Should Boston host the Olympic games?

Yes

Anderson Wise is a champion powerlifter from Needham who competed in the Paralympic Games in 2008 in Beijing

Seven years ago, I had the honor of representing the United States in Beijing as a power lifter on the US Paralympic Team. It was humbling to do so at such a prestigious event and share the stage with so many accomplished teammates and opponents.

To bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Boston in 2024 would be inspiring beyond words, not only to the athletes, but to the fans at the venues and the millions watching across the globe.

I was born with spina bifida and have used a wheelchair since I was a young boy. I was raised in Needham, attended Fitchburg State University, and have participated in just about every wheelchair sport, including basketball, sled hockey, skiing, and even skydiving.

As I learned in Beijing, spectators will be amazed at the level of competition and the passion of the athletes. Nothing does the Paralympic Games justice like seeing them in person.

With all the life-altering, groundbreaking innovations being made here in Massachusetts’ technology, research, and medical industries, Boston would serve as a perfect location to help expand interest in the Paralympic Games. Boston’s renowned hospitals and rehabilitation facilities would shine and the Games would provide a unique opportunity to showcase all the incredible advancements being made.

I work with young athletes with disabilities every day at the Massachusetts Hospital School in Canton. These youngsters would benefit mightily from seeing the most elite competitors in the world up close and personal. It would spark passion and enthusiasm in our next generation of Paralympians and encourage them to get out there and strive to reach their full potential.

Over the next two years, as Boston is considered by the International Olympic Committee as a possible host for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, there will be great debate about the benefits, costs and impact.

Boston 2024 has a strong plan that is aligned with the long-term economic development and transportation needs of the city and the region. Boston will benefit tremendously from the planning and the upgrades needed would vastly improve the city for the next generation.

No

Jim Boucher is a Concord resident who works in Boston

In all honesty, everyone has to admit at least some doubt and concern about Boston hosting the Olympics – and for some of us there’s enough to conclude it’s a bad idea. After all, who can believe the estimated budget of $4.5 billion dollars, when London in 2012 cost nearly $20 billion, Beijing in 2008 about $40 billion, and Athens in 2004 approximately $16 billion? Aren’t we all at least a little concerned about who will be asked to pay for the inevitable cost overruns?

If that is not enough, how should the public feel about the bid details having been hidden from view, even after the bid has been accepted by the US Olympic Committee; a bid that was neither debated nor approved by the Boston City Council, the state legislature, or the people of Massachusetts. What could possibly go wrong in this atmosphere of secrecy and lack of accountability when lucrative contracts start to be doled out?

In the past few weeks, we have all heard the arguments pro and con about hosting the Olympics, and in the next two years will hear them again and again. However, the real choice isn’t between hosting the Olympics, and not hosting them. The real choice is between hosting this multi-billion dollar, three week event and whatever else we could be doing with our time and money. It’s not hard to think of initiatives that would yield a more profound and lasting benefit, whether it’s helping small businesses, caring for our veterans, funding research, repairing our antiquated roads and bridges, or improving educational opportunities.

It’s no wonder then that the number of bidders for the Winter Olympics has steadily decreased from nine in 1995 for the ‘02 Games, to two in 2014 for the ‘22 Games. The bidders for the Summer Olympics have similarly decreased from 12 in 1997 for the 2004 Games, to three in 2013 for the ‘20 Games. Increasingly we hear of “world-class cities” like Munich, Stockholm, Oslo and Rome withdrawing their bids as an informed electorate discovers the true cost of hosting the Olympics. We should think twice before we wrap this “gold medal” around our necks.

John Laidler can be reached at laidler@globe.com.