With the expected costs of hosting the Olympics likely to exceed €7-billion ($8,4-billion) — nearly twice the original budget — some Greeks fear that they might be paying for the venues for years to come.
Despite Athens winning worldwide praise for hosting a successful Games, the return from the sale of about 3,6-million tickets, two-thirds of the number available, will not cover the costs.
In a televised address, the prime minister, Costas Karamanlis, said the Olympics would herald the start of a new era. ”[They are] an investment in the new period that Greece is beginning, the capital for the years ahead.”
He added: ”We will prioritise, making the best possible use of all the assets that the Games have given us.”
However, only the fate of non-competition venues such as the highly praised Olympic village and huge media centre, have been decided. While the former is destined to house low-income public sector workers and their families, the latter will be used as an exhibition and conference centre.
The undetermined status of the remaining sites has spawned fears that, like many Olympic ventures, the venues may end up as white elephants, an urban catastrophe that ultimately showcases the futility of hosting the Games.
”Large sums were spent on the venues’ construction, but no economic viability studies were drawn up for them,” admitted Greece’s alternate culture minister, Fani Palli-Petralia, who headed the Olympic preparations.
Although some sites, including football stadiums, will resume their previous use, those constructed for an array of lesser-known sports mandated by the International Olympic Committee will almost certainly be dismantled.
For other venues, the centre-right government says it is studying a number of ”proposals and ideas”. Among these is the suggestion that several buildings, including the headquarters of the games’ organising committee, be used to rehouse ministries.
Most of the 35 venues were built from scratch. Like the main stadium, acclaimed as a modern architectural wonder, the superb, state-of the art facilities were praised by spectators and athletes alike.
After months of tortuous preparations and construction delays, Greece concluded the Games with many saying that its venues combined ultra-efficiency with poetic vision.
But putting sports venues to good use is a major challenge for all Olympic cities. In Athens’ case, senior officials, say the venues could help to turn the capital into a regional sports destination.
”Other major sports events can be held in them,” Gianna Angelopoulou, chief organiser of the Games, said recently. ”They are part of the great legacy of the Games.”
But the head of Hellenic Olympic Properties, a state-controlled holding company that is due to assume control of the venues, says that just maintaining the sites will pose problems.
The main Olympic stadium complex, which will remain the country’s premier sports site, faces operational costs of €100-million. Already local mayors have said they cannot afford to maintain the facilities. – Guardian Unlimited