What Happens to Olympic Stadiums After the Games? - Quartz

Quartz explores the “After Life” of some of the venues used in the four most recent Olympics.

What happens to Olympic venues, when the games are over? 

ATHENS 2004

The old baseball stadium at the Olympic complex, 

is now a shelter for almost 1000 refugees.

LONDON 2012

Loughborough University built a new campus, 

within the Olympic park.

BEIJING 2008

The Water Cube, used for Olympic swimming competitions, 

is now a Water Park !!

(And sometimes hosts events like fashion shows)

SYDNEY 2000

Sydney Olympic Park now hosts hundreds of events each year, 

including the annual Royal Easter Show, an Agricultural fair.

But, many Olympic venues end up abandoned?!

ATHENS 2004

Beach volleyball venue

BEIJING 2008

Beach volleyball venue

ATHENS 2004

Kayaking venue

ATHENS 2004

Swimming venue

The cost to maintain a Olympic venues is often, 

far higher than the revenue they can generate.

For example, in 2011, of all the former Beijing Olympic venues, 

the Water Cube was considered relatively successful. 

And, it still lost more than a million dollars.

And yet, the Olympics keep getting bigger and bigger.

The first modern Olympics, in Athens in 1896, 

had just seven venues?!

This year, Brazil has 32!!

Some of them are just temporary or re-purposed.

But, 10 of them newly-built, and permanent!