[Marcu]

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers::cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

[bnk]

Did anyone notice the expression of what looked like supprise, dissapointment? Emotion in Peter Uber.. after he read the envelope?


What did you think?

[Marcu]

USOC PICKS CHICAGO



April 14, 2007

(Crain’s) — Chicago has defeated Los Angeles in the race to become the American competitor to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The decision was announced in Washington a few minutes ago by the U.S. Olympic Committee after hearing final pitches from both cities.

A full report will be available here shortly.

[Chicago2020]

VICTORY IS OURS

[TransitEngr]

STIR
THE
SOUL!!!!

GO
CHICAGO!!!

:cheers:
:tup:
:upload_71700:
:thrasher:

[bnk]

Daley on live now.

His emotion is on his sleve again. I love this man.

Ryan even has tears in his eyes.

Peter U talking now. I can sense true disapointment in his talk

[BnaBreaker]

AHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHA FUCK LA! just kidding. Great bid guys...but GO CHICAGO!!!

Do we know which world cities we will be up against yet?

[nomarandlee]

:tup: :notacrook: :tup: :cool: :D :worship: :banana:
:upload_71700:
:banaride: :awesome: :thankyouthankyou: :tomato: :drummer: :happypunk:
:rock: :cucumber: :apple: :banger: :drunk: :righton: :leek: :thrasher:

Bring on the world!!!!!!!

[BVictor1]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/olympics/cs-070414olychicago-win,0,1975584.story?coll=chi-newsbreaking-hed

Chicago is U.S. candidate for '16 Olympics

By Philip Hersh
Tribune olympic sports reporter
Published April 14, 2007


WASHINGTON -- An effort that came as something of a surprise when it was initiated a year ago produced another surprise Saturday, when Olympic ingénue Chicago beat Games veteran Los Angeles to become the U.S. bid city for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

``We are very grateful the United States Olympic Committee has given us this opportunity,'' Chicago 2016 chairman Patrick Ryan said after the USOC board of directors voted for what could become the first Midwest Olympics since the St. Louis Summer Games of 1904.

Chicago now moves into the international phase of the competition, which begins officially Sept. 15, when candidates must submit their bids to the International Olympic Committee. The IOC will select the 2016 host in October 2009.

``The bidding process for 2016 has not yet been launched but we welcome the choice of Chicago, which has been officially selected today by the USOC,'' IOC president Jacques Rogge said. ``No doubt this was an interesting contest.

``We are happy to have an American city in the race and look forward to receiving Chicago's official bid.''

Chicago's rivals in the 2016 competition likely will include Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Rome, Tokyo and Prague. Baku, Azerbaijan and Doha, Qatar, improbable dreamers, also may enter the race.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Friday his city would bid again if a city from the Americas were not named 2016 host. Although the IOC has no rules about geographical distribution of the Olympics, there have not been consecutive Summer Games on the same continent since 1948 (London) – 1952 (Helsinki).

The Saturday vote followed the cities' final presentations to the 11-member board in a closed meeting. USOC vice-president Bob Ctvrtlik, who has overseen the domestic bid process, said Friday he thought those presentations ``will be decisive.''

Los Angeles was expected to emphasize its history as the United States' pre-eminent Olympic city, the fact that all its major venues are built, and the bonus its entertainment community would bring in helping the Olympics revive sagging appeal to young people.

Chicago planned to focus on the compact, athlete-friendly nature of its plans, which would center the Games in the heart of downtown and the city's parks, creating an Olympic celebration in a striking setting and making travel times for athletes minimal. But Chicago had to overcome questions about the financial viability of its plans with the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Village and aquatics facility yet to be built.

A Chicago Olympic bid for 2016 once seemed improbable. The city formed a committee to investigate a bid for 2008 but quickly rejected that idea. Richard M. Daley, then and now the mayor, went so far as to call Olympic bidding a con game because the USOC was demanding $50,000 just to get into the competition.

Now, Daley explains the reluctance to the earlier bid as having been related to a feeling there was no chance for a U.S. city to win the 2008 Games. The USOC eventually decided not to present a candidate in what became the coronation of Beijing as host city.

When Chicago decided to bid for 2016, it had almost no involvement in Olympics sports for 50 years, since the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago. Los Angeles had been host of two highly successful Summer Games, in 1932 and 1984.

Yet Atlanta won the USOC vote to bid for the Centennial 1996 Olympics with even less demonstration of past Olympic interest, then went on to a shocking victory in the IOC vote.

First-time bidders rarely win in the IOC vote, with Atlanta as an exception.

Chicago has bid previously, but not in the last 35 years, which made the 2016 effort essentially a first-time bid. But Ryan did not see it as merely laying groundwork for another attempt in four years.

``Should you go in and serve your apprenticeship knowing you are going to lose? There is too much money involved and too much time and psychic energy involved to just kind of rehearse knowing you can't win,'' Ryan said.

``I talked to the New York people (who lost to London in the 2012 bidding), some of whom had worked 11 years, only to not win. That is pretty devastating. It's not unlike somebody training for the Olympics for all those years and never achieving it.''

Chicago's mandate in the domestic bid process was to convince the board it could win enough IOC votes to be named host city. That meant overcoming the widely perceived idea that the city has a low international profile compared to Los Angeles, the world's entertainment capital and frequent host of World Cup and world championship events in Olympic sports.

For Chicago, as it seeks IOC votes, that task has been complicated by rules established in the wake of the Salt Lake Olympic bid scandal. Cities no longer can invite IOC members to visit but can show them the city if they come for personal business or because of their involvement in international sports federations.

``It would be certainly better if we could bring them all in; obviously we can't,'' Ryan said. ``But I think a lot of people are much more aware of Chicago than is generally known.

``There has been so much that has happened in this city in the past decade. The old feeling of urban sprawl and the reputation of the 20s and 30s, you don't hear that. People are really conscious of Chicago being a great global city.''

The IOC wants to spread the Olympics around the globe, and the Games never have been in South America or Africa. That gives added weight to a Rio candidacy, especially if the Brazilian city does a good job as host of the 2007 Pan American Games in July.

Yet Rio now is the only bidder for the 2014 soccer World Cup. Hosting two events of the magnitude of the World Cup and Olympics within barely two years may be beyond Brazil's capabilities.

Two countries have done it: Germany in 1972-74, and the United States in 1994-96.

Both events were significantly smaller in the 1970s–-the World Cup had 16 teams compared to the current 32, and the Olympics had 7,100 athletes from 122 countries and 195 events compared to the current 10,500 athletes from 203 countries and 301 events.

