[sentinel]

I've lived here nearly all my life (Chicago-chicagoland) and I've never once had a delay traveling out of O'Hare (or Midway for the matter) considering that I've traveled out of one of these two airports at least 3-7 times a year. I don't know where these delay issues or the notoriety about the "O'hare delays" comes from.

[dktshb]

I'm sure that if LA got the Olympics, the train would be connected to LAX by 2016. Maybe some LA people can chime about the other airports in the area. What are the possibilities for connecting Burbank and John Wayne to LA via train? Am I missing an LA-area airport by the way?

.

Yep, you're missing Long Beach and Ontario airports.

[bnk]

The early design of the the chicago flag rendering, post 2016.

http://www.chicagoist.com/attachments/chicago_benjy/2007_04_news_5star_chicago.jpg




I kind of like it better than the current one, but the blue could be lightened a litte bit more.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Municipal_Flag_of_Chicago.svg/300px-

[F1 Tommy]

Ohare does get more ATC delays than LAX because they have alot more
traffic.No airline has a major hub at LAX.2 trunk airlines have major hubs at ORD.That is a major weakness of LAX,although they do have several mini
airline hubs.LAX also gets alot of morning FOG delays just like SFO.
For the life of me I cant figure out why ORD gets ATC delays due to
15kts cross winds when airports like DFW with 25kts crosswinds
get none??And DFW has mainly east/west runways,so crosswinds
should effect them more.ATC delays are worse at ORD now than it was back in the 1990s.

[DJM19]

Not really a weakness for LAX though. It has the most destination and origin flights, so obviously going and coming is not an issue.

[Steely Dan]

guys, both cities have more than adequate airport facilities to handle the olympics. neither LA nor chicago is going to win/lose the bid on the strength/weakness of its airports. let's please move on.

no more airport crap.

[nomarandlee]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-070410hersh,1,2600488.column?coll=chi-sportstop-hed


USOC goes undercover
Panel won't let media cover final 2016 bid presentations

Published April 11, 2007


Despite its stated commitment both to transparency and to follow the International Olympic Committee's format for the Olympic host city selection process, the United States Olympic Committee intends to keep from the media and public two key parts of the decision on its 2016 bid city.

The USOC will not allow media to watch the final presentations that Chicago and Los Angeles make to its 11-member board Saturday in Washington, D.C., and the announcement of the winner will not include the vote tally.

The IOC long has announced vote counts in its host city elections. Since reforms instituted in the wake of the Salt Lake City vote-buying scandal, the IOC also has provided the media closed-circuit telecasts of its sessions, including the bid cities' final presentations to IOC voters.

When the USOC announced it was considering a bid for 2016, its stated goal was to follow IOC procedures so the winning city would have a leg up on the international phase of the competition.

"The process has been absolutely fair and transparent," USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

"There have been similarities and deviations from the IOC pattern. It is easier to ask tough questions in a small environment without [media present]. Some people may not be as forthright otherwise."

Barry Sanders, the Los Angeles bid chairman, backed the decision not to release the vote, saying in a phone interview Monday it would be "wise to present unanimous support for whichever city is selected." Ueberroth discounted that reason.

"I don't think anybody would honestly be able to say that somebody had unanimous support [in the vote]," Ueberroth said. "But whichever city is selected, there will be unanimous support going forward."

The 2016 U.S. selection process grew out of USOC reforms mandated by congressional hearings into long-term USOC governance and management problems. The major change was to reduce its decision-making body to the current 11 from the 100-plus who selected New York over San Francisco as the 2012 bid city.

Eight of the 11 will have more influence on Saturday's outcome. The vote of each the three IOC members on the board counts one, while the vote of each other member counts three.

The USOC devised that weighted system to balance congressional demands that the IOC not have too much influence in U.S. Olympic matters against IOC requirements that its members be full voting members of their national Olympic committee.

There have been suggestions that the four USOC board members who live and work in Southern California disqualify themselves from voting because of conflict of interest, whether perceived or real. They are: Ueberroth, who was CEO of the 1984 Los Angeles Games; and IOC members Bob Ctvrtlik (chair of the bid city evaluation commission), Anita DeFrantz and Jim Easton,

Section 3.2 of the USOC bylaws says, "Board members should not participate in discussions or voting concerning issues with respect to which they have a conflict of interest."

They key questions are whether simply living near Los Angeles constitutes such a conflict and whether the perception that it might is significant enough to be an issue.

"There is not a city in the country that you couldn't establish that most or all of us have a conflict of one sort," Ueberroth said. "You would have to have cardboard cutouts if you wanted to find people with any kind of active life who don't have a conflict. The conflicts disclosed seldom are conflicts."

Only one board member, Stephanie Streeter of Neenah, Wis., lives in the Midwest. Seven, including the L.A.-area residents, have California ties. Streeter and Jair Lynch went to Stanford, and Bob Bowlsby is Stanford's athletic director.

Bowlsby is a Midwesterner who spent 15 years as the University of Iowa athletic director. Ueberroth was born in Evanston and went to elementary school in the north suburbs. Board member Erroll Davis has an MBA from the University of Chicago and lived for many years in Wisconsin.

Ueberroth, who said he would vote Saturday, has maintained his only agenda is to pick the city with the best chance to win internationally. Several people close to the situation have told the Tribune they are convinced that is Ueberroth's sole motivation. He was infuriated by New York's next-to-last finish among five finalists in the 2012 bidding.

The IOC selects the 2016 host in December 2009.

Ueberroth purposely has distanced himself from the process since the bid cities' seminar in California last fall.

"I wanted the experts and the evaluation commission and the board to not look to me, who was involved in operating a Games before, or to rely on my judgment," Ueberroth said.

Only the four board members who were on the evaluation commission, Ctvrtlik, Lynch, Streeter and Mike Plant, will have been completely informed about the cities' strengths and weaknesses until the whole board gathers for a dinner meeting Friday night.

The decision is expected at approximately 3 p.m. Saturday.

phersh@tribune.com

[brian_b]

I think they're spending too much time worrying about a conflict of interest.

If LA wins and the IOC thinks it's because the USOC has so many LA-area voters, will the IOC give adequate consideration to the LA bid? I highly doubt it. If the USOC doesn't vote based solely on the merits of the bid, the US bid is dead in the water. The USOC is aware of this.

[jessie_sanchez]

Maybe im just lucky but I've never been delayed at LAX. JFK, Phoenix, and Dulles in Washington DC on the other hand are a whole different story.

I also found this article today.



FROM ABCNEWS.COM

Calif. Would Help L.A. Pay for Olympics

SACRAMENTO Apr 10, 2007 (AP)— Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation Tuesday that authorizes $250 million in state money to underwrite the 2016 summer Olympics if Los Angeles is picked as the host city.

"Los Angeles has all the facilities the Olympics need," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "It also has incredible tradition and a gold medal record when it comes to hosting these great summer games."

The bill, introduced by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, authorizes the state to spend up to $250 million to cover any cost overruns created by the games. It allows Los Angeles to meet a U.S. Olympic Committee requirement to qualify as the United States' candidate to host the games.

The USOC will meet Saturday to pick either Los Angeles or Chicago as the U.S. candidate. The International Olympics Committee will make its decision on a host city in October 2009.

The summer games were held in Los Angeles in 1932 and 1984.

[Alliance]

Villaraigosa's actually showing up this time?

I'm disappointed these won't be broadcast. I was real interested to hear whatn the cities had to say. I don't worry too much about "conflict of interest." To me its clear that only one city has made a real case for the games. I feel when it comes down to it, haveing motivation, on top of a SOLID bid, is going to have an impact on the IOC. Without motivation, a city wont preform will.

Chicago still needs to improve its bid though. A lot in my opinion. Perhaps the USOC will have furhter suggestions.

[bnk]

Vote on this poll.

Current polls on Gamesbids site

What city would you prefer to bid for the 2016 Olympic Games?
Not Sure 7%
Chicago 75%
Los Angeles 18%

http://www.gamesbids.com/english/content/polls.shtml




Media..yes. polls.. yes. USOC ???? perhaps the other way around... Read the article Normaandlee posted above and you'll figure out


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18060806/


Why should Chicago land Olympics?


Posted: April 11, 2007

Associated Press


AP writers Don Babwin in Chicago and John Rogers in Los Angeles explain why their respective cities should host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The U.S. Olympic Committee will decide the American bid city Saturday. The International Olympic Committee will make the final choice in 2009.

CHICAGO -- It boils down to this: Do sports fans want to attend the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Los Angeles or come to Chicago for Da Games?


It's likely not a question the U.S. Olympic Committee asked as it comes to a decision -- to be voted on and announced Saturday -- on which city to recommend to the International Olympic Committee as the nation's candidate to host the 2016 Games. But it should be.

The fact is both cities will have stadiums, pools and Olympic villages. And it's not as if one doesn't have enough room for the whole 26-mile marathon. So that leaves the experience each city offers fans when they're not watching all the running, swimming, twirling and shot putting.

And that's where Chicago has it all over Los Angeles. From hot dogs to high rises and comedy to culture, there is no comparison.

