The decision has been made. Doing it is another matter. These leaders are fine to do nothing. Now that the gambling commission is set and they all have their cars and expense accounts -- no need to rush things along.
Look at the buildings in Athens. One looks a lot like the Convention Center. They are idle. They are used as much as about 20 outdoor swim pools in various neighborhoods -- not at all.
The convention center can't pull its own weight. We need to take that building and get rid of it. Get it into operation in another capacity and off the backs of the public operators.
SI.com Athens seeks ways to�recoup Olympic's cost Such sights have led to criticism that the government has not acted fast enough to cash in on the legacy of the Games.
'I think there were a lot of serious delays and I cannot find the cause for these delays. I think there is now confusion about the future,' said opposition parliamentarian Nassos Alevras, who was responsible for Olympic works for the previous government ahead of the Games.
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Athens trying to use Olympic venues to recoup costs
The Olympic Velodrome, built for cycling events, is one of many venues that have gone largely unused since the Athens Games.
Lutz Bongarts/Getty Images
ATHENS (Reuters) -- Athens has two pieces of uncompromising advice for London's 2012 Olympic Games organizers: do not waste a single minute and start planning now for the day after.
As the anniversary approaches next month of the 2004 Athens Olympics, a new battle is in full swing to recoup money from the most expensive Games ever by exploiting the myriad of stadiums and facilities left behind when the flame went out.
The first public offers for the leasing of Games venues were issued last week in a post-Olympics plan that has been criticized for being too long in coming.
Eighteen of the 28 venues used by Athens are being offered to rent for cultural and sporting events, with the government retaining ownership.
"Don't miss a day, time is never enough," Fanni Palli Petralia, Alternate Culture Minister in charge of Olympic venues, told Reuters.
"Even one day is very precious. Plan, plan, plan, and have a post-Olympic plan from the first moment," she advises future host cities such as London.
Visiting the venues one year after the acclaimed Athens Games is depressing. A lonely wind blows through the dusty baseball stadium and seagulls perch on sports facilities.
Such sights have led to criticism that the government has not acted fast enough to cash in on the legacy of the Games.
"I think there were a lot of serious delays and I cannot find the cause for these delays. I think there is now confusion about the future," said opposition parliamentarian Nassos Alevras, who was responsible for Olympic works for the previous government ahead of the Games.
Petralia counters that her conservatives, who took office just five months before the Games started on August 13, were left with a blank sheet of paper because the previous Socialist government had done no planning for the aftermath.
MAINTENANCE COSTS
Drawing up a plan, passing it through parliament and completing paperwork for tenders meant that a firm plan was only now taking off.
"We are not delayed at all," she said. "We are speeding up."
With maintenance costs of 100 million euros a year for the empty stadiums, Athens residents are impatient and increasingly ask how much longer it will take for them to reap the benefits of the Olympic legacy in the land where the Games were born.
Some locals are suspicious of the government plan to rent venues to investors, saying sites paid for by the taxpayer may end up not being used for the social good.
"The Greeks paid a lot for the Games and according to our statistics our grandsons are going to pay for what we have done last August," said Theodore Psalidopoulos, deputy mayor of Athens's Kallithea district which wanted the use of the beach volleyball stadium.
"We would like to use things and infrastructure that was paid for by the public."
Building delays by the previous government, which left Greece rushing to finish preparations, doubled the cost of the Olympics to $10.71 billion.
Security alone -- a subject in the forefront of London's thinking since last week's underground and bus bombs -- cost Greece one billion euros as the first country to host the Summer Games after the September 11 attacks on the United States.
The Olympic spending gave Greece a hefty budget deficit, double the European Union (EU) limit last year for euro countries, leaving some taxpayers wondering if it was all worthwhile.
"Of course it was worth it," said Petralia. "Greece has been baptized again."
SECURITY OPERATION
Some revenue has started to trickle in from venues used since the Olympics for concerts, conventions and sporting competitions, including a performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats and the Acropolis Rally.
The massive security operation staged by Athens has also paid dividends with infrastructure and systems bought for the Games absorbed into Greece's domestic security.
Greek security officials say they are now offering advice to Beijing, the 2008 hosts, and a number of countries hosting large public events.
"The security infrastructure gave us the ability to modernize our forces for the first time in 50 years, in terms of the latest technology and training. This was very important." Public Order Ministry spokesman Leuteris Economou told Reuters.
"We always said this was going to be a good investment for the country both for the Games but also in the after period."
Barcelona, which hosted the Games in 1992, also had post-Games concerns but has since gone down in history as a success story by turning a coastal backwater into a thriving town and tourist hub.
Other host cities have not faired so well and embedded in Olympic memory is the $1-billion debt Montreal was left with after the 1976 Games.
Petralia, who says the benefits of the Games may take years to be appreciated by the public, has her eyes fixed on the future.
"We had a new brand name after the Games. We cannot expect in 10 months' time (to make) a profit. But the profits will come," she said.
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