The 1994 World Cup had just 24 teams, while the 1996 Olympics had 10,300 athletes from 197 countries and 271 events.

The USOC process that ended Saturday began in early 2006 with five candidates. The USOC eliminated Philadelphia and Houston in its first cut last July. San Francisco, one of the original three finalists, withdrew in November when its Olympic Stadium plans collapsed.

``The IOC is always pleased to see cities expressing their interest in hosting the Olympic Games,'' IOC president Rogge said. ``This demonstrates the popularity of the Games and the understanding that cities have of how the Games are a unique project which not only brings joy to the people of the city and country for 16 days of sporting competition, but a project whose benefits go even further by acting as a catalyst and vehicle for a city's and a country's projects.''



Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

[BVictor1]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/olympics/341682,oly041507.article

Chicago wins USOC bid

April 14, 2007

BY ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporter


WASHINGTON -- Chicago today won the right to represent the United States in competition for the Olympic Summer Games of 2016.

United States Olympic Committee Chairman Peter Ueberroth made the announcement here just before 3:15 p.m., following a dramatic opening of a sealed envelope containing the final vote of the USOC committee.

http://media1.suntimes.com/nixoncds/image/daley2.jpg_20070414_15_15_32_1359-282-400.imageContent
Chicago was chosen over Los Angeles to be the U.S. host city for the 2016 Olympics. (AP)

Next up: a 2009 vote by the International Olympic Committee, which will choose among a host of cities that could include Rio de Janiero, Madrid and Tokyo.
The USOC board voted to support Chicago’s bid over a plan presented by Los Angeles.

Chicago is offering a compact games centered around the lakefront, including a privately-financed $1.1 billion Olympic Village near McCormick Place, a $366 million temporary stadium in the south side’s Washington Park and a $78 million aquatics center in Douglas Park on the city’s west side.

Chicago officials have maintained that the nearly $3 billion operating budget can be covered by Olympic revenues, including television contracts and sponsorship monies. However, the city has pledged $500 million in the event revenues fall short, and Gov. Blagojevich is working to develop a $150 million “safety net.’’

Chicago officials insist it is unlikely that taxpayer dollars will have to be tapped as they are predicting the games will generate a $525 million surplus. The Chicago Park District is kicking in $15 million for the aquatics center, which it would be able to use following the games.

Today’s vote came after a both cities made final pitches here that included questions by the USOC board. Chicago’s six-member team was led by Mayor Daley and Patrick Ryan, the insurance magnate who serves as chairman of the Chicago 2016 committee. Also presenting was the mayor’s brother, William, a former U.S. Commerce secretary whose global business contacts were seen as a plus as the city must now win 60 votes from the IOC to host the Summer Games.

Talking to reporters here before the vote, Mayor Daley said the city’s pitch included Chicago’s history as a place built by immigrants. “Chicago is such an international global city – every community is represented throughout the world.”

[jcchii]

tokyo, rio, madrid, prague

[jcchii]

LAT -

By Helene Elliott, Times Staff Writer
1:20 PM PDT, April 14, 2007


WASHINGTON -- Chicago is the Second City no more.

Chicago prevailed over Los Angeles to be designated the U.S. bid city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, defeating its larger rival with a vision of a compact Games centered on its picturesque and popular lakefront. The U.S. Olympic Committee announced its choice this afternoon after internal discussions that followed final presentations by delegations from both cities.

Chicago has never hosted the Games. It will now enter the international phase of the process, where it is expected to compete against Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid to become the 2016 site. The International Olympic Committee will announce its choice in October of 2009.

The next two Summer Games are scheduled for Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

As an aspiring first-time Olympic host, Chicago had the advantage of being a novelty. Its central location and status as a world-class business and transportation hub also worked in its favor.

However, its bid was far from perfect. It will have to build most of its proposed venues as well as an Olympic Village, costly undertakings that could encounter delays and compromise its plans. Pressed by USOC officials to detail its financial underpinnings, Chicago 2016 officials secured promises of governmental and private funding only during the last weeks of their quest.

Los Angeles has hosted the Games twice, in 1932 and 1984, and its history was a strength and a shortcoming. In each case, the Games were profitable and added a feature to Olympic lore: in 1932, the Los Angeles Games introduced the idea of an athletes' village, and in 1984 they transformed the commercially flagging Games into a desirable and popular property.

The plan for Los Angeles called for construction of only one venue, a shooting range. Organizers said that such minimal construction needs would reduce the potential for problems and cost overruns and would have allowed them to spend money on cultural programs that aren't essential to the Olympics but enhance the ambience for residents and visitors.

The choice of Chicago signaled the USOC's desire for something new, risky though it may turn out to be.

Each group exited its final presentation with smiles and optimism.

Patrick G. Ryan, chairman and chief executive officer of the Chicago 2016 group, said the 11-member USOC panel wanted some clarification today of its planned financial structuring. The Games would have $650 million in public and private funding, he said, "and we showed we would be able to develop significant additional private [backing] so we'd be able compete with international cities that are backed by their government."

Ryan also said the group as "a highly confident letter from an A-plus rated insurance company saying they believe they'd be in a position to provide $500 million of specific revenue shortfall coverage and cost overruns, but not cost overruns rated to the completion of venues."

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who also made a presentation today, said he and the other committee members wanted to get across their love for their city and its history. He said making the pitch was an emotional and memorable moment in his long political career.

He was struck, he said, by "the passion, the commitment, the friendliness understanding of the Olympic movement and how important the individual athlete is and how important the movement can be to our city and to our country in regards to the youth of Chicago..

"It's the highlight of your career to see people of all backgrounds coming together in that room and making a presentation in behalf of our city."

Mike Conley Sr., an Olympic champion triple jumper, said the committee did add a new wrinkle today by describing a scholarship program that Olympic athletes could tap in order to attend an array of Chicago colleges and universities. The program would provide 120 years of scholarships, in tribute to the 2016 Olympics coinciding with the 120th anniversary of the modern Games.

Before the decision was announced, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pledged his support to Daley and the Chicago bid in the event that Los Angeles did not win.

"No matter who wins here, America will win," Villaraigosa said. "I've often said Chicago is the best-managed big city in the U.S. It's led by a great mayor and great American.

"This is not about Chicago vs. L.A. It's about putting together the most spectacular Games in the history of the Games." And now Chicago will get the chance to meet that challenge.