Start with the food. There's the Chicago hot dog and the Chicago beef sandwich. There's also the pizza. Deep dish pizza was invented here -- a 11/2-inch thick pie loaded with sausage, mushrooms, pepperoni, onions and green peppers. For pizza with salmon caviar and something called dill creme fraiche, turn left at Michigan Avenue and go, say, 2,000 miles.

Sure, there's nothing unique about a Chicago hamburger. But the "cheezborger" is a different story. The Billy Goat Tavern that inspired the famous "Saturday Night Live" skit still serves cheezborgers daily.

That leads to another difference between the cities. Los Angeles may have far more celebrities, but many came from Chicago -- particularly the funny ones. John Belushi, Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and the late Gilda Radner all started at The Second City comedy club.

And while more celebrities live in Los Angeles, when they have something to say, they come to Chicago to say it to Oprah Winfrey.

Then there's the look of the city. From the massive Merchandise Mart (it has its own ZIP code) to the Wrigley Building to Union Station (think the baby carriage scene in "The Untouchables"), Chicago loves its architecture and public art.

And with its neoclassical Field Museum, and the Bears' Soldier Field collonades, Chicago looks not only like it should hold the games but held the original version.

"It all looks like it came out of ancient Greece," said actor Joe Mantegna, who was born in Chicago and now lives in Los Angeles.

Chicago also has the tallest building in the United States in the Sears Tower, and there are plans for one that will be taller still.

Finally, there's the sports.

"Dodger fans show up in the fourth inning and they leave in the fifth," said Joe Canale, a Second City cast member, exaggerating just a little. "Cubs fans come to see a team that hasn't won in 100 years," exaggerating by just a year. "And they stay all game. Of course, they're drunk, but..."

Los Angeles doesn't even seem to care that, oh, yeah, it hasn't had a pro football team in years.

"If the Bears tried to leave, somebody would get hurt," Mantegna said.

Then there are the sports themselves. True, the Dodgers, Lakers, USC football and UCLA basketball have produced a lot more championships than Chicago's teams -- 98 years and counting, Cubs fans -- but the Olympic Games are about history. And when it comes to historic moments, even legendary ones, Chicago wins.

The 1919 White Sox threw the World Series here, forever becoming the Black Sox. Babe Ruth's "called shot" in the 1932 World Series happened here, if it happened at all.

Even if Chicago doesn't land the Olympics, maybe, just maybe, by 2016 will come the most historic moment of all: a World Series championship for the Cubs.

Or maybe the city had better cross its fingers for the international gymnasts and track stars.

.

[adam-machiavelli]

Isn't it contradictory that this guy's argument for Chicago getting the olympics is because it has greasier, less healthy food when the games are all about promoting fitness, sports and good health?

[bnk]

Isn't it contradictory that this guy's argument for Chicago getting the olympics is because it has greasier, less healthy food when the games are all about promoting fitness, sports and good health?

Ya but have you ever had one? You might think differently if you belly was full.

http://www.roadfood.com/photos/5920.jpg

[edluva]

just one more day til' chicago gets the nod...:banana:

[Chicago2020]

One Day???

Its on Saturday

[edluva]

make that two

[nomarandlee]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070411olympics,1,5065819.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Chicago readies final Olympics pitch

By Alexa Aguilar
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 11, 2007, 9:07 PM CDT

Chicago's final pitch Saturday to host the 2016 Olympic Games will include a pledge from Gov. Rod Blagojevich that the state will kick in $150 million if the Games end up losing money.

In a letter forwarded to the U.S. Olympic Committee, Blagojevich wrote that if Chicago beats out Los Angeles for the national bid, the governor will use all his efforts to pass legislation to guarantee the money.

The City of Chicago has already promised that it would back the Olympic bid with a $500 million guarantee.

"The fact is the Olympics is a big deal for the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois. And why wouldn't the state back the city and private investors for the Olympics?" Blagojevich said Wednesday following a speech at Northwestern University in Evanston.

"You gotta think big, man," the governor said. "California's doing it. And that's who we're competing against."

Blagojevich and Mayor Richard Daley say that it is unlikely the funds will ever be tapped because of anticipated profits of $525 million if Chicago ultimately hosts the Games.

But after national committee members made a visit and said that local government must have "skin in the game" to be successful, the City Council approved a $500 million package.

The $150 million Olympic guarantee from the state is appropriate, said Daley, who compared it to "an insurance agreement."

Olympic officials "want to know if the state is for it," he said. "Who's for it? The city is for it. Is anybody else for it?"

The United States is the only country in the world that does not provide a national Olympic guarantee, requiring other levels of government to step up, Daley said.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation this week to provide $250 million in state money to underwrite the 2016 Olympics if Los Angeles is picked as the U.S. city to move into the international round of the selection process.

Because the 2016 Olympics are years away, it is impossible to predict where the state would get the funds if the money was needed, said Blagojevich spokesman Andre Ross.

A spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan said Madigan hadn't been told about Blagojevich's pledge. Senate President Emil Jones is supportive and would help to pass the bill, a spokeswoman said.

Tribune staff reporter John Chase contributed to this report.

aaguilar@tribune.com

[Dolemite]

I just heard on Good Morning America that the word is that the Olympic Committee isn't going to make a recommendation for EITHER city to host he Olympics. They also said that this isn't unprecidented.


Anyone want to clarify?

[nomarandlee]

:previous:

This article expands on your question.....


http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/338469,CST-NWS-oly12.article

Who gets the nod? Nobody

US VS. THEM | Scout team didn't pick one, so board must decide who'll represent U.S. in bid for '16 Games

April 12, 2007
BY ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporter/aherrmann@suntimes.com

They came, they looked around, and they reported back. But the U.S. Olympic Committee scout team that visited Chicago and Los Angeles ultimately did not make a bottom-line recommendation for either city.

This could mean both cities presented excellent bids in their effort to land the U.S. nod to represent the country in international competition for the 2016 Summer Games. Or that neither hit a home run.

A USOC spokesman wouldn't elaborate, other than to say it was the evaluation commission's choice whether to include a favorite in their report to the 11-member USOC board, which will vote between Chicago and L.A. in Washington on Saturday.

The non-choice choice isn't unprecedented: The scout team did not recommend a choice between New York and San Francisco for the 2012 Games, either, said Mike Moran, the USOC press spokesman at the time.

"At the end of the day, we always knew all along it's the board's decision,'' said Patrick Ryan, chairman of the Chicago 2016 bid group.

The "end of the day" shadows are growing: The Chicago group has been practicing its final pitch to be delivered Saturday to the USOC board -- a presentation that could help determine whether Chicago's Olympic efforts expand for international competition or wither as a nice-try failure.

Observers describe the contest as close, with Ed Hula of around therings.com giving Chicago a slight edge, and Moran calling it "a very tight race.'' Agreed Ryan, "It's very competitive.''

"I would imagine the questions from the board during the allotted Q&A time are going to be more important than ever, now,'' said Moran.

Even after months of correspondence and consultation with USOC officials, Ryan still considers making a good show in the last pitch essential.

"I've never believed that something is over until it's really over. There's a final inning to be played. Both teams get a crack at the bat, and we have to finish strong,'' Ryan said Wednesday.

The six-member Chicago pitch group, which includes Ryan and Mayor Daley, brings with it a plan that features a $366 million temporary stadium in Washington Park, a privately financed $1.1 billion Olympic Village near McCormick Place, and a massive party site in Grant Park. The city has agreed to provide $500 million should revenues fall short, and Gov. Blagojevich has pledged to work to secure $150 million in state funding in a similar insurance measure.

The group, by necessity, has planned for victory Saturday. If they win, Chicago 2016 officials will jet to Beijing for the SportAccord convention of Olympic-related federations, Ryan said. The International Olympic Committee will pick the host of the 2016 Games in 2009.

[nomarandlee]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/336650,lachiolympics041107.article

Key facts: Chicago and L.A.

April 11, 2007

CHICAGO

POPULATION: 2.84 million.

LANDMARKS: Lake Michigan, Navy Pier, Sears Tower (tallest building in North America), 3rd, 4th, 8th, 10th tallest buildings in North America, Soldier Field, Merchandise Mart, Wrigley Field, Lincoln Park, Millennium Park, McCormick Place, Museum of Science and Industry, The Second City, Magnificent Mile.

SIGNIFICANT HOSTING DUTIES: More presidential conventions than any other U.S. city, including the Republican National Conventions of 1860 that nominated Abraham Lincoln and the riotous Democratic National Convention of 1968; 1893 World's Columbian Exposition; World's Fair, 1933; Kennedy-Nixon Debate, 1960; Major League Baseball's first All-Star game, 1933; Black Sox Trial; Chicago Blues Festival.

FAMOUS CHICAGOANS: Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Studs Terkel, Scott Turow, Barack Obama, Buddy Guy, Jesse Jackson (Sr. and Jr.), Roger Ebert, Common, Mike Ditka, Sara Paretsky, Kanye West, Richard M. Daley, John and Joan Cusack, Jeremy Piven, Vince Vaughn.

