Old Timers -- did Atlanta 92 T&F and Los Angeles 84 T&F both make a profit?

Atlanta was 1996

1984 did. Look up Peter Ueberroth.

I guess that makes me an old timer to remember that Ueberroth was the first to make the Games come out in the black and that Atlanta was in 96.

Build the Island and it will come out in the black every time.

They also welded down the sewer caps within several miles of Olympic Park in 84 to make sure the bad guys (CHUD) couldn't sneak in from below.

Compton high school's Pete Rozelle created the first pro team catering to US TV networks in the early 1960s with the Rams.

Then the NFL on a national scale in 1967 with Super Bowl I at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Hollywood TV industry, L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley, joined the USC and bid the concept together on a global scale for the 1984 Olys.

That was the first time the Olys went from charity to big bucks.

Profit for whom?

Who put up money?

Who took in revenue?

Who had expenses?

How exactly do you come up with details on these numbers?

This is confusing. Are you just talking about track and field as those were both Olympic Games and not "just" a track meet?

The Atlanta Games netted somewhere between $10 and $20 million. A big part was using existing venues for many things and turning the biggest expense into a baseball (and now football) stadium after the event. Sprucing up venues are often less costly than building new ones. Also that was the last Games were security costs were not through the roof. (Keep in mind the bombing was at an all-access public park run by the city not the Games. I was at Centennial Park earlier that evening which is sort of scary.)

Re revenues: all the money was in the bank already. People did not shy away from the venues (at least not in large numbers). Security was increased so getting into venues took a little longer. I was involved in those games and in the days leading up to it I would stroll into the track with my backpack and since I had been there every day (I was working on an IOC project) the guards at the gate knew me. After the bombing they were checking my backpack. I even drove a van into the venue with gymnastics and would get only a cursory search before the bombing. My colleagues were getting a more in depth search after.

ACOG was the entity formed as a non-profit. It was disbanded and the money doled out to several organizations to continue the Olympic legacy.

ACOG sold marketing and tv rights and was responsible for most of the expenses directly related. Rapid rail and airport projects were the government (many were accelerated from the original time line).

There are reports somewhere as I read parts of them. You can find some stuff at the Atlanta- Journal-Constitution and in economic papers. (The financial impact of a Games is not all that great as most economists will point out.--let me add the positive is not. Many cities and countries go deep into the hole and for them it really is a bad idea.)

Andrew Zimblast is an econ guy who has written extensively on the subject.

There were also tax expenditures that went out and revenues of different sources back into the cities as a result of hosting The Games.

Any exact profit number is impossible to pull.

LA is the Olympic Sports Capitol of the World. LA saved a ton on money since LA already had most of the venues already built decades before and in use every day. They rolled the TV cameras, crews, and transmitters only a few miles from studios down the street. LA has the largest number of international sports staff and certified international officials for each of the Summer Olympic sports. It was a minimal for travel costs, hotel costs, etc. since nearly the entire corps of staff and officials drove to the events in their own cars and lived at home during the games.

Is anybody else already dreading this message board in 2028 when our resident "LA is the Track and Field Capital of the Galaxy" troll spams the boards with endless threads about the unmatched supremacy of all things Los Angeles?

Someone did a article years ago on how ATL96 and LAX84 are the only track meets to make money and not burden taxpayers. Google for it.

Those aren't track meets, so it's a false premise.

Ted Turner made 1996 into his personal fetish. After 1996 the stadiums had no games.

Someone please contact UCLA and pass the word onto Gail Devers that there was no track meet, no 100M Gold , nor Relay GOLD at 1996 Atlanta.

Was Atlanta a one shot Olys? Are any other the stadiums still open today?

yes. no.