Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis explains why he thinks Florida would be a good host for the Olympics if Tokyo, Japan, gave up being the host city.
The idea of Florida hosting the postponed Summer Olympics is increasingly possible after a state official met with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday.
Growing concerns over whether the scheduled host city of Tokyo could host the event this summer prompted Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis to offer the State of the Sun as a backup, he told FOX Business Network “Cavuto: Coast to Coast “.
“I had a great visit to the IOC,” said Patronis, adding that Olympic officials “highlighted the value that Florida brings to the table – the talent, the resources, the funding we offer.”
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“I know that the Olympics want Japan,” he added. “I’m just concerned that Japan doesn’t want the Olympics.”
Concerns are mounting over the possibility of hosting the Summer Games after being postponed a year ago due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, organizers have been dealing with growing budget and health concerns, including an increase in coronavirus cases in Japan.
According to The Wall Street Journal, a Japanese official is asking US President Biden to help rescue the Tokyo Games. The IOC reiterated its commitment to holding the Olympics in Japan during a news conference on Wednesday.
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“The Olympics are in a difficult position – 80% of Japanese people do not want the games to go ahead,” said Patronis, referring to two recent polls, reported by The Associated Press.
Patronis also highlighted Florida’s success in hosting events like the NBA 2020 Playoffs in a bubble setting at Walt Disney World, as well as the opening of major theme parks.
“They are doing it safely,” he said. “We served 131 million tourists last year. This is more than the whole of Japan combined. “
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Patronis recalled IOC President Thomas Bach, saying that the Games are an event for television, not for the viewer. However, the Olympics still cost host cities a significant amount of money in infrastructure.
“The Olympics are not an event to look at lightly,” said Patronis. “It costs billions of dollars to assemble them.”
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He added that there has been a great deal of support for Florida to host the Games.
“The talent is here, the networks are here, the audience is here”.