2014 Olympics: Is Sochi, Russia Ready for Winter Games?

The 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia was always going to be a huge undertaking. That's what happens when you decide to build the necessary winter facilities in an area traditionally known as a summer resort, after all.

But thus far, the project has brought its share of controversies, expenditures and even potential dangers, leading to one obvious—and frightening—question:

Is Sochi ready and able to host the 2014 Games?

It's a huge question for a small city that's basically building an Olympic park from scratch and redefining the infrastructure of the city itself in the process. $8.5 billion has already been allocated as the budget for the project, and there have been fears that number will continue to rise.

And then there was the terrorism threat that popped up earlier this year. From Kirit Radia of ABC News:

"

Ten weapons caches, which included anti-aircraft missiles capable of taking down low-flying planes, were uncovered in Abkhazia, one of the breakaway regions that Russia defended in a brief war with Georgia in 2008, according to the Interfax news agency.

The report quotes a spokesman for the Russian National Anti-Terrorist Committee as saying that the Federal Security Service (the FSB, which replaced the KGB), has determined that terrorists planned to move the weapons to Sochi in the next two years with the intention of staging an attack during the Olympic games on the Black Sea coast.

"

We're not talking about some zealot strapping a bomb to him or herself here—we're talking about an straight-up attack. That's scary.

It's also a reality of any event like the Olympics no matter where the city, which should be kept in mind. Security has to be as tight as possible when staging a global event.

There have been other issues as well. Human Rights Watch has issued several complaints about the city's preparations. Those issue are summarized below (via Trust.org):

• Exploitation of some migrant workers working on Olympic sites and other construction projects;
• Forced evictions and illegal land expropriations of some residents relocated to make way for Olympic venues and infrastructure;
• Harassment and intimidation of journalists and activists who have sought to report on or protest Olympics-related concerns.

It is one of the dark truths of events like the Olympics or World Cup that the host nation ultimately suffers from hosting the event rather than thriving. Infrastructures have to be updated, budgets are taxing and impact the country's economy and citizens can be displaced as new structures are built.

It is the average citizen who generally suffers. It's inconvenient to consider those folks while we enjoy the events, but all is not fun and games.

Still, it seems likely Sochi will be ready to go come 2014. Any issues or insufficient facilities would be a major black eye for Russia, something the country won't allow to happen.

All should go as planned, even if the path is rocky along the way.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are money like the transfer window.