[pico44]

The competition is Rio. Chicago is in a very good position to win this bid, considering there will be major issues of size, infrastructure and safety in Rio. The Olympics is Chicago's to lose.

[nicopico]

Hell yeah! Go Chicago! The Gay Games last year, and now possibly the Olympics in nine years. We got spirit, yes we do. We got spirit, how 'bout you?:banana:

[jcchii]

it's really hard to believe that would be 20 years after atlanta, wow

[Alliance]

The competition is Rio. Chicago is in a very good position to win this bid, considering there will be major issues of size, infrastructure and safety in Rio. The Olympics is Chicago's to lose.

Thats too strong. Chicago needs major improvements to its bid to become an OLYMPIC CITY.

However, I'm very excited to see what the Chicago-USOC partnership will put forward.

[UrbanSophist]

The competition is Rio. Chicago is in a very good position to win this bid, considering there will be major issues of size, infrastructure and safety in Rio. The Olympics is Chicago's to lose.

Definitely. If Chicago doesn't win it, its only because Chicago failed to make a good enough bid.

[Rail Claimore]

The competition is Tokyo. Madrid is a no-no after London.

[northface]

yeah but 2008 is already an asian city.....most likely we'll see chicago get the bid.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Congrats! good luck internationally. i would love to see the games in person again.

[nomarandlee]

The competition is Tokyo. Madrid is a no-no after London.


If Tokyo hadn't held it before I would say they were a shoe-in given its importance, wealth, and size. But with Asia getting the 2008 games and with what seems at best luke warm support in Tokyo for a games. I think Tokyo may face a bit of a problem Chicago may in that the IOC may want a games in some in a near region (southeast Asia and South America respectively) soon if a bid is good enough. If for some reason the IOC feels there are major hurdles in a games going to either Rio or Chicago Tokyo is likely the best safest option.

The biggest competition is Rio I think. It is in a region never to have hedl the games. It is a BIG city and has one of the sexiest natural locations one could have a games. Plus they know how to throw a party for international visitors since they do it every year. Safety (not like Chicago is the safetet big city on the planet but still) and some infrastructure may be problamatic though. Some of their Pan-Am games venues which I am sure would also be used in 2016 look pretty nice though and more importantly will already be in place.

[HK Chicago]

While Tokyo is clearly a more significant city then the two combined, Chicago & Rio are both in US TV friendly timezones. This will be a major factor since NBC would like to have live primetime events after 20 years.

[JivecitySTL]

WOO HOO!!!

Way to go, Chitown. You deserve it!

[Chicago2016]

Rio De Janeiro is in contention for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and if they win that bid our odds get bigger :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[sentinel]

Rio De Janeiro is in contention for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and if they win that bid our odds get bigger :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

AND Rio is currently the ONLY city that is a contender for the 2014 World Cup, so you know what that means: MORE DANCING BANANAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:
CHICAGO 2016!!!!!!!!!:upload_71700: :banaride: :banaride: :rainbow: :awesome: :tomato: :tomato: :rock: :cucumber: :apple: :cucumber: :fruit: :5:

[Master Shake]

I was a doubter, I knew Chicago would be LA, but I now feel that its the City's destiny to take it over Rio. What a capstone to Daley's legacy!

And most likely he will still be Mayor!

[MNdude]

I bet you Rio would rather have the World Cup than the Olympics, CONGRATS Chicago!!!!!!!!!

[Catmendue2]

Sweet Home Chicago.:banana:

[2PRUROCKS!]

Chicago 2016 Stir The Soul!

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

[bnk]

At last I can rest, after I go out and celebrate tonight.

[Attrill]

I bet you Rio would rather have the World Cup than the Olympics, CONGRATS Chicago!!!!!!!!!

Definitely - Brasil getting the World Cup and Chicago getting the Olympics would be a win-win situation :yes:

[Rail Claimore]

While Tokyo is clearly a more significant city then the two combined, Chicago & Rio are both in US TV friendly timezones. This will be a major factor since NBC would like to have live primetime events after 20 years.

That's not much of a hinderance to Asia either. Olympic ceremonies and events held mid-day in East Asia would be prime time in North America. Seoul and Nagano were both broadcasted live.

[bnk]

updated version.

http://www.chicagotribune.com:/sports/olympics/chi-070415legacy-oly-story,1,4960342.story?coll=chi-news-hed&vote24361917=1

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 14, 2007, 3:29 PM CDT

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 today chose the Windy City over Los Angeles as the U.S. bid city to host those Summer Games.

The decision propels Chicago onto the international stage, where it will go up against the likes of Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

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."

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
Now that Chicago has received the nod, the bigger 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, 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.

kbergen@tribune.com

[detroitismylove]

YESSS!!! I have been rooting for the CITY THAT WORKS since day 1! I am extremely happy about today's decison. CHICAGO's time is NOW!

[AnotherPunter]

Don't underestimate Rio. The IOC likes a narrative of the games transforming a city. Chicago fits that bill--I suspect it played into the USOC's decision since the same doesn't really apply to LA--but Brazil is poised to take its place on the world stage. If there's a city thats ready to take on Barcelona's mantle, its Rio.

Brazil is growing economically. Its a developing country and--definitely--hosting both the World Cup and the Olympics would be a big strain financially. But you never know... Hugo Chavez may just step in with his oil-billions to ensure that South America can pull off both the games and the Cup.

The whole game will come down in part to how well Chicago can convince them its NOT "America" hosting the games. Its Chicago. That comes in two flavors. First, that the games will not be cheapened by commericalism and an all consuming drive to make the games turn a profit at the expense of putting on a true showcase for the world the way they were in Atlanta (and LA before them).

The more vexing problem is America's standing in the world at the moment. One thing I think Chicago has going for it is that its NOT LA or NY. I.e., despite all this talk about us being a World City, the fact is we aren't quite there yet. Thats a good thing. It means we aren't necessarily associated with the strings that are pulling the cultural, economic and military levers the world over. We don't have the international profile they do, but the profile we've got is as a strong, quiet city on the lake in the middle of the country located in a blue state (without being overwraught). We are a place the world would like to spend time and get to know. We get things done right with humility and respect. And we know how to have a good time. If we can build on all of that--and the safety and financial concerns that Rio brings--then we have a shot. But otherwise, I worry that the transformative narrative Rio can tell is stronger than ours.

[Via Chicago]

Did anyone notice the expression of what looked like supprise, dissapointment? Emotion in Peter Uber.. after he read the envelope?


