“Between insurance and the other safeguards we have put in place, we have set a new standard for protecting the best interests of taxpayers and ensuring that the Games operate entirely with private financing”, said Steve Pagliuca, a private equity executive who serves as chairman of Boston 2024.
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Among the specific policies are ones covering event cancellations, costs incurred if games sponsors can’t meet their obligations and lost revenues due to reduced ticket sales and attendance.
“It looks suspicious when documents that have been in their possession for such a long time suddenly take days to get out to the public”, said Evan Falchuk of the United Independent Party and Citizens for a Say, a campaign for a 2016 Massachusetts ballot question to ban any taxpayer dollars for any Boston Olympic venues or operations.
For those not thrilled with Boston’s Olympic dreams, a big concern is traffic.
A powerful union’s support comes as Boston 2024 unveils its 13-page taxpayer insurance plan.
Richard Davey, CEO of Boston 2024, said any hypothetical cost overruns would have to be dealt with by adjusting expenses elsewhere.
Required features of those plans could include added protections like surety or performance bonds, which would guarantee a project will be finished in case the contractor defaults, Boston 2024 says. Also, 2024 said, besides a range of insurance policies, it will require contractors submitting bids to construct 2024 facilities to agree to binding “guaranteed maximum price” contracts that leave the builders exclusively responsible if construction costs go over budget. “It’s about a multi-risk mitigation package that’s one of the most extensive the Olympics have seen”.
Boston 2024 said it consulted insurance experts, including two companies that have done work for high-profile events such as the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the NCAA Tournament and the Tour de France.
It said plans to issue a request for proposals to insurance brokers by August 1.
A union representing more than 2,500 Boston firefighters announced their support for Boston hosting the 2024 Olympic Games.
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Boston 2024 said late Wednesday it would release a full, unredacted version of the proposal early next week, after Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and City Council members publicly called on the privately-funded group to release the information, which opponents say includes critical financial details impacting taxpayers.