SIGNATURE FOODS: Deep dish pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs, beef sandwich, Cheezborger, Cheezborger, Eli's cheesecake.

SIGNATURE SONGS: "My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)," "Chicago (That Toddling Town)," "Sweet Home Chicago."

NICKNAMES: City Of The Big Shoulders, Hog Butcher For The World, The City That Works, Windy City, Second City, City On The Make.

HIGHLIGHTS OF OLYMPIC BID: Athletes would compete at 25 venues in a games that would be situated mostly around the downtown lakefront and in nearby parks. The compactness of the games has organizers bragging that nearly 90 percent of athletes would be within 15 minutes of their competition venues.

Athletes would live in a $1.1 billion lakefront village that would be built above existing truck parking lots just south of downtown near the convention center, which would host sports events.

An 80,000-seat, $366 million temporary Olympic stadium would be built in a historic South Side park.

Civic leaders have raised more than $32 million to help finance Chicago's bid, and the City Council has backed a $500 million financial guarantee that puts taxpayers on the hook if the games come to the city and lose money.




LOS ANGELES

POPULATION: 3.8 million; second-largest U.S. city.

LANDMARKS: Pacific Ocean, Hollywood, Santa Monica Pier, Malibu, Venice Beach, Disneyland, Hollywood Bowl, freeways, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (built for the 1932 Olympics), Union Bank building (tallest building west of the Mississippi River).

SIGNIFICANT HOSTING DUTIES: 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics; 1960 and 2000 Democratic National Conventions; Pope John Paul II's 1987 visit; annual Academy Awards; annual New Year's Day Rose Bowl Game and Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena; 1968, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1987 and 1993 Super Bowls.

CELEBRITY RESIDENTS: Britney Spears, Kobe Bryant, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Paul Rodriguez, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jennifer Aniston, Frank Gehry, Pamela Anderson, Bob Dylan, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Hilary Duff, George Carlin, Ice Cube, Jay Leno, Ray Bradbury, Tom Cruise, and, any day now, David Beckham and his wife, Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham.

SIGNATURE FOODS: California-styled sushi, tofu, guacamole, fish tacos, chili dogs and chili-cheese burgers.

SIGNATURE SONG: "I Love L.A." by Randy Newman.

CELEBRITY CHEF: Wolfgang Puck, who'll put just about anything tasty on pizza.

SUMMARY OF OLYMPIC BID: The competitions would be at more than 30 venues. Opening and closing ceremonies would be at Memorial Coliseum, built for the 1932 Games and used for the same ceremonies at the 1984 Olympics. Other venues would be located in Long Beach, Anaheim and Pasadena, as well Las Vegas and San Francisco.

The Coliseum would be remodeled, adding 204 luxury boxes and other modern amenities at an estimated cost of $112 million. The Home Depot Center in Carson, proposed site of archery, cycling, soccer and tennis, would be expanded. A shooting range would be constructed at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona.

Light rail lines would be extended to connect several Olympic venues. More than $1 billion is to be spent widening several key freeways.

The 1984 L.A. Olympics were the first to make a profit, and officials hope to duplicate that effort largely through corporate sponsorships as they did last time. California has committed to subsidizing the games with as much as $250 million in taxpayer money if they fail to turn a profit.

AP

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

[ginsan2]

Let the tension begin.
*drumroll*

[Jaroslaw]

If Chicago can't get a ringing endorsement after the internal US review, I can't see it having much chance in the world... related to that, I've finally decided that I'm against this Chicago bid because I don't like the idea of a temporary stadium. It encapsulates everything that I dislike about the recent American lack of committment to serious infrastructure investment, especially in the cities. We don't deserve the Olympics. Bye. :)

On a different note... the parking on the left is where the Olympic village would go. The white roof is McCormick II.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i246/Jaroslaw1/P5232535Medium.jpg

[Marcu]

I just heard on Good Morning America that the word is that the Olympic Committee isn't going to make a recommendation for EITHER city to host he Olympics. They also said that this isn't unprecidented.


Anyone want to clarify?

At this point I'm just pissed. Both cities went out of their way with the expectation that a winner would be named. I would've rather have had LA get the nod than this. Now, neither city has a chance since on the world level Americans will split the vote.

[Steely Dan]

If Chicago can't get a ringing endorsement after the internal US review, I can't see it having much chance in the world... related to that, I've finally decided that I'm against this Chicago bid because I don't like the idea of a temporary stadium. It encapsulates everything that I dislike about the recent American lack of committment to serious infrastructure investment, especially in the cities. We don't deserve the Olympics. Bye. :)


i can't say i disagree with you. i've thought this business about the temporary stadium down in washington park was goofy from the very beginning. i'll of course jump on the bandwagon and get all hyped up if chicago somehow pulls this one out, but i ain't gonna cry if we don't get it. chicago would be an excellent olympic city, but this plan (mainly just the stadium, a lot of the other stuff seems right on) just seems like the wrong way to go about doing it.

[bnk]

At this point I'm just pissed. Both cities went out of their way with the expectation that a winner would be named. I would've rather have had LA get the nod than this. Now, neither city has a chance since on the world level Americans will split the vote.

That is not what it sounds like. The board will decide one or the other. This just means the scout team visiting the cities did not recomened [pick] one over the other.

The non-choice choice isn't unprecedented: The scout team did not recommend a choice between New York and San Francisco for the 2012 Games, either, said Mike Moran, the USOC press spokesman at the time.

"At the end of the day, we always knew all along it's the board's decision,'' said Patrick Ryan, chairman of the Chicago 2016 bid group.

[Via Chicago]

If Chicago can't get a ringing endorsement after the internal US review, I can't see it having much chance in the world... related to that, I've finally decided that I'm against this Chicago bid because I don't like the idea of a temporary stadium. It encapsulates everything that I dislike about the recent American lack of committment to serious infrastructure investment, especially in the cities. We don't deserve the Olympics. Bye. :)


lets be real though, what would chicago use a 100,000 seat stadium for after the games? the only that a stadium of that size is really good for is the olympics. who wants a dead carcass?

[Chicago2020]

^^^Exactly No White Elephants Please

Plus how will a 100,000 directly impact the community. The temp stadium is a great idea because whats left after the games will be for the citizens of Chicago not rich billionaires or big companies.

Thats the problem I have with the LA Colisium plan. Not only would they destroy the image of the great colisium but there will be no lasting legacy to the people of LA

[Marcu]

That is not what it sounds like. The board will decide one or the other. This just means the scout team visiting the cities did not recomened [pick] one over the other.

The non-choice choice isn't unprecedented: The scout team did not recommend a choice between New York and San Francisco for the 2012 Games, either, said Mike Moran, the USOC press spokesman at the time.

"At the end of the day, we always knew all along it's the board's decision,'' said Patrick Ryan, chairman of the Chicago 2016 bid group.

Good point. I guess I was just too mad/disappointed to read carefully.

[Alliance]

I'm not freaking out, but this just underscores how much improvement Chicago needs to do to actually win this.

I think the temporary stadium is ok. Neither Chicago nor the IOC wants a carcass and any permenant stadium in Chicago would likely be underused.

However, the compactness of this bid is too good to pass up. This would be a summer games unlike any other just because of that.

Chicago is lucky that Asia and Europe are hosting the previous 2 games, other wise we could be in deep trouble. I know he city can com up with a better plan, but its goint to require some real effort and funds from a lot of people. Chicago has that network in Place with Daley, Ryan, Pritzker, and the McD's guy, but they need to start working.

This is huge deal to me, its one of my biggest dreams since I was a kid. Chicago wants and DESERVES the games. Our bid should actually reflect that.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

^^^Exactly No White Elephants Please

Plus how will a 100,000 directly impact the community. The temp stadium is a great idea because whats left after the games will be for the citizens of Chicago not rich billionaires or big companies.

Thats the problem I have with the LA Colisium plan. Not only would they destroy the image of the great colisium but there will be no lasting legacy to the people of LA

The changes to the Coloseium will be temporary, the awnings will come down after the Olympics. Also, its not a White Elephant by any means, with USC selling out 8 - 10 games a year, countless international Soccer matches and Concerts. The lasting legacy will be a unprecedented 3rd Olympics for the same stadium, pretty cool in my book.

Good luck to Chicago on Saturday, may the best city win. I really think the American pick will only have to contend with Rio for the Olympics! Im actually nervous and anxious now.

[F1 Tommy]

I think that Chicago is the only city of the two
that has a chance with the IOC.I really want the USA to get the Olympics
in 2016.Good luck to both cities this weekend.:banana:

[j korzeniowski]

The changes to the Coloseium will be temporary, the awnings will come down after the Olympics. Also, its not a White Elephant by any means, with USC selling out 8 - 10 games a year ...

i believe he meant chicago doesn't need a white elephant on the south side that would be under-utilized and fall into disrepair. a 15,000 stadium, however, still leaves a legacy, and can be utilized for olympic sports in non-olympic years.

speaking of usc, though, it's a shame uchi got rid of football, as, from what i gather, back in the beginning of the big 10, the real rivalry was uchi/michigan, not tosu/michigan. if chicago could have sustained their football program (i believe they were still successful when they disbanded the program), the olympic stadium could have been their "big house".

or throw a ton of money at uic and have them develop a football powerhouse, heh heh.

anyways, back on topic.

