The defeat of a proposed stadium in Manhattan's west side has not ended New York City's effort to host the 2012 Olympic games. Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled an alternative plan that would include building a new stadium in Flushing, Queens that would be the centerpiece of the Olympic games and serve as the new home of the Mets baseball club.
The Mets would pay to build the stadium which would be located in the parking lot of the Mets present home, Shea Stadium. If New York is given the Olympics, the stadium, which would open in 2009, would be converted for general use.
The plan would cost the city $180 million to improve the infrastructure around the new stadium and $100 million to convert the stadium for use during the Olympics. This is significantly less money than the cost of the now defunct West Side stadium which would have cost in excess of $1 billion to build.
A revised bid will be submitted to the I.O.C. by New York City. The city was given permission to revise its bid after the defeat of the Manhattan stadium last week. Before going to the I.O.C., the plans for the stadium will be sent to the International Association of Athletics Federations, track and field's governing body, and FIFA, soccer's governing body. Both of those sports would likely be held in the new stadium if New York is awarded the games.
The Mets had planned to build a new stadium modeled on Ebbets Field, the home of the old Brooklyn Dodgers. The stadium will hold approximately 45,000 for baseball and will be expanded to hold 80,000 for the Olympics. The total cost of the new venue has yet to be determined but the Mets initially estimated it at $600 million.
'This was not our first choice,' Mayor Bloomberg said last night at a news conference. 'But when you don't get your first choice, you find what you do have and fight harder to win with that one.'
The site of the 2012 Olympics should be decided on July 6. Paris remains the front-runner with London considered second and New York third. Madrid and Moscow are also among the five finalists.
So, it seems the Jets loss may be the Mets gain. If this stadium can pass all the usual bureaucratic hurdles and be built. The question is, is it too late to salvage New York's bid to host the 2012 Olympics?
