[quote]Augusto E. Perez wrote:
Notta lotta data points there, but true enough; but is Boston more like LA or more like Athens...
LA, 1984: "The first Summer Olympics since 1932 to make a profit"
Athens, 2004; loss = $15 Bn: "The cost of the 2004 Athens Summer Games has been cited as a contributor to the Greek government-debt crisis."
The only comparable project in Boston would be the Big Dig, which "was originally scheduled to be completed in 1998 at an estimated cost of $2.8 billion (in 1982 dollars, US$6.0 billion adjusted for inflation as of 2006).However, the project was completed only in December 2007, at a cost of over $14.6 billion ($8.08 billion in 1982 dollars, meaning a cost overrun of about 190%). The Boston Globe estimated that the project will ultimately cost $22 billion, including interest, and that it will not be paid off until 2038."
GOlympics!
On the wintry side I will point out, however, the efforts of one Mitt Romney, Salt Lake City, 2002:
"When Mitt joined (the committee), there was a budget deficit of $400 million," Bullock told PolitiFact. "So for (the committee), Mitt not only balanced the budget, he produced a surplus, which is remarkable. Only Los Angeles in 1984 also had a surplus. All other Olympics lose money--a lot."