[Dalton]

If Chicago wins on Saturday, it will have about a 10% chance of winning the international bid - to host games that won't occur for nearly a decade.

I'm on pins and needles....

[chiphile]

If Chicago wins on Saturday, it will have about a 10% chance of winning the international bid - to host games that won't occur for nearly a decade.

I'm on pins and needles....


You must work for the IOC :rolleyes:


if there's anything that annoys me on this board, it's total amateurs whipping out percentages of things they know absolutely nothing about.

[nomarandlee]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-070412oly,1,7923746.story?coll=chi-sportstop-hed

Olympics hosting a waiting game

By Philip Hersh
Tribune Olympics reporter
Published April 12, 2007, 10:53 PM CDT


Patrick Ryan long has taken on major endeavors.

He founded AON Corporation and built it into a Fortune 500 company. He changed the face of Northwestern sports with donations to build and renovate facilities. He has helped bring new faces to the arts as primary benefactor of the Lyric Opera's center for young artists.

None of that prepared Ryan for the unusual nature of his latest undertaking, which will end either in failure or become a measured success Saturday, when the United States Olympic Committee's board of directors selects either Chicago or Los Angeles as its candidate city for the 2016 Olympic Games.

"It's such a long game," Ryan, chairman of the Chicago 2016 bid committee, said in an interview at AON headquarters.

"Here we are, a year into it, and you have one shot now, Saturday morning, and a decision is made … and then it's just to get into the next round, and you have 2½ years before you find out whether you are the host city. In an age of instant gratification, it's a long process."

Chicago and Los Angeles each will have an hour Saturday to make its case for the first time to the full, 11-member USOC board at a meeting in Washington, D.C. Until now, the cities have dealt with a USOC evaluation commission that includes four board members.

The board's mandate is to select the city it feels has the best chance to win an international competition that ends in October 2009, when the International Olympic Committee's 100-plus members vote for the 2016 host.

Boiled down, the USOC's choice is between a sprawling Los Angeles bid that looks like a sure thing financially but has a been-there, done-that quality, and a downtown-centered Chicago bid that looks eye-catching on paper but has the uncertainties that go with having to build the Games' three primary sites: Olympic Stadium, Olympic Village and aquatics facility.

Los Angeles, host of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games, has everything in place but a shooting venue and what will be temporary pools. Yet the distances between venues is a concern, especially given the perpetual traffic jams on Los Angeles-area freeways.

Money matters

Both cities recently have received legislative approval for funding of $500 million guarantees against shortfalls in their operating budgets.

Chicago 2016 officials project a $525 million surplus. Private developers are to build the $1.1 billion Olympic Village. The $2.9 billion operating budget, funded by TV, marketing and ticket revenues, is to cover all but $50 million of the $366 million Washington Park Olympic Stadium, which would be downsized after the Games from 80,000 seats to between 5,000 and 10,000 seats. Corporate sponsors will be sought for the other $50 million.

Los Angeles has a potential vote-swinging corporate ally in AEG, the biggest worldwide player in sports facilities and events and owner of several venues, including Staples Center and Home Depot Center, which would be used for an L.A. Olympics.

AEG, coincidentally an AON client, said in February it would "travel the world" in support of the L.A. bid. It began by pledging last month to spend up to $60 million enlarging the Home Depot Center as a home for Olympic sports athletes if L.A. wins the 2016 Games.

Chicago counters, Ryan said, with "diverse allies corporately, not one, but many."

Its most important ally likely is Mayor Richard M. Daley, whose ability to get things done by virtual fiat is more significant because the IOC likes to work with cities that find ways to avoid political red tape. Daley's efficacy in that area was evident in both the decision to bulldoze Meigs' Field and the City Council's lightning approval of funding for the Olympic guarantee.

"We think Mayor Daley is a terrific leader," USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth said last July, when Chicago was named one of the U.S. finalists.

"I think the fact the mayor has been able to rally the business community into a public-private partnership such as Millennium Park is very important to anyone who says, 'Can this leadership get the job done?"' Ryan said.

The Chicago bid has not gone without opposition. Friends of the Parks has raised questions about the size of the stadium's permanent footprint. Others have expressed concern about the financing, fearing taxpayer money—the city guarantee—will come significantly into play despite Chicago 2016 projections of a surplus and the mayor's promises that no public money would be spent.

Both the mayor and his brother, Bill, the former U.S. secretary of commerce, are among the six speakers Chicago 2016 chose to address the USOC board Saturday. The others are Ryan, former CTA Chairman Valerie Jarrett, Olympic triple jump champion Mike Conley and Paralympic medalist Linda Mastandrea. Chicago 2016 also has prepared a new video to help sell the bid to the USOC board.

A spokesman for Los Angeles 2016 declined to identify its speakers.

The USOC has wound up giving its board complete leeway in making the decision.

One of the options originally discussed was for the board to get a recommendation from the evaluation commission and then vote whether to ratify that recommendation. But when the board votes Saturday, it will do so after receiving information from the evaluation commission on the strengths and weaknesses of each city's bid but no recommendation.

That is the approach the IOC has taken. Its evaluation commission prepares a report, but the reports recently have said little more than that all the finalists are capable of playing host to a successful Olympics.

Capability of being an Olympic host is a given in this domestic decision and less significant than the issue of which city is more likely to win enough IOC votes.

The 2016 Games seem destined for a city in the Americas, either Rio de Janeiro or the U.S. bidder. The 2012 Games are in London, and not since 1948-52 have there been back-to-back Summer Games in Europe. The 2008 Games are in Beijing, which reduces the imperative to select another Asian city, such as Tokyo, picked by the Japanese Olympic Committee as its 2016 bidder.

Many IOC members have expressed reservations about giving the Games to Los Angeles for a third time (London is the only three-time host).

Many IOC members admit to knowing little about Chicago but are aware of both Los Angeles' glitz and how the enormous success of the 1984 L.A. Olympics, despite the Soviet-bloc boycott, transformed the financial models for staging the Games and rescued the Olympic movement when no other city even bid for those 1984 Games.

Bill Daley's presentation is to address the issue of Chicago's international profile by emphasizing Chicago's position as a global city.

Perhaps they should have invited world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma to speak after the answer Ma gave Thursday to a question from a Chicago Symphony trustee about why he chose Chicago for his yearlong Silk Road Project, a global cultural exchange.

"I didn't choose Chicago; Chicago chose itself," Ma said. "Far more than any other American city, Chicago has an incredible will to get things done."

Chicago 2016 has raised $32 million in private funding for the domestic and international stages of the bid and received another $13 million of value-in-kind, mainly the services of lawyers, architects and other planners. The VIK and about $5 million already have been spent. Should Chicago lose Saturday, the remaining money likely would go to World Sport Chicago, an organization created this winter to enhance the bid by helping attract events in Olympic sports to the city.

"Chicago has benefited significantly from the bid process," Ryan said.

"The people of Chicago have gotten very enthusiastic about the Olympics and the possibility of hosting, but that stimulation of Olympic interest is a legacy coming out of the process. The village will be built, and I think that will be a great urban legacy stimulated by the process. We are committed to building World Sport Chicago, with an emphasis on Olympic sports in Chicago, a great legacy for the youth of Chicago and the Olympic movement."

Los Angeles and Chicago have been in contention as Olympic host cities, both domestically and internationally, several times in the past.

Until 1960, there were no apparent restrictions on the number of U.S. cities that could enter the international phase of the competition.

More losses than wins

Los Angeles was a losing bidder in 1924 (Paris was selected), 1928 (Amsterdam) and 1948 (London). Los Angeles and Chicago both were losing bidders internationally in 1952 (Helsinki), when L.A. made the second round and Chicago was eliminated in the first.

Domestically, both cities were losers to Detroit as U.S. bid city for 1964 (Tokyo) and 1972 (Munich). Los Angeles also lost to Detroit for 1968 (Mexico City) and went out in the first cut of U.S. bidding for 2012.

Having been finally selected by the USOC over San Francisco for 1976, Los Angeles lost to Montreal in the IOC vote. It was the only U.S. city interested for 1980 and lost to Moscow.

Los Angeles was unopposed internationally in both its successful Olympic bids. The IOC selected Chicago over Buffalo and Philadelphia as 1904 host, then moved the Games to St. Louis after the city threatened to use its 1904 World's Fair to siphon interest from a nearby Olympics.

phersh@tribune.com

[Chicago2016]

Lets Go Chicago!

[Alliance]

I didn't know all those things about LA's bid history.

Interesting.

[BVictor1]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/340351,CST-NWS-oly13.article

Another Daley will push for Olympics
2016 GAMES | Chicago team adds big guns to woo USOC at D.C. presentation

April 13, 2007

BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporters fspielman@suntimes.com, aherrmann@suntimes.com


Chicago's Olympic pitch will have a family flair Saturday with Mayor Daley's brother William joining the team making the case in Washington to host the 2016 Summer Games.

