Me at the Toyota Arena

CZECH-ING INTO PRAGUE'S OLYMPIC BID

From the moment I arrived at my connecting gate at Atlanta International Airport to head to Prague, Czech Republic, I observed an eerie hush throughout the area. Usually with silence comes stares, but I did not connect with any penetrating sets of invading eyes. For even the slightest chatter, that was reduced to the rubbles of whispers. This scene featured a simple kind of people – plain-colored shirts with blue jeans; no glitters of pretentious jewelry; electronics ghostly, books aplenty. It was like a century ago had been frozen in time and then thawed today. I was even hesitant to use my cell phone; I wondered the reaction if I did. I perceived that these Czechs felt displaced and were uncomfortable expressing themselves authentically in a foreign setting. So I just sat there silently like everyone else and read some magazines before I boarded my plane.

Two weeks have past living in Prague and I'm still conscious of my voice level waiting at my departing gate about to head home. But while Czechs seem to be extremely shy and quiet – in fact, a lot of them prefer being solo when commuting and walking through the streets – there is nothing reserved about the city features of Prague. Since communist rule shattered in the Czech Republic in 1989, you can definitely sense the country's capital has filtered more finances into its tourist infrastructure. In the most populated congregation in town, around Wenceslas Square and Old Town Square, there are a myriad of casinos, modern hotel establishments and tons of outdoor eateries. Prague could very well become the next Vienna, where I visited last weekend. Vienna's central gathering area is mapped out similar to Prague's, but Austria's capital is aesthetically more modern and drives a wealthier clientele. For Prague, the conversion to the EURO would greatly benefit its prestige (more on this later).

What else could catapult Prague into greater worldwide acclaim? How about an historic proposal that will lay out the city's plans for hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics (Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo are the other leading bidders). But does Prague, an attractive city but not one of outstanding sports lore, have a realistic shot at becoming a future temporary home of the Olympic Games? My assignment for a study abroad sports tourism course at NYU has been to figure that out. Here's my assessment:

1) First of all, Prague's airport is much too small to handle the incoming mass hoards of Olympic participants and visitors. Let's face it: Prague's population is tiny compared to most Olympic-bidding cities (roughly 1.5 million residents). When I arrived on a Sunday morning, only several other planes landed around the same time mine did, but it took me about an hour to get my passport stamped. Prague needs to expand its airport (the surrounding land is there to do it) and accept more international flights and carriers. Right now, only one airline flies direct to Prague from New York City: Czech Airlines (CZA), hardly a household name. Speaking of airlines, when our group visited the Corinthia Towers (Prague's No. 1 hotel for business travelers), there was an aviation conference going on for air traffic controllers. I asked our tour leader, who was a hotel sales representative, how many airline partnerships the hotel had that offered packaged flight and hotel deals for guests. He said one and, surprisingly, it wasn't Czech Airlines but rather Korean Airlines. (Ironically, a classmate and I met a Korean Airlines pilot at one of the casinos.) The Corinthia is the same hotel that has the only partnership with the Czech national ice hockey team. In a prestigious class like that, the Corinthia should be beckoning for more RFPs by marketing its business-to-business amenities.

2) Even if Prague demonstrates it's strategically ready for the Olympics, some of its residents could demolish that dream. At this early stage in the bidding process, about half of them are opposed to the city's potential hosting. In a survey conducted by the Praha Olympijska (Olympic Prague) company, nearly two-fifths of Czechs (38%) said “no.” The methodology for the survey included 2,000 respondents, in which 88% knew that Prague was interested in becoming a host city but half of them considered the organization of the Olympics a challenge. Most locals I spoke with casually felt indifferent about Prague's Olympic bid (some didn't even know about it) and weren't too optimistic the city would be elected the opportunity to host. On a more positive note, Tomas Petera, head of Praha Olympijska, said the Czech Republic is a safe country (which it seems; walking around alone at night seems to pose no threat) with a sufficient capacity for Olympic visitors, while its disadvantage is the lack of relevant experience. Prague's only major sporting event was the 2004 Ice Hockey World Championship held at the Sazka Arena (Prague's most modern sports facility built in 2004).

3) Prague's sports marketing and advertising needs to become more visible and spread out throughout the city. When I asked our tour guide of the Sazka Arena about the extent of the venue's promotion for its events in the heart of the city, she said “hardly any”; rather the promoter for the event handled that (similar to how marquee boxing fights are marketed, especially in Las Vegas). Bottom line is: Prague needs to get its citizens and tourists more excited and interested in its local sports scene. During an outdoor basketball tournament in Wenceslas Square, which resembled a "Hoop It Up" setting, there were just a few street marketers at the sign-in booth and not even a DJ or MC was present; only hip-hop music was played to draw people in from afar. The execution was a bit amateurish in my opinion. On another day in the same location, a high-jumping event was being set up, but hardly any passersby hung around the area to see what was in store. Instead the distractive magnets of the side stores and cafes drew people in.

