In the summer of 1996, Atlanta Georgia played host to the 23rd modern Olympic games. It was easily the greatest thing to happen to Atlanta in the 90's and there were many benefits brought its way as a result. Of all these benefits, the most significant ones were (1) the legacy of all the facilities built for the event, (2) the revitalization of the downtown area, (3) the exposure it gave to the city and (4) the economic benefits it gained as a result of all this.
In order to host the event Atlanta had to make sure it had all the facilities to be able to provide athletes places both to practice and perform. Although the city had fairly adequate facilities already, there were improvements that needed to be made. By making sure facilities were up to scratch for the athletes, they were also improving facilities for citizens, because ultimately once the Olympics were over, these new and improved facilities would still be there.
The people to benefit from this most were colleges and universities in the downtown Atlanta area. A new gym and swimming pool were made and donated to Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta College received a new football field. As a result of it being used as the Olympic village, Georgia Tech got 7,000 dorm rooms, while Georgia State (who also housed athletes) got 2,000 new rooms.
However they weren't the only ones to benefit greatly. The centerpiece of the games and the location where the opening and closing ceremonies were held was a new $209 million stadium, now called Turner Field and now home to the city's finest baseball team, the Atlanta Braves.
The games also impacted the downtown area of the city as much renewal took place in order for Atlanta to put its best face forward. A more attractive inner city area was the result. Improvements were made to public transportation, retail amenities and public areas such as parks and walkways.
The rejuvenation of the area also meant the rejuvenation of old buildings. The Rialto Theater, once an old crumbling cinema in need of work, was one of the many buildings in the downtown area to be renovated and is now home to plays and various musical productions. An old church was turned into a blues parlour for the Olympics and following the games became a music venue for live bands.
Some of the renewal came after the Olympics, but were done as an indirect result of the games; these included raising a dilapidated housing project and transforming the land into low and middle-income housing.
Other marketing strategies used in during this farewell season are commemorating former players, coaches, and hall of famers as well as a count down display in left field. The display is being used to count down the number of home games left this season. The count down will reach zero during the 5th inning of the final home game against The Detroit Tigers which has almost been sold out, nearly six months in advance. These marketing strategies have proven to be beneficial and should be continued considering the attendance is up from last year. However, there is always room for improvements. The Atlanta Braves should consider new marketing strategies to improve fan experiences which will improve overall fan satisfaction as discussed earlier. Strategies to improve fan experience involve anything that will create a “valued experience” for a consumer (Sarstedt, 2014). Bringing old traditions from Turner Field to SunTrust Park is one way to create a valued experience for fans who are disgruntled over the move to Cobb County. Being that the Atlanta Braves are a team of tradition, it would be wise to implement old traditions in the new stadium to not only satisfy the concerns of disgruntled fans, but to bring a sense of community to the new stadium for the entire fan base.
The Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966. The Braves didn’t have the best teams from 1966-1990, no World Series titles, just not up to where they had been in earlier years. In 1990 the braves had the worst record in baseball, and then in 1991, they went from worst to first, and went to the World Series. They went again in 1992, but unfortunately, they lost both times. However, in 1995 the Braves went to the Championship of baseball once again, they represented the National League, and the Cleveland Indians represented the American League. The Series went six games, and in game six the Braves won, beating the Indians, one to nothing, and winning the World Series.
Since 776 BCE, the Olympics have been a way for people of different cultures to come together and compete in friendly competition. In 1892 the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, although it had been over a thousand years since the last game it still had brought together an assortment of different religions and ethnic groups together. Many factors shaping the Olympic Games reflect the changes that have taken place in our world since the last game in 393 CE in Greece such changes include woman’s suffrage, global economy, world wars, and proving competency.
The city is home to the Atlanta Braves as well as the Atlanta Hawks. Both of these teams are professional teams that play in the city as well as around the nation.
There is a nationwide trend in which taxpayers are asked to pay for new stadiums these stadiums benefit a single corporation. A sport construction boom has started, these new stadiums cost a minimum of $200 million to build, but usually cost much more. New stadiums have been built, or are underway, in New York, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Seattle, Tampa, Washington DC, St. Louis, Jacksonville, and Oakland. This competitive trend replaces old stadiums with high tech flashy stadiums used exclusively for one sport. These stadiums are unnecessary, and not cost efficient. Most of the time new stadiums are not used for multi-purposes, they bring in money exclusively for the professional league and not ...