Officials had earlier named the mayor; Patrick Ryan, insurance magnate and Chicago 2016 chairman; and Michael Conley, an Olympic gold medalist in triple jump.

http://media1.suntimes.com/nixoncds/image/041307oly-split.jpg_20070412_22_13_29_1259-282-400.imageContent
Members of the Chicago's Olympic team include Bill Daley, left, and Valerie Jarrett. (AP/Sun-Times)

The group hoping to persuade the U.S. Olympic Committee board to choose Chicago over Los Angeles to represent the nation in international competition will also include Valerie Jarrett, a real estate executive and former CTA chairwoman.

Global credentials
Jarrett, an African American, raised her Olympic profile this year when she addressed black aldermen who complained that the local Olympic organizing committee appeared to be a "white man's party club.'' Conley, also an African American, is the executive director of World Sport Chicago, a group charged with organizing Olympic-style events.
Linda Mastandrea, a Paralympic Games gold medalist in wheelchair track and a Rogers Park lawyer, rounds out the six-member pitch team. The squad will make a 40-minute presentation to the USOC board at a Washington hotel.

William Daley, a former U.S. secretary of commerce and chairman of the Midwest for JP Morgan Chase, has civic and business contacts around the world. Those global credentials might appeal to the USOC board as it looks ahead to the international competition to host the games against such cities as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Madrid, Spain, and Tokyo.

Daley said he visited 45 countries in his three years as commerce secretary. Also, "we've got an enormous network of Chicago companies that have facilities, people and relationships around the world that we're going to tap into'' who could make the case for the city, he said.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) has pledged support in developing a $150 million "safety net" of state money if Olympic revenues fall short.

[Chi_Coruscant]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-070412oly,1,7923746.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Olympics hosting a waiting game

By Philip Hersh
Tribune Olympics reporter

April 12, 2007, 10:53 PM CDT

Patrick Ryan long has taken on major endeavors.

He founded AON Corporation and built it into a Fortune 500 company. He changed the face of Northwestern sports with donations to build and renovate facilities. He has helped bring new faces to the arts as primary benefactor of the Lyric Opera's center for young artists.

None of that prepared Ryan for the unusual nature of his latest undertaking, which will end either in failure or become a measured success Saturday, when the United States Olympic Committee's board of directors selects either Chicago or Los Angeles as its candidate city for the 2016 Olympic Games.

"It's such a long game," Ryan, chairman of the Chicago 2016 bid committee, said in an interview at AON headquarters.

"Here we are, a year into it, and you have one shot now, Saturday morning, and a decision is made … and then it's just to get into the next round, and you have 2½ years before you find out whether you are the host city. In an age of instant gratification, it's a long process."

Chicago and Los Angeles each will have an hour Saturday to make its case for the first time to the full, 11-member USOC board at a meeting in Washington, D.C. Until now, the cities have dealt with a USOC evaluation commission that includes four board members.

The board's mandate is to select the city it feels has the best chance to win an international competition that ends in October 2009, when the International Olympic Committee's 100-plus members vote for the 2016 host.

Boiled down, the USOC's choice is between a sprawling Los Angeles bid that looks like a sure thing financially but has a been-there, done-that quality, and a downtown-centered Chicago bid that looks eye-catching on paper but has the uncertainties that go with having to build the Games' three primary sites: Olympic Stadium, Olympic Village and aquatics facility.

Los Angeles, host of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games, has everything in place but a shooting venue and what will be temporary pools. Yet the distances between venues is a concern, especially given the perpetual traffic jams on Los Angeles-area freeways.

Money matters

Both cities recently have received legislative approval for funding of $500 million guarantees against shortfalls in their operating budgets.

Chicago 2016 officials project a $525 million surplus. Private developers are to build the $1.1 billion Olympic Village. The $2.9 billion operating budget, funded by TV, marketing and ticket revenues, is to cover all but $50 million of the $366 million Washington Park Olympic Stadium, which would be downsized after the Games from 80,000 seats to between 5,000 and 10,000 seats. Corporate sponsors will be sought for the other $50 million.

Los Angeles has a potential vote-swinging corporate ally in AEG, the biggest worldwide player in sports facilities and events and owner of several venues, including Staples Center and Home Depot Center, which would be used for an L.A. Olympics.

AEG, coincidentally an AON client, said in February it would "travel the world" in support of the L.A. bid. It began by pledging last month to spend up to $60 million enlarging the Home Depot Center as a home for Olympic sports athletes if L.A. wins the 2016 Games.

Chicago counters, Ryan said, with "diverse allies corporately, not one, but many."

Its most important ally likely is Mayor Richard M. Daley, whose ability to get things done by virtual fiat is more significant because the IOC likes to work with cities that find ways to avoid political red tape. Daley's efficacy in that area was evident in both the decision to bulldoze Meigs' Field and the City Council's lightning approval of funding for the Olympic guarantee.

"We think Mayor Daley is a terrific leader," USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth said last July, when Chicago was named one of the U.S. finalists.

"I think the fact the mayor has been able to rally the business community into a public-private partnership such as Millennium Park is very important to anyone who says, 'Can this leadership get the job done?"' Ryan said.

The Chicago bid has not gone without opposition. Friends of the Parks has raised questions about the size of the stadium's permanent footprint. Others have expressed concern about the financing, fearing taxpayer money—the city guarantee—will come significantly into play despite Chicago 2016 projections of a surplus and the mayor's promises that no public money would be spent.

Both the mayor and his brother, Bill, the former U.S. secretary of commerce, are among the six speakers Chicago 2016 chose to address the USOC board Saturday. The others are Ryan, former CTA Chairman Valerie Jarrett, Olympic triple jump champion Mike Conley and Paralympic medalist Linda Mastandrea. Chicago 2016 also has prepared a new video to help sell the bid to the USOC board.

A spokesman for Los Angeles 2016 declined to identify its speakers.

The USOC has wound up giving its board complete leeway in making the decision.

One of the options originally discussed was for the board to get a recommendation from the evaluation commission and then vote whether to ratify that recommendation. But when the board votes Saturday, it will do so after receiving information from the evaluation commission on the strengths and weaknesses of each city's bid but no recommendation.

That is the approach the IOC has taken. Its evaluation commission prepares a report, but the reports recently have said little more than that all the finalists are capable of playing host to a successful Olympics.

Capability of being an Olympic host is a given in this domestic decision and less significant than the issue of which city is more likely to win enough IOC votes.

The 2016 Games seem destined for a city in the Americas, either Rio de Janeiro or the U.S. bidder. The 2012 Games are in London, and not since 1948-52 have there been back-to-back Summer Games in Europe. The 2008 Games are in Beijing, which reduces the imperative to select another Asian city, such as Tokyo, picked by the Japanese Olympic Committee as its 2016 bidder.

Many IOC members have expressed reservations about giving the Games to Los Angeles for a third time (London is the only three-time host).

Many IOC members admit to knowing little about Chicago but are aware of both Los Angeles' glitz and how the enormous success of the 1984 L.A. Olympics, despite the Soviet-bloc boycott, transformed the financial models for staging the Games and rescued the Olympic movement when no other city even bid for those 1984 Games.

Bill Daley's presentation is to address the issue of Chicago's international profile by emphasizing Chicago's position as a global city.

Perhaps they should have invited world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma to speak after the answer Ma gave Thursday to a question from a Chicago Symphony trustee about why he chose Chicago for his yearlong Silk Road Project, a global cultural exchange.

"I didn't choose Chicago; Chicago chose itself," Ma said. "Far more than any other American city, Chicago has an incredible will to get things done."

Chicago 2016 has raised $32 million in private funding for the domestic and international stages of the bid and received another $13 million of value-in-kind, mainly the services of lawyers, architects and other planners. The VIK and about $5 million already have been spent. Should Chicago lose Saturday, the remaining money likely would go to World Sport Chicago, an organization created this winter to enhance the bid by helping attract events in Olympic sports to the city.

"Chicago has benefited significantly from the bid process," Ryan said.

"The people of Chicago have gotten very enthusiastic about the Olympics and the possibility of hosting, but that stimulation of Olympic interest is a legacy coming out of the process. The village will be built, and I think that will be a great urban legacy stimulated by the process. We are committed to building World Sport Chicago, with an emphasis on Olympic sports in Chicago, a great legacy for the youth of Chicago and the Olympic movement."

Los Angeles and Chicago have been in contention as Olympic host cities, both domestically and internationally, several times in the past.

Until 1960, there were no apparent restrictions on the number of U.S. cities that could enter the international phase of the competition.

More losses than wins

Los Angeles was a losing bidder in 1924 (Paris was selected), 1928 (Amsterdam) and 1948 (London). Los Angeles and Chicago both were losing bidders internationally in 1952 (Helsinki), when L.A. made the second round and Chicago was eliminated in the first.

Domestically, both cities were losers to Detroit as U.S. bid city for 1964 (Tokyo) and 1972 (Munich). Los Angeles also lost to Detroit for 1968 (Mexico City) and went out in the first cut of U.S. bidding for 2012.

