Cincinnati has traditionally had an undeserved reputation for underachieving. "When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always twenty years behind the times," Mark Twain said. And even though the veracity of this quote is highly questionable, naysayers still love to parrot it.
In the late 1990s, though, a group of ambitious leaders in the Queen City, led by a PR man named Nick Vehr, attempted to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to Cincinnati. Inspired by the overall success of the games hosted a few years earlier in Atlanta, Vehr and his team felt the same could happen in Southwest Ohio. The Cincinnati Olympic bid committee, officially Cincinnati 2012 Inc., was facing a tough job. Several challenges lay ahead.
The first issue was finding enough suitable venues. For that, there was a three-pronged solution. The first was to use existing stadiums and arenas. The second involved using facilities in neighboring cities like Dayton, Columbus, and even Cleveland. The third was to build new ones if necessary.
Holding some Olympic events outside of Greater Cincinnati wasn’t all that far-fetched. Most of the events at the Atlanta games were held in the metro area. Some, though, were held in Columbus, GA, in the southwest part of the state. Savannah, on the Atlantic coast, was also utilized. Birmingham, AL, Washington, D.C., and the Florida cities of Tampa, Orlando, and Miami also hosted events.
In addition to using Riverfront Stadium (then Cinergy Stadium), or its replacement, planners also sought to use Firstar Center (formerly Riverfront Coliseum, now Heritage Bank Center), Paul Brown Stadium, and even the Cincinnati Gardens. There was also a plan to put a dome on UC’s Nippert Stadium. The university’s other venues would also be used.
Additionally, a huge Olympic village, including an 80,000 seat stadium, would have been built immediately west of Longworth Hall in Queensgate. After the games, the stadium would have been reconfigured into a smaller venue, possibly for an expansion team in the then three-year-old Major League Soccer.
Cincinnati Olympic 2012 Inc. raised over $5.5 million but was confronted with several issues beyond its control, one of which was the riots in spring 2001. While things had calmed down, many said the situation would give the U.S. Olympic Committee pause.
Another problem was Issue 3, which passed a few years earlier. That measure amended the city's charter and prohibited extending legal protection to homosexuals. Today, it’s hard to believe that such a thing was possible, but back then it did happen.
Officials in Atlanta had faced a similar problem when they were planning for the 1996 games. Neighboring Cobb County had passed a resolution condemning the “gay lifestyle.” In response, Atlanta organizers re-routed the path of the Olympic torch and moved the site of the volleyball contests out of Cobb County and out to Athens.
Even without those issues, transportation and lodging became areas of concern. Hotels and other lodgings could be built in time for the games. However, moving people around greater Cincinnati, and to outlying venues in Cleveland, Dayton, and Columbus, was a bigger challenge.
The city’s prospects took another hit when it was reported in August by the Washington Post that “the IOC will never again award the games to another second-tier U.S. city like Atlanta.'” Ouch for Atlanta, and not great news for the bidding cities of Dallas/Ft. Worth, Tampa/Orlando, Houston, and of course, Cincinnati.
In October, the ax finally fell as the United States Olympic Committee took the first step to name its candidate to play host to the 2012 Summer Olympics whittling down the roster of hopefuls to New York, Baltimore/Washington, San Francisco, and Houston. Cincinnati, along with Los Angeles, Tampa/Orlando, and Dallas/Ft. Worth was all eliminated. London, England was the eventual winner.
Whether or not it was accurate at the time, the notion that the IOC would only focus on large, international cities to host future summer games turned out to be true. In addition to London, subsequent games were awarded to Rio de Janeiro (2016), Tokyo (2020), Paris (2024), and Los Angeles (2028). Oddly, the 2032 games were awarded to Brisbane, Australia. No doubt a fine town, but not necessarily the first city one thinks of as international in that part of the world. Who knows? Cincinnati’s Olympic dreams may yet be realized.
131 comments
Chris Bradley
Even when I dated my wife for years, cohabited with her and vetted her thoroughly and ensured her family accepted me to part of them, the fact that ferminity is mallaeble came to play out in my marriage. She had some close friends who were single and most are still single till date. They had a huge influence on my wife and that alone always made us had issues. Eventually she left me and i had to seek help from Dr Isikolo knowing he is capable of restoring the love and happiness we shared and to also get her back to me. I complied with everything Dr Isikolo told me and my wife came back home with regrets of paying attention to fake friends and we are happy together again now. You can read about his works on his page (https://isikolo-temple.com) or might as well text him via WhatsApp on: +2348133261196
Anna joe
My Testimony: How DOCTOR MASAKO Helped Me Reunite with My Partner
I want to share my testimony about the incredible help I received from DR MASAKO. I tried everything I could think of to bring my partner back, but nothing worked. He was with someone else, and I felt lost. Then, by chance, I came across a comment that led me to DR MASAKO, a kind, powerful, and skilled man who worked a miracle in my life. Thanks to DR MASAKO, my partner is back, and he loves me now more than ever. I’m incredibly happy with my life today, and I truly appreciate everything DR MASAKO has done for me. These past years had been filled with sadness, but now I’m the happiest woman on earth because of him. If you’re in need of help, you can contact DR MASAKO via email: doctormasako@gmail.com or reach him by Call/Text at: +2349047144277 Website: https://doctormasako2.wixsite.com/drmasakospelltemple
Anna joe
My Testimony: How DOCTOR MASAKO Helped Me Reunite with My Partner
I want to share my testimony about the incredible help I received from DR MASAKO. I tried everything I could think of to bring my partner back, but nothing worked. He was with someone else, and I felt lost. Then, by chance, I came across a comment that led me to DR MASAKO, a kind, powerful, and skilled man who worked a miracle in my life. Thanks to DR MASAKO, my partner is back, and he loves me now more than ever. I’m incredibly happy with my life today, and I truly appreciate everything DR MASAKO has done for me. These past years had been filled with sadness, but now I’m the happiest woman on earth because of him. If you’re in need of help, you can contact DR MASAKO via email: doctormasako@gmail.com or reach him by Call/Text at: +2349047144277 Website: https://doctormasako2.wixsite.com/drmasakospelltemple
Bianca Walters
I was still in college when I met my fiancé. We dated for quite a long time and cohabited and our relationship was approved by our parents. We got along and everything was perfect. He traveled out for some training and since then everything never became good for us again. He was seeing a lady over there and he tends to have committed much to what they shared and left me out the picture. I did all I can to fix the problem but nothing worked until I heard about Dr Isikolo. I contacted him and explained what I was going through and he promised to help which he did as promised. I complied with the instructions he gave me and he fixed the problem I had with my fiancé and now he’s back to me and we are getting married in a month. All thanks to Dr Isikolo. Contact him now if you need any help. review and visit his webpage: https://isikolo-temple.com or text him on WhatsApp him on +2348133261196
Marcus
Since I was a child, I’ve envisioned owning an electric truck, but I never imagined my dream would become a reality. Currently, I possess a Cybertruck from Tesla, a feat made possible by Lord Meduza, the spell caster who created a lottery spell that secured my MEGA MILLION winning ticket of $156,000,000 million dollars. Currently, my family and I are completely debt-free and we enjoy life like celebrities, haha. Allow Lord Meduza to revive your forgotten dreams in 48 hours, as this is the sole method to succeed in winning the lottery. His fortunate numbers are not anticipated but fated for greatness. His spells include various types, such as healing from illnesses or ailments, seeking employment, or attempting to rekindle a relationship with an ex. Simply get in touch with him via the below details and God Bless..
Email: Lordmeduzatemple@hotmail.com
Whats-App: +18079072687.
Leave a comment
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.