4) The competitive spirit of sports in Prague is diminished by the city's most visible advertising – from transportation vehicles to roadside billboards. What do I mean by that? The majority of sports images used in advertising are represented recreationally through the promotion of technology products. For example, in Samsung's current citywide ad campaign communicating connectivity, the company presents a man looking at a picture of a soccer ball on his cell phone. In another advertisement for VisitCyprus.com promoting fun and leisure, it shows a woman lying on a beach watching a couple of kids play soccer. There are no five-story-high ads featuring any Sparta players (Sparta is Prague's most beloved soccer club team) or future sporting events at the Sazka Arena. In Prague, recreation is a big play. In fact, a Czech travel agency called Fun In Prague developed an area on an island with a large assortment of sport and relaxation activities, including paintball, range shooting, quad biking, go-karting, buggies, horseback riding, archery (in the winter months, there's also quad biking in the snow, skiing, snowboarding and a bobsleigh track).

5) The Czech Republic first needs to convert to the EURO before Prague can be even considered for an Olympic bid. The local word is that won't happen until 2009. But once it does, Prague will not be a footnote anymore in Olympic bidding competition; thus a major obstacle crossing with the IOC and world leaders.


Overall, sports seems to take a backseat here. Sporting events are secluded within Prague's beautiful facade (all sporting complexes are located on the outskirts of Prague). Individual fitness remains to be seen publicly (I never bumped into a single runner on the streets, but locals did mention that most exercise was done outside of Prague in neighboring parks). Sports reading is practically nonexistent (I saw only one person glancing at a sports section in a newspaper). It's hard to even pick up sports talk in places of mass transit because Czechs, for the most part, keep to themselves.

I finally found some signs of sports fan life unexpectedly one day after my classmates and I hustled into a bar when it started pouring. We were trying to find the Toyota Arena (the main soccer stadium in the city where Sparta was playing that night), but we got pretty lost even though we all agreed to keep trying. But the adrenaline of running through the rain and then stumbling upon the bar, which happened to be airing a delay of the game, quickly erased any disappointment we felt. I turned to one of my buddies while dripping wet and said, "Well, at least we're able to catch some of the game." Immediately a lady who was watching turned around to me and blurted out in her Czech accent, thinking I had said some game, "This is not just SOME game! This is Sparta versus Slavia! SOME game he says [while turning to her friend]!" As I found out rather quickly by getting repeatedly grilled by the fan, Sparta vs. Slavia (another club division in Prague) was like Mets vs. Yankees (Slavia = Mets, Sparta = Yankees as Sparta scores more popularity points in the city). Eventually she and I were chatting about the game, and I learned that Sparta vs. Slavia usually packed about 20,000 fans, much more than other Sparta home games at the Toyota Arena. She had been at the game earlier that we missed, but she was glued to the TV and was still decked out in Sparta gear. She was so ecstatic that she turned on her video camera to show me the post-game celebration after Sparta won 5-0. Fans were jumping the handrail guarding the field, and following that I had the privilege of watching her and boyfriend roll around in the muddy field together. It just goes to show you the kind of turn-on soccer is in many countries outside the U.S.

This bar experience made me realize that if there is such a rivalry like Sparta vs. Slavia, why can't the city showcase the teams' histories and their rivalry in a sports museum? The museum could also celebrate well-known athletes who came from or competed in Prague and the Czech Republic. There are quite a few noteworthy names, such as former tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Ivan Lendl as well as future NHL Hall of Famers Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek.

Reflecting on what ended up being a cheaper visit than I imagined (to give you some perspective, a beer was 35 Czech crowns, which is roughly $1.50), I'm not so sure that offering the NYU course in Prague was the best direction, especially because the syllabus was geared heavily to the Olympics. And that is by far the truest definition of sports tourism. London, Torino or even Beijing would have been more beneficial for us to experience and learn about something more tangible to an actual Olympics – either in its planning or recently past execution stage. The city is, quite frankly, not prepared for the 2016 Olympics.

But there is definitely a sense of long-term optimism and excitement in the city about hosting an Olympics. The building blocks are here. In that sense, I was glad Prague was my temporary home for two weeks as I observed the challenges that face the city's Olympic selection while getting a sneak peak of what could be. My bet is Prague will be opening the 2024 Olympic ceremonies.