Chicago beat out Los Angeles as the United States’ bid city for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in a vote Saturday by the United States Olympic Committee. Chicago has never played host to an Olympics, while Los Angeles has had two Games, in 1932 and 1984, the first Olympics to end with a surplus of money.
The vote, which U.S.O.C. Chairman Peter V. Ueberroth called “a very tough decision,” left Los Angeles’s representatives stunned as the Chicago contingent leaped to its feet.
The final stage of voting will be held in October 2009, when the International Olympic Committee will meet in Copenhagen to choose from five cities, which are expected to include Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Tokyo.
In the early afternoon Saturday, representatives from Chicago and Los Angeles each gave their final 40-minute presentations to the 11-member United States Olympic Committee board. Each group said it felt confident that it had offered the best package for the 2016 Olympics, emphasizing that it had the financing, the strategy and the enthusiasm to play host to the Games.
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said that his city’s pitch included a promise of a $500 million financing package from the City Council and more than $32 million from the private sector to pay for the Games. The Chicago bid also a $150 million guarantee from Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich that the state would kick in if the Games lost money.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa said his presentation included a pledge of private-sector money unprecedented in size. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill last week authorizing up to $250 million of state financing to pay for cost overruns.
U.S.O.C. officials had a list of requirements for the bid cities, including a carefully crafted financial plan and an Olympic stadium built or already approved. They also asked that the governments of the cities promise to guarantee to pay any overruns if private financing failed to pay the entire cost of the Games. Both cities seemed to meet those requirements. Chicago said it had the money for a new stadium. Los Angeles said it would use an existing stadium, the Coliseum, which would be renovated.
The U.S.O.C. approached its selection differently than it had in the past, particularly in light of the failed New York City bid for the 2012 Games. In 2005, New York City went into the I.O.C.’s final vote on those Games without an Olympic stadium after the plan for the West Side stadium had been defeated one month before.
That July, New York received only 16 of 100 votes and was dropped from the race in the second round. The I.O.C. chose London for the 2012 Olympics. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/sports/othersports/15usoc.html?hp
The vote, which U.S.O.C. Chairman Peter V. Ueberroth called “a very tough decision,” left Los Angeles’s representatives stunned as the Chicago contingent leaped to its feet.
The final stage of voting will be held in October 2009, when the International Olympic Committee will meet in Copenhagen to choose from five cities, which are expected to include Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Tokyo.
In the early afternoon Saturday, representatives from Chicago and Los Angeles each gave their final 40-minute presentations to the 11-member United States Olympic Committee board. Each group said it felt confident that it had offered the best package for the 2016 Olympics, emphasizing that it had the financing, the strategy and the enthusiasm to play host to the Games.
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said that his city’s pitch included a promise of a $500 million financing package from the City Council and more than $32 million from the private sector to pay for the Games. The Chicago bid also a $150 million guarantee from Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich that the state would kick in if the Games lost money.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa said his presentation included a pledge of private-sector money unprecedented in size. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill last week authorizing up to $250 million of state financing to pay for cost overruns.
U.S.O.C. officials had a list of requirements for the bid cities, including a carefully crafted financial plan and an Olympic stadium built or already approved. They also asked that the governments of the cities promise to guarantee to pay any overruns if private financing failed to pay the entire cost of the Games. Both cities seemed to meet those requirements. Chicago said it had the money for a new stadium. Los Angeles said it would use an existing stadium, the Coliseum, which would be renovated.
The U.S.O.C. approached its selection differently than it had in the past, particularly in light of the failed New York City bid for the 2012 Games. In 2005, New York City went into the I.O.C.’s final vote on those Games without an Olympic stadium after the plan for the West Side stadium had been defeated one month before.
That July, New York received only 16 of 100 votes and was dropped from the race in the second round. The I.O.C. chose London for the 2012 Olympics. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/sports/othersports/15usoc.html?hp