What did you think?

i noticed the same thing. his facial expression when he first opened the envelope was a huge display of disappointment i think.

[Chicago2020]

He looked modest

[Chicago2016]

My name is still alive

[Via Chicago]

He looked modest

im not saying he had to jump up and down. but his expression almost looked pained.

[AnotherPunter]

And then there's Qatar. The IOC may think its time that it brings the games--a deeply western tradition--to the middle east. Qatar is already building what is in effect its olympic park and its putting as much money and effort into it as Dubai is putting into skyscrapers. It spent $2.6billion just to prepare for the 2006 Asia Games. They have plenty where that came from.

[Trae]

I was hoping for Chicago. Los Angeles has the scenery, but lets give another city a chance.

[Chicago2020]

Has anyone read Zorn's article on the Tribune. Man what a douche

[Kngkyle©]

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/8435/070413dalyhmed2prp420x4dv2.jpg

[LouisianaRush]

Congrats Chicago, but I would love to see the Olympics in Rio.

[Jeff_in_Dayton]

Good to hear this. I think this is a better choice than LA, given that LA has had it twice already.

However, Id be happy having the Olympics in Rio, too. I dont thing we've seen many Olympics in Latin America, so I can see this too.

[Eventually...Chicago]

Eric Zorn is a total knob. He just doesn't like anything daley does cause he is a conservative WASP. The kind of guy who gets excited dreaming about accounting practices and fiscal responsibility.

Money is the dumbest reason not to do anything. Sure the olympics are going to cost money, anything worth doing/having does. But like millennium park, 5 years after, do you think anyone will care about how much it cost. (And stop thinking about Montreal, tiny cities have no business hosting the summer games)

these olympics really have a chance to enhance chicago, in every imaginable context. Taking a page out of Jane Jacobs book, cataclysmic events tend to magnify the current conditions of a city, for better or worse. Couple the building boom that we have going on with the olympics and ... wow.

And winning the olympic bid is good if for no other reason as exposing this banana graphic as the best. :banaride:
And on that issue there can be no debate!

[Chicago2016]

Link to the Zorn thing?

[Chicago2020]

^^^Well I like to say that I am a non hardcore conservative, and I personally believe that Daley is one, if not, the best Mayor in the United States right now. The man gets things done, unlike our president and his half assed efforts

And enough of the corruption shit that people talk about on this and other boards. If you want corruption just look at the Chinese gov.

Plus by 2009 we'll have a new and BETTER president, with that and the olympic bid thats in place our chances will be better by then, but im cheering for a Obama(Dem) and Guillianni(Rep) election race.

[Via Chicago]

the headline on yahoo is pissing me off:

"Chicago's upset bid"

still no respect.

[Chicago2016]

I was thinking the same thing too VIA

[Kngkyle©]

the headline on yahoo is pissing me off:

"Chicago's upset bid"

still no respect.

Wow, thats bullsh!t. I would complain to Yahoo about that if I had a yahoo account. :hell:

[Chicago2016]

Yahoo is headquarted in Silicon Valley, CA :)

[Chicago2020]

^^^Well there you go :haha: :haha:

[urban_encounter]

:banana:


After San Francisco dropped out of the running, this competition was Chicago's to lose...

That's not to say that L.A. couldn't have pulled off one heck of an Olypiad.
There's no doubt that it could have.


But I believe that the USOC was looking not just on the merits of ability to host the games, but whether the IOC could be more likely to vote for Chicago or Los Angeles...

It's difficult to argue with the Lakefront bid that Chicago put forward, and L.A. was in a difficult position having hosted the Olympics as recently as 1984.. ...


This is just the first step though and we have a long way to go....


:cheers:

[Eventually...Chicago]

I was just curious while reading through the responses to a blog for the sun times. A few people were complaining about the potential traffic mess. Is there something that i am missing here? I mean it is a grand total of three weeks of events. These people must be the ones you see yelling in their car on the kennedy.

[A42251]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but why wouldn't the opening/closing ceremonies be held at Soldier Field? Wouldn't the downtown lakefront be a much more impressive backdrop to show the world than the area where Washington Park is? I can just picture an enormous fireworks display on the lake in front of Grant Park.

Also, I am assuming that Michael Jordan would be the obvious choice to light the flame. What do you all think?

[Chicago2020]

Listen to this and imagine the Olympic Stadium and the rest of the city in 2016

http://theolympicdream.ytmnd.com/

[Eventually...Chicago]

It would be remiss to not mention that of the articles i have been reading that the los angelenos have been conducting themselves with class upon the USOC's announcement. Considering the emotion involved in pitting 2 US powerhouses against each other, it was comforting to see it not descend into a mud flinging contest.

Perhaps the USOC should coordinate our political elections?

As for the international competition, let me be the first to say... North America rules, south america drools.

[cookiejarvis]

Congrats to Chicago, I always thought it had the more compelling plan. Good luck in the international bidding phase.

[urban_encounter]

It would be remiss to not mention that of the articles i have been reading that the los angelenos have been conducting themselves with class upon the USOC's announcement.

True...

Very well stated...

[APPRAISER]

In my opinon, I think they should expand Migs Field and put the Olympic Sadium there! I think a sadium at the lake front with the skyline in the back ground will win over any world city.

[bnk]

In my opinon, I think they should expand Migs Field and put the Olympic Sadium there! I think a sadium at the lake front with the skyline in the back ground will win over any world city.

Now that you mention that I did hear, during the press confrence, that the USOC would continue to work with and try to improve their bid. They made it a point that the Chicago 2016 bid had some work to do and that could include a change of the location of some of the venues.

[honte]

^ Yes, move the stadium over by the lake, or at Roosevelt Road in that big empty space west of Clark. If they used Roosevelt Road, you'd have the unusual, but postcard-quality view of all the Loop skyscrapers just literally spilling over the sides. ... And people without tickets could go up in the high-rises and eavesdrop, kind of like a mega-scale Wrigley Field experience. :)

I haven't been following this thread, so I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but I think the current proposal for the stadium location was chosen to prove to the committees that Chicago has a chunk of city-owned land available and ready to use, without any risk. But I could easily see, once Chicago wins, this location being replaced with something less controversial, more dramatic, and permanent.

Also, I want to say that I am very touched by all of the LA and non-Chicago people coming in this forum to wish us good luck. Thanks. :tup:

[Mr Roboto]

Very happy day today. I knew it would be close, LA would have been the clear choice had they not hosted the games so recently. I think the USOC made a great decision obviously, and of course, the threepeat would have been hard to pull off at the IOC level.

