From: www.boston.com

A prominent Boston Olympics critic said he was offered a consulting gig from Olympic organizing committee Boston 2024, drawing an immediate denial from the group.

Smith College professor Andrew Zimbalist told WGBH’s “Boston Public Radio” that shortly after new chairman Steve Pagliuca took over as the leader of Boston 2024 a few weeks ago, Pagliuca offered him a consulting gig and a role on Boston 2024’s executive committee. Zimbalist said he turned down the offer.

Boston 2024 COO Erin Murphy said Pagliuca called Zimbalist, but that the professor mischaracterized the conversation on the radio.

“Mr. Zimbalist was never offered a job period, and his claim is completely false,” she said. “After being named chair, Steve reached out to a number of people to solicit their opinions including Mr. Zimbalist. During that conversation, Steve made it clear he was interested only in voluntary feedback with the goal to ensure that Boston 2024 conducted a full review of the benefits and risks of hosting the Olympic games.”

Zimbalist has been loudly skeptical of Boston 2024 since the city won the U.S. bid for the 2024 Olympics in January. The Smith College professor is regarded as a worldwide expert on the economics of the Olympics and the World Cup. For the most part, he says, the supposed benefits are overstated. It’s an argument he made in his recently released book, Circus Maximus, and a perspective he’s contributed in various media appearances about Boston’s bid.

Zimbalist said he spoke with Pagliuca for more than 30 minutes about three weeks ago. In an interview with Boston.com, he said he repeatedly declined to consult for the group, though he said he told Pagliuca he would be willing to take a look if plans or ideas were brought to his office. He also said pay was not explicitly discussed.

Zimbalist told Boston Public Radio that he felt as though Pagliuca called him because he wanted to make it look like he could “bring me over to his side. … He could say, ‘Look, even Andy Zimbalist has been convinced we’re on the right track.’”

Prior to Pagliuca taking the lead of the bidding group, former Boston 2024 chairman John Fish had spoken somewhat dismissively about Zimbalist’s work, saying at a February meeting: “Professor Zimbalist from Smith College, he has made a career out of writing books, publishing articles about the hosting of large athletic events throughout the world. And his conclusions have been disputed by many, many people.”

Zimbalist’s book opens with an anecdote in which he says he was contacted to serve on a state committee to study the feasibility of Boston hosting the Olympics back in 2013 when the bidding idea was still new. But he was never named to the committee.

Is Zimbalist the only Olympics critic to have been contacted by Boston 2024? Victor Matheson, a professor who has done similar research for Holy Cross, said he has never been approached about a position with the group.

Meanwhile, Chris Dempsey, the co-chair of the opposition group No Boston Olympics, told Boston.com “I don’t have a comment on that” when asked whether he has ever been offered a job with the bidding group. One of his two co-chairs, Liam Kerr, said “no comment” when contacted, while the other, Kelley Gossett, did not immediately respond to the question. Boston 2024 did not immediately address the question, either.

No Boston Olympics has met with Boston 2024 leaders multiple times.