Kindersly, Dorling. The Olympic Games: Athens 1896-Sydney 2000 Chronicle of the Games, 1 July 2000
In the past the Olympic games were used as a way for the Greeks to honor their gods. Today the games are not an honoring but more of a social gathering. What’s great about the games today is that everyone has equal opportunity to compete. No matter your gender, size, ethnicity, or wealth, all you have to do is work hard and
Print. The. Jane Laing, ed., pp. 113-117. Chronicle of the Olympics, 1896-1996. New York: DK Pub., 1996.
The problem however, with these “renewal projects” is that the implemented changes are never usually intended to benefit the long time inhabitants of these communities, these changes are intended usually, to push out the element of poverty that exists in many of these communities (which is a direct result of decades of neglect) in exchange for the opportunity to cater to a more affluent (usually less “ethnic”) demographic. In laymen’s terms, city planners, elected officials, prospective businesses, and even law enforcement, all converge for the purpose of removing poor people from an area by simply making it too pleasant and by exten...
We are able to see that hosting the Olympics plays an important role in the development of a country. Despite having a number of valid reasons to oppose the hosting of Olympics, we are able to reap more long-term benefits. Rebranding the country to make it outstanding enough to attract tourist and boost tourism head on. For this reason, it brings in more income for the country and creates more job opportunities in the tourism sector. This would indirectly create job chances in industrial sector. Unemployment rate goes down significantly which are able to attract more people towards the country. Citizens will be more patriotic and not wanting to leave the country. There is so much potential for a country to improve themselves, with all being said, I couldn’t disagree with hosting the
Firstly, being the host of a major sporting event such as the Olympics could actually benefit the hosting countries’ economic and cultural benefits of the Olympics. The Olympics have a very wide reach in this modern day with. This is a plus especially with the existence of today’s social media and the Internet. In the economic side, it could actually be a very powerful marketing and publishing tool for the host country. With all the present technology that is available nowadays, it actually is a good way to promote a certain country to the world. This eventually increase the economic level of the country that is hosting it, as they will receive visitors from all over the world and they will eventually spend their money to the host countries, thus improving their economics. Winbey (2014) states that the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics are somet...
It is evident that the Olympic Games are popular and have worldwide support, but one cannot ignore the lead up to the games in which host cities spend exorbitant amounts of tax dollars to revamp areas of the city that leads to many forced evictions. While some may acknowledge that some people are indeed displaced due to new construction, and there is a lot of money spent up front for the games, they may counter that the monetary and societal rewards reaped later will be huge. But, this paper will rebuke those claims by providing examples that exhibit that the oft asserted financial gains rarely come to fruition and that the societal impact is anything but rewarding. Lastly, even though any change is unlikely, two proposals, which could curtail some of the negative impacts brought on by the Olympic Games, will be offered, which are either create a permanent Olympic site, or hold the games less frequently, on a rotating basis,...
Introduction Today, the Olympic Games are the world's largest pageant of athletic skill and competitive spirit. They are also displays of nationalism, commerce and politics. Well-known throughout the world the games have been used to promote understanding and friendship among nations, but have also been a hotbed of political disputes and boycotts. The Olympic games started thousands of years ago and lasted over a millennium.. The symbolic power of the Games lived on after their demise, and came to life again as the modern Olympic Games being revived in the last century. Both the modern and Ancient Olympics have close similarities in there purpose and in there problems.
...ing and closing the five days with sport shunted in between. The statue of Zeus created by Pheidas, arguably the best artistic offering to Zeus, standing at 13m and crafted from solid gold, was located at Olympia for a reason – the Olympics were a hive of activity and worship, more so than a hive of activity and sport/politics. The Games were held in honour of Zeus, and attending the Games was seen as making a pilgrimage to his most sacred place (i.e. the grove, known as the Altis).
Ziakas, V & Costa, C 2011, ‘The Use of an Event Portfolio in Regional Community and Tourism Development’, Creating Synergy between Sport and Cultural Events, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 149-175.