If Rio gets the world cup, they could likely give a crap about the Olympics, and thats also tons of additional work. The world cup is really a bigger event anyway, so if they get that I feel good about chi's chances. All the locals complaining about weak things llike traffc etc., dont know what they are talking about and are clearly shortsighted. I almost feel sorry for them, but am glad they dont run the city.

[jcchii]

these are good points. I'm not convinced the stadium stays in washington park either. It's a bit out of the way.

maybe there is time to tear down the oldest part of mccormick place, closest to the lake.
the newest portion is coming online now anyway, and that's probably enough space for the olympic stadium

[Marcu]

You can always acount on the NY Times to have an objective account of Chicago..

April 15, 2007
Chance to Have Olympics Is a Balm for a Troubled City
By ERIC FERKENHOFF
New York Times
CHICAGO, April 14 — This city’s image could use a little lift.

Battered by scandal on many fronts, including the resignation this month of its top police official and the indictment of an aide close to Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago has needed some good news.

And that came, in large measure, on Saturday, when the United States Olympic Committee announced that Chicago had beat out Los Angeles in the United States bid to serve as host of the 2016 Summer Games.

In making its choice, the committee ended a yearlong tug-of-war of money and ego that started with five cities, including Philadelphia, San Francisco and Houston, and granted Chicago a world stage perhaps bigger than any since the Columbian Exposition of 1893.

“It’s certainly as historic as that to be in the running,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, which promotes Chicago to the world.

“We hit a low point in 2000, when The Wall Street Journal said we — not even Illinois — was on the map of tech hot-spots in the country,” Msall said. “We’ve come a long way since then, and this reinforces that and says we’re not only on the map, but a big point on it.”

The Olympic committee selected Chicago for its ability to “re-create a certain magic,” according to Bob Ctvrtlik, chairman of the U.S.O.C.’s city evaluation committee, with its miles of lakefront, its record of guiding a rusty city through vast environmental initiatives and its economic success.

Even if Chicago does not win the international competition, which is expected to be decided in October 2009, a huge push is already under way to polish Washington Park in the South Side. The neighborhood and its vast park would be the site of the main stadium for the Games, but it is largely distressed despite its proximity to the well-to-do Hyde Park neighborhood and the University of Chicago.

Michael Dunbar, 47, who was at the park on Saturday, sounded almost ecstatic at the news of the committee’s choice. Having just finished walking his dog through the park — whose tennis courts are tattered and signs are marred by graffiti — he voiced hope that the development of Washington Park would not push out too many residents as businesses move into empty lots and the wealthy make it home.

“I’m not going anywhere,” said Dunbar, who has been a driver for Pepsi for 30 years. “This will be my space, and maybe the riffraff will go away.”

He added: “Sure the rent will go up, the condos are already coming. But me, hopefully I can retire early and maybe take in some of these Games.”

Not everyone was rooting. On WGN radio, the host of “Sports Central” said Chicago did not need the Summer Games — and the “congestion” and “headache” they would bring — to prove the city was world class. But for others, the Games would be an important step for the city. “We might get to represent the United States, and I’m happy that we were chosen,” said David Wildman, a 10-year-old from the South Side who was walking with his mother on Saturday. “My dad says — I don’t know if he’s right — the world hates us, and we probably won’t be chosen. But I think we will. We’re a nice city.”

[Mr Roboto]

“My dad says — I don’t know if he’s right — the world hates us, and we probably won’t be chosen. But I think we will. We’re a nice city.”

Gotta love youthful innocence. This is also what the games are about.

[Chicago2020]

.

[jcchii]

that writer is based in chicago, fyi

[budman]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but why wouldn't the opening/closing ceremonies be held at Soldier Field? Wouldn't the downtown lakefront be a much more impressive backdrop to show the world than the area where Washington Park is? I can just picture an enormous fireworks display on the lake in front of Grant Park.

Also, I am assuming that Michael Jordan would be the obvious choice to light the flame. What do you all think?
^Soldier Field is too small (by about 25,000).

[budman]

Also, the only real competition in the international field is Rio. Chicago will be the underdog again, but our leadership is unbelievable. This thing is coming here for 2016. Count on it.

[Dalton]

What's with all this talk about Rio and how everyone would be just as happy if they got the 2016 Olympics? Chicago's bid is a one-shot deal. If Chicago loses this, no one will have the stomach to attempt another bid for several decades. Earlier someone even seemed happy to suggest that Hugo Chavez, the anti-American dictator of Venuzuela, might help fund a Brazilian Olympics.

In 2009 if Rio wins the bid, then say "good job" and congratulate them. But for now, it's every Chicagoan's duty to recognize the "fact" that Rio is a stinking, crime-ridden, drug-infested hellhole with tens of thousands of homeless children starving in the streets.

[Alliance]

You can always acount on the NY Times to have an objective account of Chicago..

:haha:

Ultimate dream? A temporary floating stadium/ stadium on a new pier south of navy pier near the mouth of the river, with a giant flamethrower torch on the top of the Chicago spire.

Security/logsitic nightmare, but hey...we all can dream.

[UrbanSophist]

If Chicago loses this, no one will have the stomach to attempt another bid for several decades.

It'll be another century before Chicago tries again.

[DJM19]

If Chi loses this, I know LA will attempt again. The group that does LA's bids is mandated to do it I think (except when it would be an obvious waste of time ala after a US city won)

[b-s]

the headline on yahoo is pissing me off:

"Chicago's upset bid"

still no respect.

At least they're reporting it. That person who runs the Mudge Report apparently is more interested in the "extreme weather" of the blue states. The conservative/Sunbelt bias from that person is well known.

[mountsac]

just found out now. harrah!!! stir the friggin soul baby :banana:

[foxmtbr]

Congrats! :tup:

[nomarandlee]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/342451,CST-NWS-olynext15.article

What's next? 'Now the heavy lifting begins'
WOOING THE IOC | City needs 60 votes to realize dream

April 15, 2007
BY ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporter aherrmann@suntimes.com
As one U.S. Olympic Committee official put it, "Now the heavy lifting begins."

To host the Summer Games of 2016, Chicago must win 60 votes from the International Olympic Committee, whose 118 members will decide in October 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

First stop for Chicago: Beijing, where a Chicago 2016 delegation will go for a conference of Olympic-related sports federations April 23-27.
"[It's] really important to attend every event where IOC members are participating that is sanctioned by the IOC," said Patrick Ryan, chairman of the Chicago 2016 bid committee. Rules prohibit Chicago officials from directly lobbying IOC members, "but you can get to know them," said Ryan. "You want to expose the team to them so they can understand you."