Having been finally selected by the USOC over San Francisco for 1976, Los Angeles lost to Montreal in the IOC vote. It was the only U.S. city interested for 1980 and lost to Moscow.

Los Angeles was unopposed internationally in both its successful Olympic bids. The IOC selected Chicago over Buffalo and Philadelphia as 1904 host, then moved the Games to St. Louis after the city threatened to use its 1904 World's Fair to siphon interest from a nearby Olympics.

[bnk]

Nothing new. Does anyone know what time the decision would be made public? So I can plan my day.;)


U.S. 2016 Candidate – Chicago Or Los Angeles?
Posted 12:33 pm ET (GamesBids.com)

By the end of the day on Saturday one of two cities will be the United States candidate for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Will it be Chicago or Los Angeles?

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is meeting at the Washington Embassy Row Hotel in Washington D.C. with delegations from both cities and will hear from the Chicago 2016 delegation first. There will be a 40-minute presentation from each city and 20 minutes of questioning from the USOC.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and the city’s Olympic bid committee will be in Washington for the presentations and ABC reports the Mayor wants the Olympic Committee to know that if the Games are held in Chicago they will be safe and secure.

He said, “safety is always very important for anyone visiting, especially during the Olympics”. On Thursday Mayor Daley unveiled a new state-of-the-art security command centre at McCormick Place, which would be part of a larger security operation that would protect the city’s Olympic sites in 2016. The centre is designed to ensure security and protection for the “mammoth” McCormick Place convention centre. The command centre is hooked up to 450 surveillance cameras and the city’s 911 centre.

House Speaker Michael Madigan says he will support legislation to put up the money as a “safety-net” in case Chicago is awarded the Games and has a deficit.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has already signed legislation authorizing $250 million in state money for the Games if Los Angeles is selected.

Meanwhile Los Angeles 2014 is keeping a tight lid on details of its final presentation to the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), reports the L.A. Daily News.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is leading a 12-member delegation to Washington. According to the newspaper Barry Sanders, head of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, sidestepped questions about whether the group will offer any last minute surprises in their presentation. He said, “we’ve been telling our story to (the USOC) for many months, and it hasn’t changed”.

Rob Livingstone, producer of GamesBids.com, told the L.A. Daily News the 11-member committee might still have an open mind by the time the cities make their final presentations. He said, “final presentations in the past have won and lost bids”.

Livingstone said that Paris was favoured over London for the 2012 Games, but London’s “stellar” final presentation may have been a factor in its selection.

But according to USOC chief executive officer Jim Scherr, “the winner will be the city our board will believe has the competence to sell 60 international voters”.

The Chicago News Tribune reports that neither Scherr, nor Bob Ctvrtlik, who led the USOC effort to refocus its selection process, would handicap Saturday’s vote.

Article Printed From GAMESBIDS.COM
From URL http://www.gamesbids.com/cgi-bin/news/viewnews.cgi?category=1&id=1176482036&pf=1

[Chicago2020]

Did anyone see the Today Show??

They played Olympic Theme with Millennium Park in the background.

[Kngkyle©]

Did anyone see the Today Show??

They played Olympic Theme with Millennium Park in the background.

Heres a video of what they showed on the Today Show:
http://video.nbc5.com/player/?id=91074

[Alliance]

Nothing new. Does anyone know what time the decision would be made public? So I can plan my day.;)

I heard 3pm. I do not know if it was credible...or what timezone.

[SportsWorld]

Heres a video of what they showed on the Today Show:
http://video.nbc5.com/player/?id=91074
hmm, not working...

[Kngkyle©]

hmm, not working...

Works fine for me. Anyone else having a problem?

[DaleAvella]

lets be real though, what would chicago use a 100,000 seat stadium for after the games? the only that a stadium of that size is really good for is the olympics. who wants a dead carcass?

Of course the plan is to leave a 10,000 seat stadium. A permanent track and field/multi-purpose stadium would be great for the city. For track and field alone, from high school, college, Special Olympics and world-class track and field sports could use the stadium. Currently the best track and field facilities in Chicago are in Naperville.

[DaleAvella]

The announcement will be broadcast live on wcsn.com.

[SportsWorld]

Works fine for me. Anyone else having a problem?

neither mozilla or internet

[Kngkyle©]

hmm, not working...

Works fine for me. Anyone else having a problem?

[Chicago2020]

Well Guys, Tomorrow is the Day we've been waiting for. Its been fun. I hope Chicago wins, but I ain't jinx'n this one. Lets just see what happens tomorrow and hopefully we'll spend another 2 years talking about a 2016 Summer Olympics in Chicago.

[ginsan2]

*heightens the drumroll*

[bnk]

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_103070645.html

Only 1 Day Left To Make Olympic Pitch

Jay Levine
Reporting

...

The USOC board of directors met for the first time Friday night to discuss the merits of Chicago versus Los Angeles.

The announcement on which U.S. city won this contest will come at 3 p.m. Chicago time.

SATURDAY: CBS 2 and cbs2chicago.com will carry the U.S. Olympic Committee's city selection announcement live, beginning at 3 p.m

.

[bnk]

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=101657&page=42

[SportsWorld]

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=101657&page=42

[Eventually...Chicago]

Good Luck everyone!!

Hopefully, this forum will be buzzing with excitement come 330 tomorrow!

If we win this thing, lets find a bar and party it up!

[bnk]

You must work for the IOC :rolleyes:


if there's anything that annoys me on this board, it's total amateurs whipping out percentages of things they know absolutely nothing about.

:yes:

:tup:

[Westsidelife]

Just 13 hours to go!

Both Los Angeles and Chicago have put up a good fight. Let's all respect that. Both bids have something going for them. As I see it, both cities STILL have a 50/50 choice at getting the nod from the USOC. Let's be fair and give both cities their chance. If Los Angeles is not selected as the continuing city, I'll be disappointed. But I'll also be happy for Chicago and give it my full support. But as for right now, I'm rooting for Los Angeles.

One last thing to clear a few things up before it's too late. In case some of you thought that Los Angeles wasn't enthusiastic about hosting the Games for the third time, just know that 90% percent of the residents here as well as the entire State of California support Los Angeles's bid and have no doubt that it would be able to deliver. Good luck to both cities.

[Aleks]

i hope Chicago gets it
if L.A. gets to host the Olympics then the crime rate will go up dramatickly
and all the visitors will just crate trash to the second dirtiest city after New York
and smoke.....carbon dioxide

[Westsidelife]

^ :haha: :haha: :haha:

Okay, now that didn't make any sense to me whatsoever. I suppose if you DID make any sense then the same would apply for Chicago. But it's too late to argue anymore and too late to act childish.

[nomarandlee]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/341434,CST-NWS-oly14.article

The final pitches -- and then the vote for the Olympics
DECISION TIME | Board will pick today between Chicago and L.A. to vie for Games

April 14, 2007
BY ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporter/aherrmann@suntimes.com

WASHINGTON -- The leader of Chicago's Olympic committee acknowledged here Friday having "butterflies'' before today's pitch to host the 2016 Games -- a sales job that one of those being pitched to said is crucial to the city's chances.

"But if you don't have butterflies, you're not ready. Butterflies [mean] you're ready,'' said Patrick Ryan, Chicago 2016 Committee chairman.

The United States Olympic Committee board will vote between Chicago and Los Angeles with an announcement scheduled for 3 p.m.
That vote will come after both cities make final presentations. The winner will represent the United States against global competition for the Summer Games.

Even though both L.A. and Chicago officials have submitted hundreds of pages of details on how they would stage the games, had hours of discussion with USOC experts and hosted Olympic scout teams that visited each of the cities, "the final presentation is going to be decisive,'' said USOC Vice President Bob Ctvrtlik, one of 11 board members who will vote today.

The USOC is looking for a city that not only presents an exciting plan but a city that can inspire -- and cajole -- the International Olympic Committee's 100-plus members into choosing an American site when it votes in 2009.


The city's team
To strengthen Chicago's pitch, the Chicago 2016 team has included Mayor Daley's brother William, a former U.S. commerce secretary with extensive overseas experience. The mayor said part of the pitch will emphasize Chicago's history as a city of immigrants.
Said Ryan -- speaking to reporters Friday at the Hilton Washington Embassy Row, where the Chicago and L.A. teams practiced their presentations through the day:"We're not cocky -- we're confident we have a great, great bid.''

"We're going to make a strong presentation, and L.A. is going to make a strong presentation,'' said the mayor, who counts Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as a friend.

The two embraced in the hotel lobby, and Villaraigosa joked that it was difficult to compete with a mayor like Daley who captured about 70 percent of the vote in winning re-election this year.

The Chicago team of the two Daleys, Ryan, former CTA Chairwoman Valerie Jarrett, Olympic gold medal-winning triple jumper Michael Conley and Paralympic wheelchair champion Linda Mastandrea will be allowed 40 minutes to present their argument, followed by perhaps 20 minutes of questions from the USOC board.


