Illinois CPA Society Investigates “Olympic Risk”

With all the talk about the mysterious state of the 2016 Olympic bid’s    finances, the Illinois CPA Society has published a very timely article, “Olympic Risk.” that looks at the costs and supposed benefits of the games. The author quotes No Games organizer Tom Tresser along with Dr. Will Jennings, a research fellow at the University of Manchester with expertise on the planning and staging of the Olympics; and Jeff Owen, an assistant professor of economics at Gustavus Adolphus College, who specializes in sports economy. Pretty credible company.

The article concludes with a reflection by Prof. Owens. “Personally, I would find being in an Olympic city a fascinating and memorable experience…As an economist, my point is not that a city should never want to host the Olympics, but that we should be more honest to local residents by saying, ‘If you want to be an Olympic city, you are going to have to pay for it.'” Read and download the article.