Representatives of the IOC will conduct visits to Chicago, as well.

Chicago has raised "a little over $25 million" so far in private funds for an international campaign, said Ryan. He declined to predict how much Chicago needs to spend to win on the international level, but New York's unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Games in 2005 cost a reported $35 million.

The USOC contributes skill at navigating the international competition, mostly technical experts in such areas as finance, technology, communications and bid strategy, said USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel.

Chicago officials also hope to tap the corporate world to use their overseas contacts.

The bid book, which contains Chicago's Olympic plans and was prepared for the USOC competition, could undergo some changes.

And Peter Ueberroth, USOC board chairman, suggested Saturday that Chicago officials need to "brush up" on foreign-language skills.

[nomarandlee]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/342447,CST-NWS-olywho15.article


Our competition -- and what they could offer
WORLD | We have a good reputation, but Rio de Janeiro could be tough foe

April 15, 2007
BY ANDREW HERRMANN AND LYNN SWEET Staff Reporters aherrmann@suntimes.com lsweet@suntimes.com



Can Chicago win the whole shebang?

Some experts think it can, though there are some potential stumbling blocks.

If the International Olympic Committee were to vote today, "I think it would be very hard to win" because of the war in Iraq, said Anita DeFrantz, a USOC board member and IOC member. "We are seen as an aggressor nation."
However, a different U.S. administration will be in place in 2009, DeFrantz noted.

Patrick Ryan, chairman of the Chicago 2016 committee, downplayed any anti-American sentiment, saying "people around the world are not happy with the U.S. government, but they like American people, respect American people."

The deadline to submit a bid to the International Olympic Committee is September 2007, a process that will reveal all contenders. So far, main competition is seen as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Madrid, Spain, and Tokyo -- but they all have marks against them.

Here's the early line handicap.

Chicago's positives:

• • The city has a favorable international reputation -- "it's not a jerkwater city," said Robert K. Barney, founding director of the International Centre For Olympic Studies at the University of Western Ontario.

• • Being an American city also helps because U.S. dollars are "the engine that drives the Olympic movement," said Barney. The U.S. TV contract alone equals all the other contracts around the world.

Potential negatives:

• • Backlash over the Iraq war and what some consider the suffocating dominance of U.S. culture; fear of terrorism attacks.

The competition:

• • Madrid would be the third Summer Games in Europe in a dozen years.

• • Tokyo would be the second recent Asian host, after Beijing's Games in 2008.

• • Rio de Janeiro is seen as the toughest potential foe. South America has never hosted a Games. But Barney said Rio's crime may be a stumbling block.

[ginsan2]

Am I the only one who is just a tad terrified of Rio? :sly: Chicago has its bad parts but it doesn't have hundreds of citizens acting as terrorists against the established government of state :koko:

[SteveD]

:tup: Come on, Chicago!! You can do it! Congrats! This is exciting for Chicago, and if any city can get the IOC to hand the Games back over to the U.S., it will be Chicago! Now the real work begins, but I'll be pulling for ya all the way!

[bnk]

Sunday, April 15, 2007
U.S. Lawmakers Want To Help Strengthen Chicago 2016 Bid
Posted 11:15 am ET (GamesBids.com)

Now that Chicago is officially the U.S. candidate for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, several top lawmakers have pledged they will work to strengthen the city’s bid.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama of Illinois issued a statement congratulating Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and the city’s Olympic committee. He said, “I look forward to continuing to work with them on behalf of our bid. I believe that a Chicago Olympics is a source of hope and opportunity around the globe while bringing lasting benefits to the residents of our region”.

Obama said Chicagoans should be proud that their metropolis was selected as the American bid city for the 2016 Games.

Governor Rod Blagojevich called it a “historic day” for the city of Chicago, calling the city “a great sports town and the perfect place to host the Olympics”.

He said state officials will continue working closely with the mayor as the city prepares its bid for the International Olympic Committee.

Meanwhile U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois says he and U.S. Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois will push for changes at the State Department that will make it easier for international athletes to get permission to enter the country. He said in the past some competitors have had a difficult time getting into the country because of the immense amount of paperwork involved, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Durbin said, “we have plenty of time to get this done if we start now. We should be prepared to expedite this”. He said Chicago has a good shot at hosting the Games, for reasons that go beyond any point-by-point analysis of its formal bid. “There are some intangibles. It’s the spirit of Chicago. It’s a great place to live and visit and people all over the world know that”.

[dktshb]

:cheers: Congratulations!

[bnk]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-elliott15apr15,1,2959775.column?coll=chi-news-hed
From the Los Angeles Times

Chicago spirit steals show

Helene Elliott
April 15, 2007

WASHINGTON — Peter Ueberroth tore open the white, business-sized envelope and silently read the slip of paper it contained.

His eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch. Probably without realizing it, he glanced twice to his left.

Leaders of the group that had hoped to secure the 2016 Summer Olympics for Los Angeles were seated to his right.

They knew they weren't about to get good news.

Their Chicago counterparts, assembled on the opposite side of a Washington hotel ballroom, erupted in cheers and hugs moments later when Ueberroth confirmed that the U.S. Olympic Committee had chosen Chicago as its nominee to stage the Games and the Paralympics. It was a cheeky victory by a would-be Olympic rookie over a city that had twice saved the Games and forever changed them, for better or for worse.

It was a stunning blow that the Los Angeles group, which had all of its finances and nearly all of its buildings in place, was snubbed in favor of a plan that requires massive construction. With the need to build venues and Olympic villages comes the risk of overruns and delays, both of which could embarrass the USOC and compromise the Games' look and feel.

The Los Angeles plan had enough flaws — or enough staleness as a potential third-time host that would have reused venues from 1932 and 1984 and would not have built a new athletes' village — for the USOC on Saturday to embrace the huge gamble inherent in Chicago's proposal.

And to put that proposal out for international scrutiny in a race that's likely to include Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Rome and Prague.

The International Olympic Committee, no great fan of the United States except when it comes to the television and sponsorship money it generates, will make its final decision in October 2009.

"I don't think there was a weak point," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, bristling at the suggestion that his city's plan had fallen short anywhere.

"These were two great presentations, two great cities…. Somebody had to win here. And Chicago did."

Ueberroth, chairman of the USOC's board of directors, said the vote had been "very, very close," but that was bookkeeping. It was irrelevant.

