Coeur d’Alene is a perfect spot to host the Olympics, according to South Korea

Coeur d’Alene is a perfect spot to host the Olympics, at least according to South Korea.

The Washington Post reported last week that, like most Olympic cities, PyeongChang talks itself up. But, unlike in previous Olympics the South Korean city is arguing that its the perfect elevation. 700 meters (2,300 feet).

In fact, the South Korean city’s slogan is “Happy 700.” According to its tourism website 700 meters is “the best altitude for human biorhythm.”

Well, after an extensive and exhaustive search by the Washington Post’s map geniuses it was discovered that Coeur d’Alene Idaho is pretty dang close to the “Happy 700.” Elevation? 667 meters, or 2,188 feet.

Of course, there are other cities in the U.S. that meet the elevation criteria. But none of them are a.) near mountains that have the requisite vertical required for the winter Olympics nor b.) cold enough.

Coeur d’Alene fits both categories (followed by runner-up Caldwell).

The Post reports:

“That leaves the two Idaho contenders, Caldwell and Coeur d’Alene. Caldwell, which is about 400 miles south in the state’s wine region, has a pretty darn impressive winter light display. And Bogus Basin ski area, which is about 45 miles away, is large enough to host kids’ racing events.

Coeur d’Alene lies by a glacier-carved lake, has plenty of cross-country ski trails and is the birthplace of Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Sage Kotsenburg. Nearby Silver Mountain is a large, if not quite Olympic-caliber, ski resort, and Schweitzer Mountain ski area is 60 miles to the north. What put CDA over the top is its predicted temperature of 31 degrees on Feb. 9, which matches PyeongChang’s forecast exactly.”

Whether or not Coeur d’Alene has any reasonable chance at hosting the Olympics is up for debate. But, before the City Elders toss in an application, they might want to consider the economic risks.

The median cost overrun for modern Olympic games is 90 percent, FiveThirtyEight reported in 2016.

From FiveThirtyEight:

“The modern Olympic Games, in other words, are wildly expensive – and wildly more so than host cities expect when they make their bids.”