ABSTRACT
Between the 1990 announcement of Atlanta winning its bid to host the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games and onset of the recession in 2007, the Atlanta metropolitan area saw a larger growth rate than most other American metropolitan areas of similar size and an increase in population of Atlanta's central core. Mayor Maynard L. Jackson described challenge as scaling the "twin peaks of Mount Olympus": one peak was to stage a spectacular Olympics and the other was to use the Olympics to revitalize inner city Atlanta. The sanctioned organization for preparing and hosting the event, the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) focused its attention and funding on the Olympic Games themselves but left public improvements needed to support it to others. Georgia Power also made direct contributions to the Olympics, such as street and venue lighting, temporary power supplies, and the initiation of the Operation Legacy economic development partnership between the company and some of the region's largest employers.
