Daley taps Obama pal Nesbitt for Olympic 2016 board

Mayor Daley is counting on President Obama to use his worldwide celebrity to carry Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid over the goal line.

That’s why it makes sense to give the president some skin in the game — by putting one of his closest friends on the Chicago 2016 board of directors.

Marty Nesbitt, who served as national treasurer for the Obama campaign, replaces Valerie Jarrett, who stepped down from the Chicago 2016 board to accept a top job in the White House.

“I don’t think me on the board adds anything to the president’s enthusiasm. He’s been a supporter of having the Olympics in Chicago from the very beginning. He’s eager to be helpful in any way he can,” Nesbitt said Tuesday.

He added, “I love Chicago. I’m eager to have its diversity, its fellowship and its architecture on display for the rest of the world. Having the rest of the world know Chicago as we know it has got to be good for the city. There can be a lasting economic impact.”

Although the City Council has re-affirmed a $500 million guarantee against operating losses at the 2016 Summer Games, Nesbitt said he’s confident Chicago taxpayers will not be left holding the bag.

“There’s sort of a history of U.S. cities pulling off these Olympic events in a way that doesn’t cost taxpayers any money,” he said.

“We have a decent plan in place that minimizes risk. I don’t think there’s any risk to taxpayers at all.”

Nesbitt was one of the South Side pals who accompanied Obama on the campaign trail and played basketball with him on Election Day. Nesbitt and Jarrett also accompanied the Obamas on a December trip to Hawaii.

When the first family returned to Chicago for President’s Day, Obama walked to Nesbitt’s house a few blocks from his own to have dinner as the president’s daughters and the Nesbitt children played.

Nesbitt is president and CEO of The Parking Spot, a company that owns and operates off-airport parking facilities. Before founding the company, he served as vice president of the Pritzker Realty Group, which manages the real estate interests for Chicago’s billionaire Pritzker family.

He also serves as board chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority and a board member of the University of Chicago Lab School, where Sasha and Malia Obama were students.

In late November, Daley introduced a 75-second video of then President-elect Obama making a personal appeal for his hometown during a presentation to the general assembly of the European Olympic Committees in Istanbul, Turkey.

An International Olympic Committee Evaluation Commission will travel to Chicago April 2-8 to discuss the city’s bid book and conduct site visits of proposed Olympic venues.

On Oct. 2, the IOC will meet in Copenhagen to choose among four finalists: Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

Barring an unforeseen crisis or scheduling conflict, Obama is expected to be in Copenhagen to help Chicago seal the deal.

“You can bring your Olympics [only] so far,” Daley told reporters on the day after the election.

“Your prime minister [or] your president has to then carry the football” over the goal line.