A Simple Plea: Bring The Winter Olympics to Southern California

Shown for educational and information purposes only; no copyright infringement intended. 

HEAPS PEAK IN THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS - The Sochi Olympics have wrapped up, bringing to end the somewhat contentious XXII Olympic Winter Games. Among the many real or perceived problems, there was one real problem, which is the Sochi games were just a little too warm for the Winter Olympics. The climate in the Sochi area is typically rather mild and Russian officials stored significant amounts of snow for the games, just in case. Nonetheless, despite social issues outside the gates and the unrest in nearby Ukraine, the Sochi games went off without any real problem, and the events themselves were an overall success.

So, if a place like Sochi can pull off a Winter Olympics then why cannot our own Southern California mountains, The San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains, host the winter games? After all, the weather in our local mountains are about the same as in Sochi, you never quite know if it is going to be a snowy year or warm year, and if it is warm our ski resorts know how to make and store quite of bit of snow. 

Where In Our Mountains?

Probably the most logical site for the home-base of the Winter Olympics would be Big Bear, but however events could be spread all over the Transverse Range. Spreading out Olympic events is nothing new. It was done in Sochi, and it was done during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles with many Olympic games spread throughout Southern California.

Sure, there would be some infrastructure that would need to be built, but that would be a boom to the local construction industry. 

Okay. All This New Stuff Is Built, But What Happens When The Games Leave?

Some may ask what happens when the Olympics leave the mountain resorts with so much new stuff built? Well, for places in Big Bear, and perhaps other places in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains, they can now brag and sell their ski resorts as being world famous, and boost their ski resorts from being local destinations to world destinations. What skier would not love to play and ski at an Olympic ski resort?

What About The Mountain Roads?

What about accommodating all the Olympic spectators, and those mountain highways?

Yes, as any person who has driven our mountain highways and roads can attest, the roadways to and around the mountain towns are not the best, and can provide for a white-knuckle ride at times, but this would provide the opportunity to improve the mountain highways.

Furthermore, shuttle service can be provided to and from events, and up and down the mountain. Also, this may be an opportunity to explore other unique forms of transportation, such as a tramway from the base of the mountain to perhaps Big Bear, not unlike the Palm Springs Tram. 

Just Where Is Everybody Going To Stay?

In the mountain towns there would be a need to build some new hotels, but there are many hotel and motel rooms down the mountain in the Inland Empire that are underused and could be used to house Winter Olympic spectators.

Of course before, during and right after the Olympic games it will be massive boost to the hospitality industry, and not just in the mountains, but it will have a positive ripple affect throughout Southern California. It is not an unlikely scenario that hotels from Palm Springs to L.A. would be filled up with Winter Olympic spectators. 

What About Traffic Down Here?

What about traffic having a ripple affect in the flat lands? Well, we all worked together during the 1984 games, and the recent events on Interstate 405, and so why cannot it be that way again for the Winter Olympics?

Consider It and Bring It To Our Mountains!

We say to the powers that be, bring the Winter Olympics to the Southern California Mountains. We have, and could easily have, the infrastructure in place, and hosting the games here you would not have to worry about any possible social problems taking center stage at the games. The United States is a very stable place to hold the Winter Olympics, and our Southern California mountain range will make it even better.

As an added bonus to consider, though it is on a smaller scale, Big Bear has hosted the X-Games, among other such winter events.

The Winter Olympics in Southern California? Yes, this can be done.

We have already hosted two Summer Olympics, and let us make our third hosting of the games The Winter Olympics!

This can be done, and so let us do it!

Did You Know This About Olympic Blvd?

LOS ANGELES - One of Los Angeles' major, and perhaps not quite as iconic, roadways is Olympic Boulevard, which is a heavily traveled East-to-West, or depending on your view, West-to-East arterial.

What some people may not know is that Olympic Blvd. is longer than the more famous Wilshire Blvd. as it stretches from Santa Monica all the way across the city to East Los Angeles into Montebello.

There is more to the story of the boulevard, and what a lot of people may not know is, like many other streets in L.A., Olympic Blvd. was not always called Olympic Blvd. In fact, it was once called Tenth Street.

So how and why did Tenth Street become Olympic Blvd.?

In 1932 L.A. was selected to host what would be the Games of the X Olympiad, or rather, the Tenth Modern Olympics. To honor the occasion the L.A. City Council voted to change the name of Tenth Street to Olympic Blvd (See what they did there?).

As you may know these days a city bidding to host the Olympics is a major competitive event in and of itself with a lot of wooing and impressing International Olympic Committee officials. Of course, and here is something else you may not know, L.A. did not have a lot of competition in bidding to host the Tenth Modern Olympiad. By not having a lot of competition that is to say L.A. had no competition in bidding to host the games, because L.A. was the only city to bid to host the games.

Why was L.A. the only city to bid for the games? Well, when the selection was made at the 23rd IOC Session in Rome, Italy, in 1923 it was on the heels of the end of a major world war and a lot of countries were broke and tired.

It did not help matters that by the time the 1932 Olympics came to the City of Angels the Great Depression was fully underway. 

The depression was so bad that many nations and athletes just simply could not afford the trip to L.A. to compete in the 1932 Olympics. 

With the Depressing going on these Olympics were not even consider important to President Herbert Hoover, because he did not make the journey to L.A. to see the games. Mr. Hoover would be the second U.S. president to miss the Olympics in the United States held during his term behind President Theodore Roosevelt who refused to attend the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, because St. Louis Mayor David R. Francis declined to let Roosevelt help officiate the games.

As another interesting side-note, Olympic Blvd. was once a highway of sorts, California State Route 26.

So now, when you are stuck in traffic at Olympic Blvd. and San Vicente Blvd., you know how Olympic Blvd. obtained its name and you know a unique bit of the history of the modern Olympics.