Figure skating and Greensboro's ol' okee doke

GREENSBORO, NC -- I once worked with a guy who described gullible people as playing the old okee doke. "I don't play the ol' okee doke," he'd say if he thought someone was trying to put one over on him. We're good at playing the old okee doke here.

The News & Record reports this today on the economic impact of the coming U.S. Figure Skating Chamionships:

Previous host cities have reported $25 million in economic impact, depending on final attendance.

Have they? I cannot find such reports and you'll notice no source is cited by the N&R, although the wording is very similar to a memo from Greensboro City Manager Rashad Young (in which there is also no source cited for the claim).

While there appears to be no source of a previous city reporting $25 million in economic impact, what I do find is that amount being recycled as the promised economic impact for this event, again and again, as it moves from city to city, year after year. In the passive voice, i.e. never attributed to any person or entity, the amount just keeps resurfacing from the shadows, unattached to any study, report or empirical data.

In 2006, in Saint Louis:

"Some 125,000 spectators are expected to attend, generating an estimated $25 to $30 million dollars in visitor spending."

In 2009, in Cleveland:

"The event annually attracts more than 1,500 figure skaters, coaches and officials with a local economic impact estimated at $25 million."

In 2010, in Spokane:

"[L]ocal hotels and businesses are looking forward to cash in on a projected $25 Million windfall..."

And now, in Greensboro, those previous projections from unidentified sources have been magically transformed into reality -- from projections to reports from other host cities -- without any actual reports from any actual host cities being cited.

Okee doke.

Fortunately, the Guilford County Commissioners managed to find a little common sense last night and rejected a request from the wealthy promoter of this project to donate $26,000 in emergency medical services to the event. But it was close, 5 to 5.

Enough commissioners admirably recognized that this request could not be considered in a vacuum, that any benefits accrued to the donation would come at the expense of other county endeavors. They rightly reasoned that this donation was unnecessary and unwise. Still that did not stop other commissioners from exhibiting a remarkably astounding lack of logic.

Board Chairman Skip Alston and commissioners John Parks and Carolyn Coleman all spoke of supporting the donation in order to reap the economic benefits of the event. But that is just, in a word, and forgive me for being blunt, nonsense. The event is coming. With or without the donation, the event is coming. There is no cause and effect. It was not, as these unthinking commissioners postulated, that if the taxpayers make this donation, then the event will bring people to town. The event is coming independent of the public donation. Concluding that the County must donate to the event in order to procure its benefits is just playing the old okee doke.