It will be four years until the Summer Games return, next time on American soil in Los Angeles. That inspired a question on the Phoenix Reddit page.
“Y’all think Phoenix will be able to host the Olympics?” u/Elliot6888 wrote last week, suggesting a late fall Olympics in Arizona might avoid the “triple digits here in July.”
Phoenix Reddit answered with confusion, dismissal and pessimism. While the Valley does play host to plenty of major sporting events, most users shut down that question fast, citing the city’s lagging infrastructure, the cost of hosting the Games and, of course, the heat.
“No. Drive west to L.A. in four years,” u/awmaleg suggested. “That’s as close as we’re getting.”
“Exactly!” u/ChodaRagu added. “We ain’t hosting squat.”
One user suggested that the LA28 games might host some events in Phoenix. “It’s more possible to me that some events are held in Phoenix for LA,” u/Atlastitok wrote. “Some arenas this year were a distance from the main hub.”
But a six-hour, 300-mile distance? Not so sure.
And anyway, plenty of users wouldn’t want it any closer than that.
“No thanks. L.A. is close enough, let them deal with it,” u/phxbimmer wrote. “It’s a shitshow for any place that hosts it and most cities lose money doing it.”
“You paying?” u/JohnDough3544 added.
Other users noted that Phoenix lacks the necessary public transportation for its own growing population — “Phoenix can’t host Phoenix,” u/gamecat89 wrote — much less enough to accommodate such an intense weeks-long crush of tourists.
“Not enough transit. We can use it as an excuse to build out more infrastructure, which would be cool, but I’ve heard that results for other cities doing that is mixed,” u/HideNZeke wrote. “Plus, dear God somebody pray for Sedona when most of that crowd will probably want to sneak out there for one of the days.”
But if the allure of hosting the Olympics could convince Phoenix to hand Valley Metro “a surplus of funds to expand services,” u/Emergency-Director23 wrote, “I’ll take it.”
The Valley hardly lacks world-class sports facilities, and State Farm Stadium has hosted Super Bowls and Final Fours. But as one Reddit user wrote, "An opening and closing ceremony in Glendale?"
Other Reddit users couldn’t get past the “summer” in “Summer Olympics.”
“Hell no,” u/WeAreBlackAndGold wrote. “No one wants to come here in the summer.”
u/Beyond_Re-Animator wrote, “Olympics? In August? In Phoenix!”
“No, way way too hot and not a compelling destination,” u/Fine-Hedgehog9172 wrote. "Let’s be honest, an open and closing ceremony in Glendale? Would people from around the world be excited to come to Phoenix? In July?”
But the idea of Phoenix hosting the Olympics might be (slightly) more realistic than Reddit believes. The Olympics schedule is flexible. The 2000 Sydney Olympics didn’t begin until mid-September because the city, which is located in the Southern Hemisphere, was in the middle of its winter. Arizona's brutal summers can be waited out.
The Valley also is a seasoned host of major sporting events, having been the setting for four Super Bowls, five NCAA football title games and two Final Fours. As the spring training home for half the teams in Major League Baseball, the Valley is very used to welcoming throngs of visitors over an extended period of time.
On top of that, Phoenix was one of 35 American cities encouraged to bid for the 2024 Olympics, which ultimately were awarded to Paris.
But if Phoenix ever does host an Olympics, it won’t be any time soon. Host cities have been named for the Summer and Winter Olympics for the next 10 years. If heat is an impediment, it’ll likely only be warmer — and for longer — whenever the Valley would get a chance on the international stage.
So, Phoenicians looking to experience the Olympics should prep for a road trip. They could travel 300 miles west in 2028 for L.A.’s Summer Games or 700 miles north to Salt Lake City for the 2034 Winter Games. It might be as close as the Games ever get to home.
What do you think? Could Phoenix host an Olympics one day?
