Delaying the 2020 Summer Olympics a year was already going to cost the Tokyo organizers billions of dollars, but now the Tokyo Olympics will lose even more, as spectators will not be allowed to attend the games.
It was already projected the Tokyo Olympics would lose $3 billion, following the delay, due to the COVID pandemic, and now, it was announced the Tokyo Olympics will not host any spectators following another COVID-19 outbreak and a fourth state-of-emergency declaration.
The Japanese Olympics Committee has decided no fans, foreign or domestic, will be allowed to attend.
The opening ceremony is set to take place on July 23, and the Olympic games will run through the closing ceremony on Aug. 8. By the way, don’t get confused, this year’s version is still being called the 2020 Summer Olympics, and the next Winter Olympics will be here before you know it. The Beijing Winter Olympics will be held Feb. 14 – 20, 2022.
Japan’s economy and income from foreign visitors takes another hit. The number of foreigners visiting Japan dropped from 31.9 million tourists, contributing $44 billion in revenue in 2019, to 4.1 million visitors last year.
Not allowing fans to attend the Olympics could cost Japan a projected $830 million in ticket revenue.
Sponsors like camera maker Canon announced plans to pull their promotion booths from the event. Other sponsors have scaled back entertainment plans for clients.
According to a Reuters report, around $3 billion was spent by roughly 60 Japanese companies for original sponsorship rights, and another $200 million was spent for contract extensions after the games were delayed.
The Olympics will be broadcast over the NBCUniversal family of networks, and the company believes this year could be its most profitable Olympics ever. As long as folks won’t be allowed to attend in person, they may be right.
Between 2014 and 2032, NBCUniversal will pay a total of $12.5 billion for U.S. broadcasting rights.
TU BACK TO FULL CAPACITY
The University of Tulsa Department of Athletics announced recently it is planning to return to full capacity at H.A. Chapman Stadium for the 2021 football season.
All of Tulsa’s sports venues will operate at full capacity in the upcoming 2021-22 athletic year. In addition to Chapman Stadium, it includes the Donald W. Reynolds Center, Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium, Michael D. Case Tennis Center and the Collins Family Softball Complex.
“After experiencing a remarkable year of competition without the ability to share with many of our loyal and passionate Hurricane fans, it gives me great satisfaction to welcome our fans back to games this year,” said Director of Athletics Rick Dickson. “We appreciate the understanding that fans had as we navigated the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 15 months. We will operate our venues safely and continue to keep apprised of any new developments per state and local guidelines.”
Tulsa football kicks off the Labor Day Holiday with a Thursday night game (Sept. 2) against UC Davis and will play its second of two non-conference games against Arkansas State on Saturday, Sept. 25. American Athletic Conference home games are slated with Houston (Oct. 1), Memphis (Oct. 9), Navy (Oct. 29) and Temple (Nov. 20).