0319 Avoiding ‘white elephants’ in Pyeongchang after Wi… — Transcript

Now that the games are over, the country faces another challenge. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on construction of just the main stadium for the global games. There are many instances where host nations are unable to utilize such grand facilities or lose money maintaining them when they serve no purpose. Won Jung-hwan sheds light on what's being done to differently prevent such tragic outcomes.

The Olympic have been an economic boon for some host cities.

Los Angeles is estimated to have made more than $200 million over the decades, thanks to the games including the leftover facilities.

But the ugly fact is that the most Olympic buildings leave a legacy of debt and maintenance costs for underused buildings known as white elephants. That's something Pyeongchang wants to prevent.

As there's been a range of opinions about what to do with the facilities in Pyeongchang once the games, the organizers have decided to go with more modest plans, perhaps to their credit.

For example, after the closing of the Paralympics.

Workers will eventually tear down the $109 million US Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium.

It'll have been used just four times.

But the organizers decided that this is one way Pyeongchang can avoid the white elephants.

I think it is a smart decision to demolish the main Pyeongchang stadium, considering the location is too isolated to use later.

But plans for other venues should be made carefully to keep them operational because the demolition cost will be very high.

In fact, the local government has planted a way to efficiently use nine out of 12 sporting venues.

We have already signed contracts with private companies for the use of those venues and we are also looking into some conditions for the use in the upcoming Asian Winter Games.

Nine venues will be reused by other parties such as local governments and universities.

But really, the most effective way to prevent the white elephant problem at the Olympic will be a complete overhaul of the way the competition is run.

It will be a good idea to promote winter sports so people use the venues after the games.

For example, there aren't many bobsled or skeleton tracks in Asia, so if Chun-sun plans well, the venue could be used as a great facility for local and even international athletes.

Although Pyeongchang, like previous host cities, suffered significant cost overruns, the organizers seem to have learned from the success and failures of their predecessors.

Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.