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Posted: Friday, 28 August 2009 1:59PM
Chicago 2016 Tickets Would Be As High As $1,645
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CHICAGO (STNG) -- A Chicago 2016 Summer Olympic Games would be led by a team of executives -- with annual salaries as high as $550,000 -- presiding over an army of 4,964 full- and part-time employees.
And opening ceremonies will cost $64 million to produce and $1,645-per-person to watch -- $1,793 when the city's 9 percent amusement tax is tacked on. Olympic spectators will also pay higher mass transit fares than everyday riders.
The Civic Federation's report on Chicago's Olympic bid does a lot more than conclude there is "adequate protection" for taxpayers provided a $1.1 billion Olympic Village is properly managed and insured.
It shines the spotlight on some previously undisclosed or little-publicized aspects of Chicago's bid. They include:
The bid book released in February pegged opening ceremony tickets at $1,216. But the Civic Federation report ups the ante to $1,645, even before $148 in amusement taxes are tacked on. Tickets to the men's soccer finals would cost $486. Chicago's amusement tax ordinance may also need to be amended, since it appears to exempt amateur sporting events staged by nonprofit organizations.
Nearly half of the $705 million in ticket revenue would come from "prime events and opening and closing ceremonies" that account for just 20 percent of all tickets. Chicago "may be overestimating" those revenues, the report states.
The Organizing Committee set to replace Chicago 2016 would directly employ 4,964 people, with salaries ranging from $25,000 for venue workers to $550,000 for top executives. The seven-year hiring plan calls for permanent staff to steadily rise from 43 in 2010 to 1,105 in 2015 and 1,388 in 2016. Roughly 3,576 temporary employees would be hired to work during the Olympics.
Naming rights
Chicago 2016 is counting on raising $19 million by selling naming rights to the shooting and rowing venues. That's roughly the amount paid annually for naming rights to CitiField, home of the New York Mets, for 81 games over seven months. No wonder the Civic Federation says naming rights revenue projections "might be aggressive."
With no "permanent transportation infrastructure improvements," Chicago's $225 million transit plan relies on park-and-ride locations "outside the city center" and shuttle buses in dedicated lanes to transport spectators. CTA, Metra and Pace would be forced to "run at peak capacity for extended hours" during the Games, but "standard fares may not be enough" to cover costs. As a result, Olympic spectators could be forced to pay higher fares than routine passengers.
The Civic Federation's demand for "capital replacement insurance" -- to prevent the credit crunch from putting taxpayers on the hook -- would cost as much as $68 million.
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Copyright 2009 STNG Wire, The Chicago Sun-Times. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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