'Quite confident'
Chicago is touting a compact Games with venues that are close together, including a $1.1 billion privately funded proposed housing complex near McCormick Place and a $366 million temporary stadium in Washington Park.
L.A.'s team is selling a Games where most of the venues are already built and offering Hollywood know-how to expand the appeal to the Olympics, which have lost some cachet among younger people.

Villaraigosa acknowledges some "apprehension'' but said his team is "quite confident.''

Both cities are promising no local tax dollars would be used to stage the Games, though both have approved use of taxpayer funds should Games revenues fall short.

Villaraigosa said his team would announce more insurance this weekend but declined to elaborate.

Daley was asked if this was the most important pitch he has made during his 18 years as mayor. "This is really quite different an experience than I've ever had,'' he replied.

The bid presentation "can't just be a lot of pictures and a lot of words. You really have to believe in what you're doing. It has to come from the soul,'' Daley said.

If Chicago wins today, it will compete internationally against a lineup that could include Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Madrid, Spain, and Tokyo.


"We're not cocky -- we're confident we have a great, great bid. PATRICK RYAN, CHICAGO 2016 COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN

[BVictor1]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/cs-070413oly,1,1064456.story?coll=chi-news-hed

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/thumbnails/blurb/2007-04/29035193.jpg
Daley and supporters at the 'Bean.

Chicago, L.A. go for the gold
Final presentation could decide bidder

By Philip Hersh
Tribune Olympic sports reporter
Published April 13, 2007, 10:25 PM CDT

WASHINGTON -- You could hear laughter coming Friday from the room in the Hilton Embassy Row where Chicago was rehearsing the presentation it will deliver Saturday morning to the U.S. Olympic Committee board of directors.

"It reflected the great spirit of the team," Chicago 2016 Chairman Patrick Ryan said of the lighthearted mood. "We did the rehearsal, but the main event is going to be better."

After a yearlong competition that began with five U.S. cities, the quality of the 40-minute presentations that finalists Chicago and Los Angeles make Saturday and the way they handle a subsequent 20-minute question period have become the main event in the board's choice on the U.S. bidder for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

"The final presentation is very important, and I think it will be decisive," said Bob Ctvrtlik, USOC vice president and board member who has overseen the domestic bid process.

Los Angeles plans to raise its financial ante with the announcement of what its mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, described Friday as "further announcements about guarantees" involving private money.

Both cities have secured legislative approval for $500 million in public guarantees against shortfalls in Olympic operating budgets. Such guarantees are critical in the international phase of the competition because the U.S. candidate will not have the full financial backing of the federal government that bidders from the rest of the world traditionally receive.

The International Olympic Committee will select the 2016 host in October 2009. Madrid, Tokyo, Rome, Prague and Rio de Janeiro are among the likely international bidders.

Villaraigosa said the private money could come from corporations, individuals or a combination.

"[The additional guarantee] very clearly is a way to demonstrate the lengths we will go to insure these will very successful Games, and there will be no other costs associated with them that won't be guaranteed," Villaraigosa said.

Chicago 2016 does not plan to sweeten its financial deal Saturday, according to bid spokesman Patrick Sandusky.

Ryan promised Chicago's presentation would include no grandstanding.

"You're not going to see some celebrity new to the scene," he said. "We are not pulling out any rabbits."

It would not be a surprise if the private funding to which Villaraigosa referred came from Los Angeles-based AEG, the biggest worldwide player in sports facilities and events. AEG backed the winning London bid for the 2012 Olympics against New York.

AEG President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Leiweke said in February the firm would do everything it could to support a Los Angeles bid internationally. Leiweke will be one of L.A.'s six presenters Saturday.

"The fact that AEG was involved specifically in the London bid and has privately built a number of venues without taxpayer subsidy is important and would go a long way to make our bid as strong as it is," Villaraigosa said.

Ctvrtlik, an IOC member, saw the impact a final presentation can have when London's dazzled the IOC before the 2012 vote. Paris, the favorite, made such a poor 11th-hour impression it could have been the difference in London's 54-50 triumph.

The difference this time is no one but the 11-member board will be able to evaluate the the presentations because the USOC is belying its claims of a transparent process by not allowing the media to watch. The IOC provides a closed-circuit telecast for the media.

There also will be no vote tally given when the USOC announces the winner about 3 p.m. Saturday.

Under the USOC's weighted ballot system, there are 27 votes. The votes of eight members count three each, and the votes of the other three members count one each.

phersh@tribune.com


Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

[F1 Tommy]

My feeling as stated before is if Chicago does not get the bid the IOC will
take the games south to RIO or another international city.Maybe if LA were to win they could improve their bid alot to compete against the sure to be huge international bid(they will need to).I also think the IOC will look down on the fact LA did the Olympics in 1984.
Its just to soon.I think LA will get another Olympics within maybe
30 years.If they get this USOC bid it will just mess up the US bid again!!

Good luck to both cities.:tup:

[jcchii]

yes, good luck to both cities...

I will say that from the chicago perspective, even the international competition would be a fun exercise and to some extent a profile booster, imo

[RAlossi]

First off, what I want to know is why the LA ****ing Times (Tribune) doesn't have any information on the bid on its front home page (when the USOC is deciding in a matter of HOURS between Chicago/LA) and hasn't been active in reporting on it at all, despite its half-assed attempts to be "more local" and the impact it would have on the region.

The Tribune has had dedicated front-page space for the Olympics bid for a while now, and has been waaay more active in promoting citywide spirit for the Games. What's going on here?

As you can tell, I realllly want the Games to go to LA, and I can't help but wonder why the LA Times isn't reporting on it like it should be.

They have a story of an Orange County pig on their front page, just like they had last night when I went to bed.

[rgolch]

No matter the result, I hope everyone will behave in a respectable manner following the announcement.

No bitter resentment or vile gloating, please.

[pico44]

As an outsider I think Chicago is getting the nod. Just my opinion.

[dktshb]

If we get the bid it probably wouldn't even be on the Sunday's front page either. :rolleyes:

I suspect our local media did the city a disservice that could cost Los Angeles the Olympics. If I was on that board and the cities were relatively close I would pick Chicago because at least they're showing some real excitement about this.

I think I will be a little disapointed if Los Angeles doesn't get the nod but real excited for Chicago, which I think is another great city for America to put out there on the World stage.

[Kngkyle©]

Chicago makes final presentation for '16 games

By Philip Hersh
Tribune Olympics reporter
Published April 14, 2007, 12:16 PM CDT

WASHINGTON -- Chicago sweetened the pot on both the legacy and financial sides of its 2016 Olympic bid during its final presentation to the U.S. Olympic Committee board Saturday morning.

A consortium of Chicago area colleges and universities has agreed to pay for 120 years worth of scholarships to athletes who compete in a 2016 Chicago Olympics. The number symbolizes the 2016 event marking the 120th anniversary of the modern Olympics.

The idea, according to Chicago 2016 chairman Patrick Ryan, ``is to help athletes whose education has been interrupted by dedication to sport.''

Ryan also announced the financial guarantee could be increased by $500 million, depending on market conditions at the time, with a policy from a top-rated insurance company he declined to identify. Ryan said he has a written commitment from the company.

The insurance policy would cover any operational shortfalls but not shortfalls related to venue construction.

Together with $500 million in shortfall guarantees from the city and a potential $150 million from the state, the city's bid would have $1.15 billion in guarantees.

Chicago 2016 actually projects a $525 million profit.

After its 40-minute presentation, the USOC board asked what Ryan said were ``8 to 10'' questions of Chicago 2016 in the 20 minutes allotted to that.

Both Ryan and bid committee member Mike Conley said they sensed no skepticism about the questions.

``There was never an `Aha, we got you on that,''' Conley said. ``Honestly, they wanted to understand perfectly what was in front of them, so they could have all the information.''

The USOC was to choose between Los Angeles and Chicago at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/cs-070414olyearly,1,3504424.story?coll=chi-news-hed&vote24361917=1

[Kngkyle©]

Another bit from a news article, no point in posting the whole thing, it says the same stuff, except for this:

There’s a gaggle of Chicago print and broadcast press here, with a much smaller contingent from Los Angeles.
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/04/sweet_blog_olympic_extra_chica.html

[F1 Tommy]

Well if chicago gets it I can hear the headlines after it sinks in over the next year.Did Chicago sell out and pay to much for the Olympics??You cant win with the media.

[Kngkyle©]

55 minutes. :cool:

[nomarandlee]

whatever happens this has made me appreciate it is not easy feat to be nominated the U.S. city. As much as we like to complain about the state of our cities it will be an honor to be chosen. No other cities in the world have to beat such worthwhile competition to just get to the final decision. I will be an honor for whoever gets the nod.

[ginsan2]

*taps fingers*
It's 3:15 here.
:slob:

[Chicago2020]

32 Minutes

:slob: :slob: :slob:

[amfleisch]

is it going to be on tv or do i have to watch it online?

[Kngkyle©]

is it going to be on tv or do i have to watch it online?

If you live in Chicago then ABC, NBC, and CBS will have it on TV, most likely any other news channels too. If you live anywhere else in the US and you get WGN it will likely be on there, but I'm not sure. You can watch it online live from ABC7chicago.com and some other sites as well.

