Taxpayers funding Olympics catches top pols off guard

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/05/taxpayers_funding_olympics_catches_top_pols_off_guard



KEEPING PROMISES: Mayor Martin J. Walsh, above, and Boston Red Sox CEO and special adviser to Boston 2024 Larry Lucchino, are against having taxpayers fund the building of Olympic venues.

Taxpayers funding Olympics catches top pols off guard
Matt Stout
Friday, May 29, 2015

Revelations that Boston 2024 planned to tap taxpayer cash to pay for land and cover infrastructure costs to host the Olympics has caught even some of the state’s highest-ranking officials off-guard and is fueling warnings by bid critics, who called the developments “devastating” to the committee’s quest to win over the public.

“This puts every person in elected office in Massachusetts in a tough spot,” said Evan Falchuk, a vocal bid critic who’s pushed for a statewide ballot question on hosting the games. “They’ve been saying for months, ‘No taxpayer (money).’ Then you read what they told the USOC. … It’s a devastating blow to their credibility. There’s a reason why voters don’t trust what they’ve heard and (Boston 2024 has) got a lot of work to do to earn that trust.”

Details from the group’s so-called bid book — outlined in published reports and confirmed by Boston 2024 — indicate that plans sent to the U.S. Olympic Committee in December called for the Hub to fund “land acquisition and infrastructure costs” at Widett Circle, where a temporary Olympic stadium is being proposed. It comes after months of promises that the group planned to run a privately funded Olympics.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh 
yesterday reiterated his stance against using taxpayer money to fund building venues, but said he supports using it for infrastructure and would “not rule out tax incentives” if it could spur long-term economic development in the city.