This Will Never EVER Happen

   The Winter Games start Friday in Russia, as athletes from around the world gather to test their mettle against each other. Just this morning, word came that some of the facilities in the host city are still being worked on. Not anything to do with individual venues, or anything to do with athletes. But some hotels to house guests are still not completed as yet, though construction is going on at a fever pitch.
   This isn't the first time there have been snags at either the Winter or Summer games. And not just physical aspects either. Cost overruns have plagued a few host cities and countries, sometimes years into the future. Go back 4 years to Vancouver, where the event was reportedly more than 100 million dollars over budget. Go back even further to 1976, when the Montreal event, where the deficit was finally paid off in December 2006. To be fair, that was a very extreme case, and most games come in either at, below and, yes, sometimes over budget.
   I've been thinking for years that what's needed is 2 permanent venues for the games. One in Greece for the summer, the other in Switzerland for the winter. Counties sending athletes to either would be required to make a payment of say 100 million dollars to take part, with the funds going to a central reserve to be used for infrastructure, site upgrades and security. There could even be a lottery to determine which country would act as "host" for the event.
   And this will never, EVER, happen.
   The "why" is simple to answer. There's just too much at stake, monetarily and prestige wise. Hosting such events allows countries to showcase to the world what they have to offer, in turn spurring tourism, which (in turn) spurs a huge jump in the economy. Not to mention the huge boost dollar-wise to the host community alone leading up to and during the event.
   That's why going to a permanent site will never EVER happen. But it sure does make for a good thought experiment!

TTFN