Olympic stadium plan okayed

Residents of public housing would have to move, but Tampa officials say they won't be forgotten.

By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 27, 2001

TAMPA -- Although hundreds of poor families in Tampa would be uprooted if the Olympics come to Florida, advocates told the City Council Thursday that those now stuck in decaying public housing will benefit.

The council approved a plan to demolish Central Park Village and North Boulevard Homes to make room for a huge stadium and facilities for athletes and coaches if Tampa wins the 2012 Olympics. New housing would be built within 2 miles of the demolished units, in mixed-income areas to avoid high concentrations of poverty.

Ed Turanchik, who heads Tampa's bid for the 2012 Games, called the council's vote "absolutely historic" and said it lays the groundwork for the U.S. Olympic Committee's scouting visit here next week.

Exactly where those displaced by the Olympic village would go has not been determined, Turanchik said. Some residents would get to live in the housing built for Olympic athletes, though they would have to move out during the Games. No one would be forced out until new housing is built, and Florida 2012 would pay for the relocations, he added.

The council was not swayed by critics who say there are no assurances the poor will be taken care of.

"Where are they going to put these people?" said Ruth McNair, president of the West Riverfront Crime Watch Association. "There's a lot of unanswered questions."

Another critic, Mike Register of Tampa, said the plan would "gut the heart out of the African-American community." The mayor and the council were not being asked to give up their homes, he said, but poor people were. He also asked what would happen to the homeless population pushed out of the city during the Games.

Not to worry, said Mayor Dick Greco. Winning the games would "accelerate us getting rid of the places we're not proud of," provide a tool to revamp public housing and bring the city billions of dollars in federal money.

"Imagine what you would do with that," Greco told the council. "All the things that you've dreamed of, perhaps."

In an interview afterward, Greco said he empathized with the plight of the families who might be displaced.

"People have to have faith in government that we do understand, and no one's ever going to turn their backs," Greco said. "You don't just kick people out on the streets. We're not going to do that."

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