The report, "Reaching Beyond the Gold: The Impact of the Olympic Games on Real Estate Markets," examines the legacies of four recent Olympic hosts --
Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000) -- and forecasts the potential impacts on Athens, the Olympics' 2004 host.  It also provides a guide on how cities hosting major world events, not just the Olympics, can capitalize on the experience and learn from lessons of the past.

"History clearly demonstrates that the 2008 Olympic host city will enjoy significant long-term benefits," said Melinda McKay, Senior Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle, and co-author of the study.  "While the Games generate short-term economic gains, such as more jobs and increased revenue, other indirect effects -- such as changes in the host city's urban form and governance -- are farther reaching and longer lasting."

Urban Regeneration

"Each of the recent host cities has capitalized on the Olympics to revitalize run-down urban areas," said McKay.  "The Sydney Games, for example, were hosted on a site that had previously been home to an unusable swamp, brick works, a meat-packing house and a munitions dump.  As a result of the Games, this area is now one of the most accessible locations in Sydney, boasting world-class sporting facilities and one of the largest and best-serviced new residential communities in the city."

Olympic Villages

"The design, location and form of Olympic Villages also can have a dramatic impact on urban development of the host city," said Craig Plumb, Director of Research for Jones Lang LaSalle and co-author of the study.  "Seoul and Barcelona constructed full-scale new urban centers -- including housing, retail and other community facilities -- that now are fully integrated into their respective metropolitan areas.  Sydney's Olympic Village of Newington eventually will house 5,000 residents and form the world's largest solar-powered settlement.  Athens will follow the same model, transforming the 80 hectare (200 acre) Olympic site into a residential, commercial and public use site after the Games."

Infrastructure Improvements

Infrastructure development has been another major benefit for Olympic host cities.  "Many of the proposed infrastructure improvements had been discussed for years, but the Olympics often provided the necessary catalyst to bring projects to fruition.  Fortunately, most recent host cities have learned from the costly mistakes of earlier hosts, minimizing investment in temporary facilities and maximizing investment in long-term projects," said McKay.

As an example, the Seoul Games were used as the catalyst for undertaking a number of upgrades including the expansion of Kimpo International Airport, new roads and underground stations.  In Sydney, the Olympics helped inspire a number of important telecommunications and transport projects including a new US $500 million Sydney Airport rail link, a US $350 million expansion of the airport itself and another US $220 million in other capital projects.

'Greening the Games'

"Environmental issues will be of critical importance in the selection of a host city for the 2008 Games," McKay said.  "Contenders should look to Sydney's environment-friendly infrastructure which included the Olympic Village, a landmark in solar power usage.  In addition, many of the stadiums produce their own power, with excess power fed directly into the state electricity grid.  Furthermore, Sydney achieved a high level of public transportation usage.  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) considers the environment critical in any future host city's bid.  In response, Beijing, one of the five short-listed 2008 bid cities, has proposed a massive environmental program, promising the city will have cleaner air than Paris (another 2008 bid city) by 2008."

Tourism Promotion and the Convention Sector

"For a host city's tourism and convention industries, the long-term payback of the Olympics is potentially profound," said McKay.  "Consider the case of Sydney, which transformed Australia into a living postcard."  The 2000 Olympics has been widely recognized as the biggest marketing event in the nation's history, with an estimated US $2 billion of global publicity for Sydney and Australia over the last four years.  An early indication of success is that total visitor arrivals for 2000 were up by 11 percent, with the highest monthly total arrivals ever recorded achieved in December 2000, three months after the Games themselves.

Beyond the Olympics

Many of the lessons learned from hosting the Olympics are equally relevant to cities hosting other major events such as World Expos, the soccer World Cup and the Asian Games.  As with the Olympics, these major events can have a sizeable short-term impact on the property market with the potential for more significant long-term benefits.

"Some cities have been more successful than others in leveraging from the catalyst provided by the Olympics (or other major world events) to gain significant long-term benefits," said Plumb.  The degree to which cities are able to achieve this will depend on a number of factors.  These include:

• Competitiveness of the business environment -- affects the ability to attract corporate occupiers
• Quality of the tourism attractions -- determines the degree of long-term tourism benefits
• Ability to sell Olympic experience to attract other major world events -- extends to the re-use of facilities and the leveraging of organizational experience
• Level of tourism infrastructure built for the Olympics -- has major long-term implications
• Presence of an ongoing promotional campaign -- is critical in translating the short-term interest into long-term benefits