Many cities are left wondering after the Olympic torch goes out “now what?” For every Olympics that happens the host city constructs grand and expensive buildings that they are left with once all the fans and athletes leave. Most of these buildings either lose money or are completely abandon. For example for the 2004 summer games in Athens Greece the majority of the two dozen new buildings constructed for the Olympics are now abandoned or used in limited capacity (see picture below). All of those new buildings cost billions of dollars that were never recovered. Although these are thought of as sunk costs and the price tag of construction should not be considered in future decisions it is hard to explain that to your voters. Most host cities don’t have plans early enough on how they are going to incorporate these building into the community in order to make money on them. Neirotti from George Washington University says host cities need to plan how they are going to utilize the buildings after the Olympics when they first make the bid for the Olympics.
Stump, Scott, and Eun Kyung Kim. “What happens to Olympic venues after the torch goes out.”Today. N.p., 22 Feb. 2014. Web 10. Oct. 2014. <http://www.today.com/sochi/ what-happens-olympic-venues-after-torch-goes-out-2D12152101>.