We’re going for it! Even without answers?

(Published in Slovak Sport Daily)

There are topics that divide the public as well as the media. It’s not unusual for economic commentators and a sports editorial team from the same outlet to see the very same topic in completely different ways. One such topic is national-level sports infrastructure. Think of how the hockey arena in Bratislava was built, or the never-ending story of the National Football Stadium. Another current issue is the bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which would include events in the Tatras mountains. Emotions versus reason. On one side, we hear positive reactions; on the other, critics say this will be nothing more than a siphoning of funds—5 to 6 million euros directed into a bid that, given competition from Oslo or St. Moritz, can’t be expected to lead to anything more.

Readers of Sport Daily love sports, and many of them can easily imagine Slovak hockey players playing in a roaring brand-new arena at the Olympics in Poprad ten years from now. The standard pro-bid argument goes like this: international visibility for Slovakia (though how many minutes of advertising on CNN would be an alternative?), development of sports, tourism, infrastructure, and complementary value to the Polish bid. The meeting in Poprad last Thursday resulted in agreement between the local government, the Ministry of Education, the Slovak Olympic Committee, Paralympians, the hockey and skiing federations. No surprise there. Even during a period of budget consolidation, unexpected funds from “above” might still trickle down. The government doesn’t need to panic. The decision won’t have an immediate or major effect on budget deficits in the coming years. 2022 is still a long way off.

Has the decision already been made? According to Thursday’s “We’re going for it!” from Prime Minister Fico, yes. He’s expected to tell his Polish counterpart Tusk that the Slovak government will officially support the bid. But according to Finance Minister Kažimír’s Saturday statement, we can still turn the current offer down later, though we have many unanswered questions that need answers. So which is it?

No public opinion poll is needed to assert that many other societal issues, both within and outside of sports, are greater priorities. To add a pinch of demagoguery: how much of a salary raise for teachers could we afford instead of the Olympics? Let’s ask just a few other “sports” questions. Is the 2022 Olympic bid part of a broader sports reform? No. Do we have a strategy for developing national team athletes in all Olympic sports, a good funding model for elite sports? No. Can anyone quantify the infrastructure needs and how it would be used after 2022, and how much of it is a one-off expense? The local government? The federations? The Slovak Olympic Committee? So far, no one. The committee on Kukučínova Street can’t even count a majority vote for Olympic sports at their own general assembly. Is the goal to genuinely compete for the Olympics, or just to show up? If it’s the former, do we have anything like sports diplomacy beyond Barteková?

The bid preparation process is a textbook example of how not to do it. From the very beginning, there’s been no grassroots initiative from the candidate city or region, nor even a year-long public discussion moderated by the Slovak Olympic Committee. Government guarantees should be requested only after a serious, detailed public debate—ideally weighed carefully, perhaps following a local referendum. The reality? The topic of the 2022 Olympics was first brought up in October 2012 in reaction to Polish activity. The idea of a tunnel under the Tatras made headlines. Then came a Christmas lull, and three months later, a top-down decision from the prime minister.

In the government’s December document “Slovak Sport 2020,” there’s no mention whatsoever of the 2022 Winter Olympics. What fate awaits the government’s upcoming February report? The government may pass a resolution—but provide no specifics, no analysis, no numbers. Just a few vague phrases. Because for now, we’re not just missing answers. We’re still missing many of the questions.