This Los Angeles bid was far superior to its plan for the 2012 Games, and it got a step further than the first-round elimination it suffered in the 2012 domestic race. This bid had broader civic involvement, stronger financial underpinning and an actively involved, Spanish-speaking mayor who gave life to the bromides about the Olympics being built on inclusion.

It wasn't wanting in numbers. It was lacking in spirit, devoid of the innovation, enthusiasm and imagination for which Los Angeles was famous.

One after another, USOC officials spoke Saturday of Chicago's magical visions for the Games. They praised the city's attractive lakefront and planned celebration plaza, its eagerness to welcome the world to a compact and vibrant downtown, and its ambitious plans to leave a legacy in the hearts of citizens and visitors.

They said nothing of the sort about Los Angeles.

"What's magical about the Chicago bid is certainly it parallels the magic that can be created within the Olympic movement and within the Olympic Games," said Jim Scherr, chief executive officer of the USOC.

"There's a certain spirit to Chicago and the people that live there, and we believe that that spirit, the city itself and the opportunity for the venue that the city provides for the Olympic Games, can create a unique kind of magic."

Wasn't Los Angeles once the magic capital of the world?

Didn't its TV and movie studios pump out fantasies every day, and its sunshine and green hills lure migrants to its farms, beaches and cities in search of new beginnings?

Los Angeles long ago lost a significant chunk of its movie and TV industry to Vancouver and other places where labor is cheaper. The USOC's decision seems to say that the city's magic has left town too, seeking its luck along the shores of Lake Michigan and amid the snarls of the Dan Ryan and Edens expressways.

Scherr said the USOC voters felt a fervor from Los Angeles bid leaders, "but I think there was a passion from Chicago, an exuberance of there being a first-time opportunity to host the Olympic Games, which was different.

"Both were passionate. Chicago's was different."

Different, in this case, being more inspiring and exhilarating.

Tim Leiweke, head of AEG and an active partner in the Los Angeles 2016 effort, praised Chicago's business community and its political leadership for backing that city's bid.

"I think they came up with a really creative and energetic way to put the facilities down on the lakefront and use that lakefront," Leiweke said. "It's a marvelous area, a great town. There's nothing like the Loop. You can't recreate that.

"I fully understand why that captured their imagination, and I think it will capture the imagination of the rest of the world, and good for them."

And bad for Los Angeles.

Casey Wasserman, the token younger-than-middle-aged guy on the L.A. bid committee, believed there was nothing to be gained from comparing the two plans.

"As far as hosting Olympics goes, these are two completely different bids," he said. "One is about building facilities, one was about fulfilling dreams for athletes and leaving a tremendous legacy. The voters voted and they're entitled to their vote and they're just different perspectives.

"We can't be what they are, and they can't be what we are."

Nor did he want to know where Los Angeles fell short in the USOC's eyes.

"They clearly think Chicago is a better presenter in the world today than L.A.," he said.

"I think L.A. could have won the international bid."

But it won't get the chance to try. Ueberroth, czar of the wildly successful 1984 Los Angeles Games, seemed wistful about that. But he praised Chicago for feats big and little, including featuring its plans for the Paralympics for disabled athletes. Chicago, in essence, had the heart that Los Angeles lacked.

"You're newcomers to the Olympic movement," Ueberroth said, "but that was respected by the people that voted for you and the people that didn't vote for you."

Chicago, as an Olympic rookie, knew enough to do that. Los Angeles didn't. It should have.

"For the Olympic Games to be a success, we have to recreate a certain magic," said Bob Ctvrtlik, the USOC's vice president for international affairs. Chicago, he said, "could do that."

Los Angeles, at least for the time being, has lost its magic touch.

[bnk]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/olympics/cs-070414downey,1,1379816.column?coll=chi-news-hed

Daley rings up another win
USOC likes can-do mayor's enthusiasm

Mike Downey
April 15, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Ten days shy of his 65th birthday, Mayor Richard M. Daley of the running, jumping, tumbling, fighting city of Chicago was presented with a gift Saturday more precious to him than silver or gold.

Five rings.

Chicago turned out to be the United States Olympic Committee's kind of town. It was voted America's nominee to be host city for the 2016 Olympics.

"You're right, it's the perfect birthday present," said Maggie Daley, the mayor's wife.

One minor miracle down and one to go, Daley and his colleagues now have 29 months to find a way to outdo the likes of Rome, Rio, Tokyo, Prague and Madrid when the 2016 Olympics site is voted on in Copenhagen and announced on Oct. 2, 2009.

If anybody can do it, he can.

"Mayor Daley is a can-do man if ever I saw one," USOC Chairman Peter V. Ueberroth said.

Daley's mayoral counterpart from Los Angeles went one better.

"Never, ever count out Richie Daley," said Antonio Villaraigosa, whose two-time Olympics host city came in second to the so-called Second City this time. "This is a man who has no peer in American cities."

Deliriously happy after the choice of Chicago to be the U.S. nominee for the XXXI Olympiad, the triumphant mayor held court a couple of hours later in the aptly named Lincoln Room of a Washington hotel.

He laughed off a question as to whether he still will be mayor as of 2016—"come on, that's a long ways away"—and also a question as to whether this result in Chicago's favor made up for the Super Bowl's.

"We should have won that one too," Daley said.

In the interval between Saturday morning's final presentation to the USOC's 11-member panel and the announcement of the winner, Daley said, "We kept having people from Chicago come up to us at lunch and asking, 'Are we going to win?'

"Not are 'you' going to win. Are 'we' going to win? It wasn't Mayor Daley. It wasn't me. It was the city of Chicago that was together in this."

Daley said he was extremely nervous before a ceremony not unlike that of the Academy Awards, when Ueberroth asked for the envelope containing the top-secret outcome and revealed that the United States' "applicant city" for the 2016 Olympics would be … with a long, dramatic pause …

"Chicago!"

"Yeah!" Daley yelled.

He wasn't afraid to admit, "I jumped right out of my seat."

So did the men and women in the seats nearby, the ones who made this day a reality.

There was Patrick G. Ryan, chairman of Chicago's 2016 exploratory committee, who had joked earlier in the day, not knowing if the vote would go thumbs-up or thumbs-down, "We'd better practice our facial expressions."

There was Michael Conley, a former Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump, who as executive director of World Sport Chicago was asked to answer some of the USOC's tough questions but said, "It was never, 'Aha, we got you on this.'"

