12.20.08
Could it be…..Why not…..the Miami Olympics….2020?
After the Beijing Olympics, an idea struck me….why not a Summer Olympics in Miami. Yes, I know, I sound like a crackhead, but first let’s dissect the idea and analyze it. It might not seem so crazy after all (and isn’t the U.S. the land where we achieve the impossible?). It would do miracles for Miami’s image. The city is already the cultural and transportation crossroads of the Americas and a Gamma World city or whatever that means. If Saint Louis was able do to it, so can Miami (Why the hell pick Saint Louis?).
When organizing an Oympics you must look at finances, infrastructure, sponsors, city size, transportation and sports venues. Avoid a city (or nation) that’s suffering from political turmoil. If a civil war breaks out suddenly, you’re forced to move or cancel the Olympics. Also, pick a city where mayor and commissioners don’t hate each other. If one side comes up with the Olympic idea, the others will try to sabotage it. Local politicians (with the exception of Manny Diaz), are seen nationwide as jokes (in all truth, they are), but they’ll put their differences aside for an Olympics.
Weather-wise, South Florida is perfect. But the Olympics must be held around June or September, preferably during the cooler hours. We don’t want athletes falling prey to the sweltering heat and dying in our vice-city streets. Referent to cost, the Miami Olympics, similar to Atlanta 96, can receive plenty of funding in the form of corporate sponsorship. Locally, we have Burger King, Carnival, Norwegian, Spirit Airlines, Bacardi, Perry Ellis and Ryder Systems. South Florida has several airports which can handle the visitor influx. The tri-county area has plenty of lodging sites, no one will have to sleep on park benches. Miami Beach hotels alone, can hold up to 400.00 visitors.
Cities that hosts the Olympics offer housing units in the form of an Olympic Village. A few of those grandiose but empty high-rise condo buildings in Downtown Miami would be PERFECT as an Olympic Village. The condo is the perfect symbol of Miami to the World. Past Olympic villages have resembled Communist-era tenement buildings in East Berlin or Moscow. The Miami Olympics can raise the bar when it comes to style.
Olympic cities have a grand stadium wihich is the centerpiece of the event; this site is used for opening and closing ceremonies and track & field events. New York’s plan for the 2012 Games failed when it’s West Side Stadium plan was rejected by the state legislature. Currently, plans are being devised for a baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins in Little Havana; good location, but if it’s built for baseball, it can’t host much. Pro Player Stadium is neither Olympic nor does it have an optimum location. The old Bobby Maduro Stadium that was bulldozed a few years ago had a perfect location in Mid-town Miami. Now, its the site of a Target and other shopping stores. I say screw Target and the shops, let’s rebuild the stadium (Target can be a sponsor). There isn’t another site for a stadium. Traz Powell at MDC North? Location sucks. Lockhart Stadium up in Fort Lauderdale? Too small. FIU’s new stadium? Only made for football. Any stadium down in Homestead? Cow country.
Let’s think of venues for other sports: gymnastics, an Olympic favorite; I say American Airlines Arena. Swimming and diving can be held at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center. Basketball can be played at either the AAA or UM’s Bank United Center. Triathlon can be held in Biscayne Bay. Sailing too. Key Biscayne can host tennis. Several indoor events such as wrestling and tae-kwondo can be held at veues such as the Bank Atlantic Center or the Miami Arena (if it hasn’t already been demolished). For rowing,….. we’ll think of something. And for the marathon, police must cordon off all necessary streets and make sure none of our psychotic local drivers kill any Olympic runners.
So there… all set. We need a big stadium in Mid-town Miami and we’ll get our Olympics. But it has to be for 2020, to give time for preparations, sponsorship and cost allocations. For 2016, Madrid is the front runner and miles ahead of us. Chicago is also vying to host the event and has the U.S. Olympic Committee’s backing. Since summer Olympics were held rather recently in both countries (Barcelona 92 and Atlanta 96), Prague might get a chance. I think Rio de Janeiro, the other finalist, should be chosen since an Olympics has never been held outside of North America, Europe or East Asia. So for Miami it’ll be 2020 or 2024…2028(?)….it all depends.
Some people do have their heads up their ass!
