As we all know, after a good night out, the morning after is always the worst part of the party. The fun is all over and the headaches begin. Which is exactly what the whole of London could be facing come 13th August 2012.
The 2012 Olympics are beginning to pose a few problems that seemed easy to fix when we bid back in 2005. Back then, the whole country was behind the bid, knowing full well it was cheap, going to bring a lot of publicity and business to the whole of the UK, and going to be the biggest event Britain has ever seen.
Since then though, the budget has nearly quadrupled, from just under £2b to over £9b. No-one could foresee the credit crunch back in 2005, but the jump has had a huge impact on the British public's perception of the Games. We've even seen venue re-designs after the IOC ticked them all off.
However, I'm still massively pro-2012. I'll do whatever it takes to be involved in some way with the Games, and make sure that I can be a part of the world's biggest event. I'm unbelievably excited, and cannot wait for it all to be happening on my doorstep.
But the big battle facing LOCOG at this current moment in time is this - who takes over the Olympic Stadium when the ticker tape settles and we've got a lot of clearing up to do?
The two major bids that seem to be the front-runners are West Ham, and Tottenham. Spurs have even put their own stadium build on hold to see whether they can get the Olympic one.
There's plenty of reasons for and against. And I mean plenty. There's lists and lists if you Google either of their bids. West Ham have pulled LiveNation, the concert company on board, and also Essex Cricket Club, in order to ensure a multi-sport, multi-venue arena. Spurs got AEG on their side, who turned the Millennium Dome, the UK's last white elephant, into the O2 Arena, and created one of the highest-grossing music venues in the world.
But Spurs want to move the whole stadium to Crystal Palace, and rebuild it all there. Then they want to build their own plans on the site. It would also mean moving the whole club from North to East London. Seems a little crazy if you ask me. Especially when Crystal Palace FC themselves want to develop the Crystal Palace site for a new stadium and athletics complex.
Still with me? Or too many Crystal Palaces? Too many choices? Yeah, me too.
West Ham's seems the best and most viable option. They will keep the athletics track, one of the promises made when we bid in the first place to the IOC. That's absolutely key, really, to the whole process. If you can tick off the track, you've got yourself a deal. It's primarily an athletics-based event, so keeping the athletics track needs to be involved. Even Lamine Diack, head of the IAAF, the world athletics body, says that if the track isn't kept, Britain loses 'all credibility in sport'. Fair point.
But with LiveNation involved, it opens so many other doors. Essex CC can play Twenty20 in the summer, and with the NFL interested in setting up a permanent London franchise, it gives them an option to alternate with Wembley for the International Series. You include the concerts, and the revenue for the stadium is huge.
There's a £35m pot there, from LOCOG in order to rejuvenate the stadium after the Games, and keep it in regular use. By the sounds of things, Spurs want to use that to transfer the current stadium to Crystal Palace, but West Ham want to invest it in the Olympic Park. It's all a very intricate, detailed, difficult situation, but from the very few details leaked to the press, it's an easy one for me.
The one thing we don't want is more white elephants just sat in the centre of London. The first decision is made on 28th January, when one bid is recommended to be selected. But it's all getting very tense, and too close to call.
We may not have the money to throw at the Games like Beijing did in 2008, but we can certainly make sure that the legacy of London 2012 will be with our country forever more. And that involves an athletics track.
For those of you who enjoyed this, have a read of Gordon Farquhar's blog on the BBC Sport site - great read. Also, get in touch on the ol' Twitter - I'm @Adam9309. Cheers all.
Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://gmoai.posterous.com
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