Sustainable Olympic Development: A Proposed Benchmark for Managing Economic Outcomes

Abstract

No other sporting event possesses the grandeur of the Olympics, and few other development projects demonstrate the lack of cost containment as the Olympics which leaves local residents paying the debt and maintenance of a venue they may never use. Legacy planning is an important consideration for the hosting of the Olympics, but one that does not always receive adequate consideration resulting in the “white elephant phenomenon.” This study therefore looked to analyze the cost of hosting the Olympics compared to the economic activity in the host community in order to better inform public policy on the issues of sustainability and legacy, in particular. We are proposing a metric that helps to measure the costs that Olympic hosting has on the host community and provide a benchmark for containing those costs in terms of budgeting, construction and legacy planning for the Games. Consequently, the IOC can institute policy changes for project management that assist host cities in establishing a budget cap for venue development while simultaneously seeking to reduce the crippling debt that has accompanied them in the past.

奥林匹克运动会的可持续发展：解决经济问题的拟定标准

没有哪个运动赛事会像奥运会那么盛大和壮观, 也很少有开发项目会像奥运会一样缺少成本控制, 这让奥运会主办城市的居民既要偿还债务, 还要负责场地维护, 而那些运动场地他们可能永远都用不上。举办奥运会需要认真规划的重要一项就是赛后场馆的利用。但是, 人们有时候没有做好充足的考虑和规划, 导致赛后场馆变成鸡肋。本研究旨在参照研究奥运会主办城市的经济概况探讨举办奥运会的成本问题, 以期增加对公共政策的了解, 尤其是可持续发展和赛后场馆使用的问题。本文提出帮助奥运会举办城市测算成本的标准, 并提供在资金预算、场地建设及赛后场馆规划方面控制开支的办法。因此, 国际奥林匹克委员会可以调整项目管理方面的政策, 协助奥运会举办城市明确运动场馆资金预算的最高限额, 与此同时, 协助其降低陈年的债务问题。

Keywords:

• Olympics
• sustainability
• legacy
• policy
• economics

关键词::

• 奥林匹克运动会；可持续发展；遗产（此处指赛后留下的场馆）；政策；经济因素

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on Contributors

Timothy Koba (M.S., SUNY Cortland, U.S) is a Ph.D. Student in Department of Sport and Entertainment Management at University of South Carolina, U.S. Mr. Koba’s research interests include financial management of sport organizations.

Hua Gong (M.S., Texas A&M University, U.S) is a Ph.D. Student in Department of Sport and Entertainment Management at University of South Carolina, USA. Mr. Gong’s research interest is in sports economics.

Walker J. Ross (M.S., University of Georgia, U.S.) is a Ph.D. Student in Department of Sport and Entertainment Management at University of South Carolina. Mr. Ross’s research interests include issues of the environment and sustainability in sport event and venue management.

Dr. John Grady, (J.D., Ph.D., Florida State University, U.S.) is a Professor of Sport and Entertainment Management at the University of South Carolina, U.S. His research focuses on legal issues in Olympic sponsorship. His work has appeared in top law and sport management journals, including the Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, the Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport, and the Harvard Journal of Sport and Entertainment Law.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.