Boston 2024 – The Olympics Games that Never Were

Did we dodge a bullet?

Right now, in the neighborhood, it would be like St. Patrick’s Day weekend on steroids if the 2024 Olympic Games happened in Boston! International guests, dignitaries, and spectators would flock to the streets of our fair city, looking to take in sports like handball, gymnastics, track and field, and breakdancing, not to mention the security measures that would be implemented.

Back in 2015, hosting the Olympics in Boston was proposed under the project name Boston 2024. There was much debate over Boston 2024 and whether the Olympics in Boston is a once-in-a-lifetime dream event or a living nightmare. Here are some takeaways from a community meeting that was held way back then.

The bid to bring the Summer Olympics to Boston in 2024 ended nine years ago after then-Boston Mayor Marty Walsh decided he would not put the residents through the whole process, especially if the committee ran out of money and the taxpayers were left on the hook for costs.

The Boston Globe has a feature on venues pitched in 2015 for the Summer Olympics now taking place in Paris, France. Here are some of the highlights:

• Volleyball on the Boston Common
• Main stadium at Widett Circle – Widette Circle also once pitched as Midtown by developers – the area near the West Fourth Street Bridge between Southie and the South End.
• Olympic Village in Dorchester – at the old Bayside Expo that is now being developed into Dorchester Bay City.
• Equestrian events at White Stadium – White Stadium is in Dorchester and is
• Tennis at Harambee Park in Dorchester
• Table Tennis, Boxing and Indoor Volleyball at Boston Convention Center

So what would these two weeks look like for the residents of Boston? Either you would rent our your home on Airbnb and get the heck out of town or you would be trapped in the neighborhood due to traffic, checkpoints and millions of visitors descending up on the city.

“Parisians are pissed as Olympics make it hard to get around town The city’s residents, already gold medal-level complainers, aren’t too happy about how the Summer Games are affecting their day-to-day lives,” is the headline of a recent article in Politico. Basically, Paris residents’ lives will be upended for two weeks. You can read all about it here.

What do you think? Did we miss a once in a lifetime opportunity or did we dodge a bullet? Let us know in the comments below!