projects benefiting the region. The city will not place a bid unless it has support from the community and businesses around the area.

Many people, however are against the Olympics being in Boston. For many commuters, their trip to work into the city would be made inevitably worse if the games were here. During the three month or so period during which the games are being held, traffic would make it nearly impossible to get to work on time. This is a con for many commuters. Not only would traffic be a problem for people who work in Boston, but it would be for people looking to spend a normal day in the city. People wanting to go to restaurants, walk around, go to a club, a bar, or a nice Red Sox game over the summer would have a hard time on their hands, or just not go at all. In addition, crime in the city would increase and extra money would have to be spent on security. The more people there are, the more likely the pick pocketing rate will go up, especially with many wealthy people attending this event. Lastly, the increase in people means an increased amount of waste and our waste services would be overwhelmed cleaning up after a significantly increased number of people in the city.

In retrospect, the cons seem to outweigh the pros in a sheer sense of quantity. Whether there are more pros or cons depends on how you look at it. Personally, having the games in Boston seems to do more bad than good. However, it is for you to decide. You must ask yourself this question if asked whether you want the Olympics to be in Boston: Does it affect me and my everyday life in a positive or negative way?