Boston 2024 Aims to Increase Transparency

(ATR) Boston 2024 bid leader Steve Pagliuca says the cost of the temporary Olympic stadium for Boston 2024 will be $176 million, but it’s not that simple.

The actual figure to develop the entirety of the legacy venue site located in Boston’s midtown is $1.2 billion, according to financial details in the city’s revised bid.

These costs include the proposed infrastructure, land assemblage, relocation needs and the decking needed for the 83-acre site. The development project would feature the temporary Olympic stadium surrounded by housing and multi-use developments, all raised above existing infrastructure.

However, these infrastructure costs would be funded by an independent developer who would be competitively selected by the city of Boston and requested to provide a 100 percent guarantee for the cost and completion of the infrastructure.

In return, the developer would benefit from a vast array of mixed-use development which could include hotels, housing, and retail and office space. The developer would also receive an agreement with the city allowing gradual real estate tax increases for the development.

The $176 million temporary Olympic stadium for the Games would sit atop the site and was priced using quotes from two different arena building companies. One estimate of the project came in at $150 million, prompting Boston 2024 to add $26 million to the budget to cover any additional costs associated with the construction.

These stadium concerns were addressed by bid leader Steve Pagliuca during a small roundtable discussion with media members from the United States, Britain, France and Canada. The purpose of the discussion was to increase the transparency surrounding Boston’s bid.

This need for transparency stems from sagging public support for the city’s Olympic aspirations, which have fallen below 40 percent according to a recent poll.

The need to generate more public support for the bid prompted the committee to release their so called "Bid 2.0" to the public on Monday, providing a detailed look into the revised proposal for Boston to host the Olympics, complete with budget and revenue projections.

Following the announcement, bid leader Pagliuca led a roundtable discussion with members of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) in San Francisco on Tuesday to go over the revisions.

The USOC praised the revised bid plan and says the new proposed budget checks out.

"[The bid] very much still resonates with the vision that persuaded our board to pick Boston in January. It’s very compact. It relies on our universities and young people. The budget looks very, very sound to us," said USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun.

The new bid proposes a total budget of $4.5 billion. Included in this figure are over-estimations for certain construction costs, with Pagliuca saying they’ve put the highest conceivable cost for all venue construction so that any changes would only reflect positively on the budget, not add to it.

This is an area bid leaders are stressing with the release of the revised bid in an effort to reassure the public that an Olympics can run at a surplus. During the discussion on Thursday, Pagliuca noted that the last three Olympics hosted in America have all accomplished such a feat.

He believes an Olympics in Boston would "re-engage America with the Olympic Movement" as well as expand the city’s reach internationally.

In order to do so, Boston must first see signs of increased public support. Pagliuca hopes this will be accomplished with the bid leadership’s new-found transparency.

The detailed bid proposal is now available for the public and media to pick through with a fine-toothed comb. Bid leaders will continue to make themselves available to media and public inquiries about their new proposal.

The deadline for Boston to officially submit a bid application to the IOC is September 15.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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