Just in case you thought that sports related cost over-runs only happened in the US, or Greece, a recent report from the UK indicates that the London 2012 Summer Games will cost three times the initial estimate. The original cost estimate was 3.4 billion pounds, but the most recent estimate is 9.3 billion pounds. Of course the 2012 Games are still five years away, so there is still plenty of time for more unanticipated spending.
Hats off to the London 2012 organizers. They really make the Athens 2004 organizers, who only managed to run up 2 billion euros in cost over-runs, look like pikers. And congrats to everyone in the UK who is now on the hook for this spending. London really looks like a “world class city” now! Sir Christopher Wren – pshaw, he never had 10 billion pounds to squander. I wonder if anyone in Chicago is paying attention?
