Olympics boss: Chicago in 3rd or 4th place

Chicago stands in “third or fourth place” in the race for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games and it’ll take Chicago-style politicking—including more involvement by the private sector--to turn that around, the chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee said Thursday.

Peter Ueberroth stressed that he’s not being critical of Chicago 2016. He’s simply stating the “irrefutable facts” as he sees them—and has delivered the same message directly to Mayor Daley.

Rio de Janiero is the frontrunner on the strength of its performance in hosting a Pan American Games attended by “at least 60 of the voters” from the International Olympic Committee. Madrid is No. 2 because of a strong 2012 bid that nearly topped London. And Tokyo is third because Japan has “great leadership” and is “putting much more in the way of assets and efforts toward their bid,” he said.

“We’re somewhere between third and fourth…And that’s not a criticism. It’s a reality because, if you’re running in a race, you can kind of see where the other runners are,” Ueberroth told local reporters at the Chicago Hilton and Towers.

“If somebody wants to interpret that I’m trying to get people not to be complacent—it’s not that at all. I want to state the facts and those facts are pretty irrefutable...Chicago just didn’t have the Pan Am Games. They hadn’t [bid] four years earlier….What does Chicago have to say for it? Chicago has to say who it is. We have to show the world who we are.”

To come from behind in the Olympic sweepstakes, Ueberroth said Chicago 2016 needs to spend as much time developing person-to-person relationships with IOC members as it is on venue plans and logistics.

And companies that do business in countries with IOC members need to get more involved in the politicking, in part, because they’re free to lobby in ways that Chicago 2016 members cannot.

“It’s easy to work on logistical plans because they’re right here. I can go look at the traffic flow and let’s talk about it. But, let’s also talk about what’s happening politically…You have to care about and develop real friendships globally if you’re gonna be successful in the Olympic movement,” he said.

Pressed to describe what Chicago 2016 needs to do differently over the next two years, Ueberroth said, “It needs to have an international outreach…continuing the leadership of the mayor—I consider that its best factor so far. The private sector needs to reach out with its skills and ability” to IOC members.

In a statement, Daley issued a statement that said, “We are competing against a lot of great cities around the world and the next couple of years will be a challenge for all of us.”

Chicago 2016 spokesman Patrick Sandusky took Ueberroth’s assessment in stride, telling reporters, “He’s obviously behind our bid and wants us to win.”

Sandusky stressed that Chicago 2016 Chairman Pat Ryan and others have traveled to “a number of cities” that have hosted and bid for the Olympic Games, including Rio and Osaka. But, the “real international focus” will begin in June, 2008, when the IOC unveils its short-list and Chicago, hopefully, becomes a “candidate city.”

“We’ll be moving on from that point forward…with more of a dedicated international campaign for the bid,” he said.

As for Ueberroth’s claim that Chicago business leaders need to get more involved, Sandusky said the private sector has offered “unbelievable support” in fundraising and donating staff support.

“We’ll continue to activate the private sector in other ways ... We have great companies and civil leaders willing to help,” he said.

Seven cities are vying to host the 2016 Summer Games. In addition to Rio, Madrid and Tokyo, the field includes: Doha, Qatar; Prague and Baku, Azerbaijan.

Sixty votes are needed to win. The final decision is two years away.

Ueberroth said the World Boxing Championships Oct. 23-to-Nov. 3 at the University of Illinois at Chicago give Chicago an opportunity to move up in the race.

As for logistics, the USOC chairman insisted that the CTA’s financial crisis—and the possibility of fare hikes and service cuts without a Springfield bailout—would have no impact on Chicago’s chances.

“Any Olympic Games can make the adjustments in its transportation system for a three-week period in order to accommodate the world athletes. There are bigger conventions that come to this town,” he said.