What The Abandoned Venues From The Athens Olympics Look Like 10 Years Later

Business Insider ^ | 08/08/2014 | Tony Manfred

[SeekAndFind]

Ten years later, the 2004 Athens Olympics is a cautionary tale. Greece spent an estimated $11 billion on the Games, Reuters reports. They built all the expensive, highly specific buildings you need to host the Olympics — a village, a media center, an Olympic stadium, a canoe/kayak slalom center, etc. — and went 97% over budget in the process.

When the athletes went home at the end of August 2004, organizers learned a cruel lesson — Athens has absolutely no use for a canoe/kayak slalom center.

Many of these stadiums have become white elephants. The Olympic Village is empty, and the venues for softball, beach volleyball, and kayaking are all overrun with weeds.

With the IOC now struggling to find countries with enough money to waste on the Olympics, 2004 might be viewed as the last Olympics of an era when democratic nations saw the games as a worthwhile investment.

CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE PICTURES...

[Rodamala]

And when describing the USA...fill in the blank, as I am hard-pressed anymore. I guess there aren't rockets raining down on us daily... which is nice... but I was there when the twin towers came down.

Its a country that would be a crap hole were it not for...

[Hugin]

I think the Greek tourism board can turn this into a positive. New slogan...

VISIT GREECE—WE HAVE NEW RUINS!

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Seriously, London made money? That is surprising, and somewhat encouraging.

Well, I am basing it on this site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_the_Olympic_Games

[Moltke]

Most of those photos must be old - I’m pretty sure I saw them years ago. Like, a year or two after the 2004 games. Yes, it crumbled that quickly.

Not that that would stop BI from trying to make it look recent to gather some site hits...scumbags.

[OldNewYork]

Agree. I’d vote for having at least the summer Olympics permanently in Athens.

[Straight Vermonter]

And Montreal is stuck with a domed stadium whose roof can’t be closed.

It can't be opened. But it doesn't matter since it has so many rips in it that it doesn't amount to much anyway.

[Straight Vermonter]

Atlanta was profitable but people whined that it was too commercialized. I guess people would rather have crazy tax bills than see a McDonalds logo on a sign.

[Professional Engineer]

A place like North Texas already has all the stadiums and hotels they would need, no spend spending would be needed.

We sure have the fatally flawed $60 million fubar stadium to start!

[AdmSmith]

and Sochi was in ruins even before it was opened: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/02/2014_winter_olympics_sochi_problems.html

Russia spent $51 billion preparing the Black Sea resort for the Games, some $30 billion was “consumed”.