According to the Associated Press (AP), the marquee venue for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, could be the most expensive sports stadium in the world.
Victor Matheson, professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross, who specializes in the economic impact of mega-sporting events on host cities, told the AP: “The spiraling costs come as no surprise. Most of the recent Olympics Games and World Cups have seen final costs come in far above initial estimates."
The recent article states that the latest cost estimate of $2 billion (252 yen) is a 55 percent increase over an earlier estimate of 163 billion yen. The current record-holder is the $1.6 billion MetLife stadium completed in 2010 for the New York Jets and Giants football teams.
This news doesn't bode well for Boston and others bidding for the 2024 Olympics, as well as the International Olympic Committee's goal of making future Olympics more affordable for host cities, Matheson said.
"If a modern city like Tokyo with tons of highly developed infrastructure already in place can't make an Olympics work without breaking the bank, what chance do any other potential host cities have," he explained.
The article ran in nearly 100 media outlets across the country including the New York Times, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Yahoo! Sports, ABC News, Fox Business, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
This “Holy Cross in the News” item by Cristal Steuer.
