Former Host City Has Olympics Hangover

N A G A N O, Japan, Feb. 10 -- It plays daily up on the big screen in the center of town, but the people of Nagano barely give the 2002 Olympic games a glance.

What a difference four years can make.

Nagano had such high hopes back in 1998 for their quaint temple town, which hosted the last Winter Olympic games. More than $10 billion was spent on new roads, communications, sports venues. And they saw international prestige and coffers overflowing with tourist dollars for years to come.

‘Down, Down, Down’

Now, though, they're dusting off unsold souvenirs in empty shops and recession is biting with a vengeance.

At the MI-EN Country Grill, where nearly everyone wears a glum face these days, the owner said, "The Olympics made things great for a little while, but ever since it's been down, down, down."

Four years ago, people called Masao Ezawa "the Olympic grinch." He led opposition to the games, predicting local taxpayers would be left with a mountain of debt.

He was right.

The debt on Olympic projects is now $30,000 per family and growing, he said. Just the Olympic arenas and venues around town cost $1 million per year in upkeep, and their rental income brings in only one tenth that amount.

"We work harder than before" said Hiroshi Higuchi, the local official charged with trying to milk some profit out of the Olympic sites.

Empty Venues

Yet, no matter how hard Higuchi tries, there just aren't enough people coming to use the facilities. Even the new high-speed bullet train, completed for the games, has become a problem: It allows skiers to come for day trips, bypassing local hotels.

The people of Nagano still have fond memories of their days in the international spotlight. The Olympic museum they established reflects a small town's pride in its world-class accomplishments. And you really can't put a price on the joy a nine-year-old feels when he gets to practice hockey in a real, honest-to-goodness Olympic stadium — even if the stands are empty.

But empty is how most people here seem to feel these days, and they offer Salt Lake City a bit of advice: Enjoy it while you can. It will be hard and costly work trying to make it last when the Olympic flame is extinguished.