Politics

Boston faces 'monumental task' in preparing city for Olympics

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A special commission set up to look into the feasibility of having Boston host the 2024 summer Olympics is set to release its report Thursday.

In a draft report obtained by the Boston Globe, the commission found Boston has enough hotel rooms and security expertise, but faces a "monumental task" in getting the city ready for the games.

It reportedly found major obstacles would be finding space for an 80,000-seat stadium and 100-acres for the Olympic village to house athletes.

A group opposed to bringing the Olympics here to Boston has released its own report.

The report from "No Boston Olympics" claims the summer games could cost between $10 and $20 billion. That group says future generations would be burdened and they believe that money could be better spent elsewhere.

"We are glad that people are really pushing for a bold vision in Massachusetts, but when you look at that big cost figure, we ask what else could we be doing with that money," said Liam Kerr, of No Boston Olympics. "Some of us are very dedicated to education, some of us to transportation, some of us to housing, that got together informally and said 'wait a minute, if we have this really big price tag, isn't there something else we could be doing that would get a better return over the long run for citizens of Massachusetts.'"

Kerr went on to say, "We think history and economists with near unanimity show this is a losing proposition."

That group wants state leaders to reject calls for an Olympic games bid.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh told us this is still a long way away, but he supports at least looking at the idea.

"I'm not opposed to them investing private dollars into exploring this," he said. "There's a lot of steps to go before we even get to a point of a real discussion around Olympics and I think the committee that's formed now is looking at the possibility and I support them."

Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish is heading up that 11-member commission. He did not return calls placed by FOX 25.

FOX 25 also reached out to commission members, but none would speak on camera, just yet.