Chicago among top four finalists for 2016 Olympics
Chicago made the first cut today in its bid to host the 2016 Olympics, though a report card raised questions about adequate government support and transportation — and suggested that venue construction costs as presented are too low.
An International Olympic Committee evaluation report assessing the technical merits of each bid ranked Tokyo with the top overall marks, followed closely by Madrid. Chicago and Doha were tied for third, with Rio fourth.
(AP)
Doha, a Persian Gulf nation, was not named as a finalist, however.
The final decision on whether Chicago will be the site of the Summer Games will be announced in October of 2009.
“The real competition begins [now]. This is like, we left the primary. We’re going into the general election,’’ Mayor Daley said in a telephone interview from Athens.
“It’s a good day for Chicago,’’ added Chicago 2016 chairman Pat Ryan.
Chicago officials say that the rankings, based on the nuts-and-bolts portion of each city’s bid, does not necessarily indicate that the local team is in third place. Rather, making the cut is a sort of seal of approval that all of the finalists are eligible bachelors.
Now, it’s a matter of the entire IOC voting group, with a little over 100 members, picking the beau that seems best.
For the next 16 months, Chicago 2016 officials will, at events around the world, press their case to IOC voters that the city deserves to play host to the games — an effort that would require $900 million in construction here.
U.S. Olympic Committee vice president Bob Ctvrtlik likened today’s round to his efforts as a gold medalist volleyball player. “We wanted to make it out of pool play. Then the real race begins,’’ Ctvrtlik said.
Chicago 2016 last year secured a $500 million city guarantee if revenues fall short but a state promise for $150 million has not materialized.
In the evaluation, the IOC said “with regard to the government guarantee, the wording provided does not fully conform to the IOC required text.’’ Specific problems with the Chicago bid were not immediately disclosed but, unlike other nations, the federal government in the U.S. does not guarantee Olympic games.
The IOC also questioned projected transportation listed by Chicago 2016 and said while Lake Shore Drive is valuable, the proposed venues are not well served by rail lines or stations.
And it questioned projected construction costs for venues as presented by Chicago 2016. “Construction budgets appear low and may warrant review,’’ evaluators wrote.
“Air quality remains a challenge, with occurrences of high levels of pollution,’’ they wrote.
Noting that the cities ranked No. 1 in the technical contest — which includes such areas as venue plans, hotel accommodations and transportation—do not always win the final round right to host the games, Chicago bid officials and outside experts said the “real race” places more emphasis on politicking.
“The ultimate vote comes down to emotion, to trust, to personalities, to the ability to sell your city,’’ said Ctvrtlik. “The IOC membership takes into [account] political situations, the impact of a city on the Olympic movement and brand.”
The Chicago bid group now needs to cajole IOC members, representing various sports organizations, into giving the city the nod by convincing them that a Summer Games here would provide the attention and support they crave.
Chicago officials will be able to lobby IOC members at international sporting events and about a half dozen sports organization council meetings, said Ctvrtlik. An IOC evaluation committee will visit Chicago in the spring of 2009 to eyeball the proposed venue sites. The Chicago bid group will pitch IOC members in the summer of 2009 at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland and in the fall in Copenhagen, Denmark before the final vote.
Chicago is a relative novice in the field of amateur international athletics — though it has hired experienced guns like Chicago 2016’s Doug Arnot, who was a high-ranking official at the Atlanta and Salt Lake Games.
“Our competition, in some senses, has had a significant head start,’’ said Arnot, Chicago’s director of sports and operations.
Madrid vied for the 2012 games that went to London. Rio de Janeiro hosted the Pan American Games last summer.
“That ... certainly gave them a head start in terms of the relationships of the IOC,’’ said Arnot. IOC members “have already spent a great deal of time in their cities and working with their committees.”
Still, Ctvrtlik said he detects a “feeling among IOC members is that 2016 would be a good time for an Olympics in the Americas, whether North or South America.”
Chicago 2016 officials have said it has about half of the $49 million in privately raised funds it will need to compete internationally. The $900 million venue tag does not include $1.1 billion for an Olympic Village near McCormick, which Ryan has said will be covered by private developers.
Organizers say the venue construction costs, plus a still unannounced operations bill, will be covered by Games revenues of $2.5 billion and television contracts that some experts believe could reach $1 billion.
If there are shortfalls, city taxpayers could be on the hook for $500 million under the guarantee approved last year by the City Council. Gov. Blagojevich promised a similar taxpayer-backed $150 million guarantee but that has yet to be passed by the Legislature.
Also eliminated from the race were Prague, Czech Republic, and Baku, Azerbaijan.