[ginsan2]

32 Minutes

:slob: :slob: :slob:

Oh, that's right, you have that whole "Central Timezone" thing.

[Alliance]

15 min.

[bnk]

one last article before the ...

Either way Daleys legacy is solid.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-070415legacy-oly-story,1,7830059.story?coll=chi-news-hed

THE OLYMPIC BID ANNOUNCEMENT

2016 or bust?

Chicago's quest for the Games is an all-or-nothing bid to make the city a player on the world stage

By Kathy Bergen
Tribune staff reporter

April 15, 2007

Chicago is about to find out where it ranks: global competitor or also-ran.

That's a brutal judgment, but the contest Chicago entered to win the 2016 Olympics is an all-or-nothing race.

The U.S. Olympic Committee is expected at 3 p.m. Saturday to choose between the Windy City and Los Angeles as the U.S. bid city to host those Summer Games.

The decision either will propel Chicago onto the international stage, where it will go up against the likes of Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, or it will leave the city behind, solidifying Los Angeles' reputation as one of America's stars.

For Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and insurance titan Patrick Ryan, his chief lieutenant in this effort—two powerhouses with histories of getting what they want—the outcome will further sculpt personal legacies already shaped by bold moves.

"This would very much be a capstone to Daley's administration," Chicago historian Perry Duis said. "It may be the first item in biographical sketches. In other words, 'Richard M. Daley, who brought the Olympics to Chicago.' "

"His status would be greater, in the tradition of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and the 1933 World's Fair," said political scientist and former alderman Dick Simpson. "Symbolically, it would put him in the realm of [Chicago visionary architect] Daniel Burnham and others responsible for those events."

Whether his place in Chicago history would outshine the legacy of his father, the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, remains to be seen, Simpson said.

"The Greeks have a saying, 'Count no man lucky until after his death,' " Simpson said. "Too much can happen, particularly with the [City Hall] corruption cases. There are too many variables to be able to tell."

Daley appeared uncomfortable with the whole notion of personal legacy. "It's a legacy of the city, that people have come together on behalf of the Olympic movement, average citizens, business leaders, all coming in, [saying,] 'We want to showcase what the city is about and showcase America,' " the mayor said this week. "I think that will be the legacy, not of Mayor Richard M. Daley, but the city of Chicago."

And Ryan deflected the issue with humor. "I told my wife, 'If we win on Saturday, I can come back and people will still want to talk with me, but if we lose, I'm heading south,' " he said. "I'll go from a hero to a bum quickly."

But Ryan was passionate about what is at stake for Chicago.

"I think what's at stake is an opportunity for Chicago to be really exposed broadly to the world for all its beauty, its charm, its attributes, its culture, its welcoming people," said Ryan, founder and executive chairman of Aon Corp., which was just named the world's largest insurance broker based on revenue. "Big international acceptance—that's at stake here."
Race continues to 2009
Even if Chicago gets the nod Saturday, the race—and its risks—go on until late 2009 when the International Olympic Committee picks the host city. With anti-American sentiment high around the world, this will be a difficult quest.

But in the past year, Ryan and Daley have convinced the city's business and philanthropic leadership that the potential to dramatically reposition the city is worth the risks of an impossible-to-call competition.

"It's highly costly, labor intensive and quite risky on a number of levels, but it's worth a try because in one fell swoop you get an amount of attention in a largely positive context that's just unequaled with any other international event," said Marshall Bouton, president of the Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs.

"This is what Chicago is all about—taking aggressive steps, being hard-nosed in what it wants, and fighting to get it," said Paul Green, director of the Institute for Politics at Roosevelt University.

The price tag to build and host a Chicago Olympics is estimated at $5 billion, including a $366 million temporary stadium in Washington Park on the South Side and a $1.1 billion privately developed Olympic Village south of McCormick Place. Costs are projected to be covered by Olympic-related revenue and private donations. But city and state guarantees recently have been pledged in case of operating losses, reversing earlier pledges by Daley that taxpayers would not be at risk.

Hosting the games, say Ryan and other backers, will transform the city.

A refreshed and heightened international image would translate into more tourists, more international business investment and more international trade shows for the city, Ryan said. And an aquatics center in Douglas Park on the West Side could be a catalyst for attracting minority athletes to swimming, he added.

The Olympic Village, which would be converted to mixed-income housing, as well as improvements to parks along South Lake Shore Drive, would breathe new life into that underutilized stretch of lakefront, Ryan has said.
'He loves big projects'
The Olympic bid falls squarely in line with Daley's penchant for dramatic projects, from the creation of Millennium Park to the renovation of Soldier Field, the expansion of O'Hare International Airport and the dark-of-night mission to change Meigs Field from an airport to a lakefront park.

"If you look at his tenure, he loves big projects, he loves something in the offing, to be working on, to give people a focal point," said Ald. Patrick O'Connor (40th). "As much as the unions and him have been fighting, the Olympics would be one of the largest public works things going on, with housing, the stadium, transportation, and those are all union jobs. So it's an opportunity to keep Chicago working."

There are opportunities to stumble as well. London's bill for the 2012 Games has tripled from original estimates, for instance. And Athens kept the world waiting with bated breath to see whether it could finish preparations in time for its 2004 Games.

"It's not clear why cities want to do this," said Saskia Sassen, a University of Chicago sociology professor and author of "Cities in a World Economy." Often, there is long-term debt incurred and construction of facilities that are underused after the games, she said.
Revival in Barcelona
An exception, she said, was Barcelona, "a deeply decayed city that used the occasion to rebuild its infrastructure, bring some great architecture into an urban fabric that was old, gray and crumbling."

"It became a famous city and still is," she said, noting that Chicago, if it executed well, could borrow a page from Barcelona and use the Olympics to extend the economic revival already under way here.

And if the city took it as an opportunity to showcase environmentally sound construction techniques, that would "put Chicago on the global map," she said.

While Chicago and its chief pitchmen, Daley and Ryan, stand to gain in stature if the city wins the right to host the Olympics, a loss would not be terribly damaging, say some observers.

"If it doesn't happen, there's a lot else going on—the fundamentals are here, of economic revival downtown, of people living in the center city again … a buzz around Chicago as the most beautiful city in North America," Bouton said. "All the fundamentals are right, and the city will find other ways to build on them.

"Are we missing an opportunity the Olympics would've provided? Yeah, but it's a throw of the dice."

He also commended Daley and Ryan for their willingness to stick their necks out on this, risking a loss.
Places in history set
A number of observers say their places in history are carved out, regardless of the Olympics outcome.

Daley recently enjoyed a landslide victory for a sixth term, in spite of antagonism from union leaders and hiring and contracting scandals at City Hall.

"No matter what happens, history will view Richard M. Daley as a builder mayor because of all the other projects—Millennium Park, Soldier Field and so on," Simpson said.

"Does he need this for another arrow in his quiver? I don't think so for history to accord him pretty high marks for his years," said Allen Sanderson, a sports economist at the University of Chicago.

As founder of Aon, Ryan has presided over one of the city's most dramatic corporate growth stories. He also has been a major benefactor to his alma mater, Northwestern University, and other philanthropies, and he is a minority owner of the Chicago Bears.

"Pat has had a remarkable wingspan in the business, civic and education communities," said R. Eden Martin, president of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club and a member of the Aon and Northwestern boards, both chaired by Ryan.

Still, Ryan clearly is deeply invested in scoring this next achievement.

"There's a lot at stake for people," Ryan said in an interview last week. "People all the time now come up to me and say, 'We're with you.' There's a lot of this 'we' talk, and I want them to keep saying 'we.' I'd rather hear that than, 'You screwed up.' But that's the risk you take."

Tribune reporter Gary Washburn contributed to this report.

[Chicago2020]

8 Minutes

I cant stand!!!! GET OUT OF MY WAY AHHHHH

[bnk]

I got 6 min.

[DaleAvella]

broadcast started on wcsn.com

[Kngkyle©]

http://www.nbc5.com/videostream/5825372/detail.html

NBC link to watch live online.

[Alliance]

Can anyone see live streaming videon on ABC7's website?

...nevermind I'll use NBC.

[jcchii]

CNN to carry

[bnk]

What is taking so long. :shrug:

[jcchii]

don't know. CNN teased it at top of hour

[jcchii]

CBS 2 in chicago

[Kngkyle©]

It is on MSNBC as breaking news.

[BVictor1]

CHICAGO WINS

[aaron38]

WOOOOOO!!!!

We're still in it baby!! Go Chicago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bnk]

Chicago



:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[j korzeniowski]

yyyyyeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[edluva]

congrats chicago. you deserve this one. :tup:

[Alliance]

Woooooooo!

[McStructures]

booyeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[OhioGuy]

Yeah baby, Chicago wins in the US. Now begins the task taking on the rest of the world. :)

[Attrill]

Woo hoo!

:cheers:

I especially liked the comment "if these two mayors were running this country we'd all be better off" :haha:

[ginsan2]

:banana: :tup: :cheers: :banana:

[Chicago2016]

We Did It Holy Crap!