There was William M. Daley, the mayor's younger brother, who was there to back the cause in every way and said before the vote was announced, "This feels just like Election Day. But let's not close the bars."

There was Linda Mastandrea, a former Paralympic gold medalist whose chair is a wheelchair, who said after assisting in the morning's presentation, "I want to share my hometown with the world. … I think Chicago is the best city on the planet."

In the end, though, it is the mayor who is as responsible for Chicago emerging as a possible site for the 2016 Olympics as any man or woman alive.

The laurels that came his way reflected that.

"His description of the excitement of the Olympic spirit was one of the best I've ever heard," said Jim Scherr, chief executive officer of the USOC.

"I saw a little bit of an enthusiastic youngster in the mayor," Ueberroth said. "You can't act that. It just comes out. It's infectious, that enthusiasm."

Villaraigosa was so captivated by his opponent that before the outcome Saturday he offered to be his running mate.

"I am prepared to stand with Mayor Daley and go wherever he needs me to go," L.A.'s mayor said. "You will see me schlep for him wherever he wants me to and whenever he wants me to."

Daley was told after the vote of Villaraigosa's generous offer.

His reaction: "I'm going to ask the mayors from all the cities to make that kind of offer."

Elections have come and gone in the lives of the Daley family, but this one was unlike any other.

This time it wasn't the man who won. His city did.

Repeatedly the mayor used the word "showcase" to describe what he sees as Chicago's opportunity to introduce itself to more of the globe.

He cited recent visits to Barcelona and Athens as examples of the civic improvements he has seen an Olympics generate.

He also concurred with a blunt statement by Ueberroth meant for those with an eye on the bottom line.

Ueberroth, who headed the financially successful 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, said, "A city would have to be a blithering idiot to put on an Olympics and not have a surplus."

Few could have seen this day coming. Chicago never has been a player in the world of Olympic sport, and it was up against stiff competition from San Francisco, Philadelphia and Houston as well as Los Angeles.

Next the 9.4 million people in the Chicago area will be asked to throw their weight and support behind the city's Olympic bid.

"We don't want just them," Daley said. "We want Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa in this as well. We want this to be the Midwest's Olympics."

Asked how he assessed Chicago's chances at the outset of its candidacy, Ueberroth said, "When I first heard about it, I said, 'Well, that's interesting.' I considered it a long shot. Then less of a long shot. Then, as we went on, much, much less of a long shot."

As far as the USOC is concerned, Daley is deserving of a medal for what he has done so far. In fact, like an Olympian about to get one, the mayor stood on a pedestal—a camera case—to do a TV interview after Saturday's announcement.

"I always wanted to be this tall," he said.

A producer in the TV studio asked if the mayor could say a few words to do a quick sound check.

"Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago," said Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago.

Olympic champion for a day. Let the Games begin.

mikedowney@tribune.com

[LA21st]

You have to wonder how impressive Chicago will be by 2016.
To be completed by 2016

Block 37 Office/Housing/Retail/Entertainment Complex
Carson Prarie Scott Redevelopment
Palmer House Retail Redevelopment
Trump Tower
Water View Shangri La Hotel
Chicago Spire (fingers crossed)
Huge Chicago Federal Center expansion at State and Adams
North/Clybourn-New highrises and hundreds of thousands of more sq ft retail space
300 N. LaSalle, 353 N. Clark, 155 N. Wacker and plenty more office skyscrapers will be added
More residential highrises will be built in the Loop itself
Metropolis in Bronzeville 600,000 Sq ft of retail in mixed use complex
Central Station build out
Cermak Road Entertainment District near MPlace
Motor Row becoming "Main Street" of South Loop
Loyola, UIC, Northwestern, DePaul,Columbia, Roosevelt, Rush expansions
U of Chicago expansions
CityFront Plaza Complex
LakeShore East Build Out
Illinois Medical District new hospitals
Countless new skyscraper hotels, condos going up all over downtown and the lakefront
CHA redevelopments will be complete
Chicago River Entertainment "Districts"

and many, many more

[SuburbanNation]

Go Chicago!!!

[trvlr70]

Chicago has the exact "can do" attitude necessary to host the Olympics.

But, I do see Rio as being a huge threat. In my opinion, there is no big city that sits in a more gorgeous physical setting than Rio de Janeiro...and that list includes San Francisco, Cape Town, and Sydney.

[honte]

The NY Times article really ticked me off... that guy needs to get his head out of his rump and do some real, balanced reporting. I would have thought to expect more from that paper.

But the LA Times article has me feeling exactly opposite. I think Ms. Elliott is being a touch too hard on LA for losing.

[UrbanSophist]

^^ If Chicago can show that it can host a wildly successful Games, then even the most beautiful cities in the world aren't going to be able beat it.

It's all on Chicago's shoulders, in my view.

[bnk]

You have to wonder how impressive Chicago will be by 2016.
To be completed by 2016

.....

and many, many more

The hotel industry would love it.

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?article_id=27580&bt=condo&arc=n&searchType=all

Hotel firm checks in on Michigan Avenue
Planning 50-story tower across from Hard Rock

http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/4117/og041607mpz3.gif

[A42251]

^^ If Chicago can show that it can host a wildly successful Games, then even the most beautiful cities in the world aren't going to be able beat it.

It's all on Chicago's shoulders, in my view.

Chicago is severely underrated in the "beauty" department. I was there last month and I walked along the lake from North Avenue Beach to the planetarium on a pretty day. Every step of the way was abosutely breathtaking. The blue water, the beaches, the parks, the skyline - the whole setting is something out of a painting. I am not even going to begin to start gushing over the globally-unique skyscraper canyon formed by the Chicago River. I have never been to Rio but Chicago is a pretty damn gorgeous city in its own right.

Of course all of Chicago isn't beautiful but I'm sure Rio's ugly parts make the worst parts of the South Side look like heaven on Earth.

[Chicago2020]

I heard on CNN a while ago that Rio has a serious problem with kidnappings.

[Marcu]

Not sure if this was posted yet.

Olympics news kills smiles in L.A.
City disappointed by decision, but throws its support to Chicago

Ken Peters
AP Sports Writer
April 15, 2007

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOS ANGELES - Former Olympians John Naber and Cathy Marino Bradford joined in the cheers of "L.A., L.A., L.A., L.A." to the familiar soccer refrain of "Ole," then huddled to join hands with others hoping Los Angeles would get a chance to host its third Olympic Games.
When Saturday's announcement was made that Chicago would be the United States' candidate for the 2016 Olympics, Naber's and Bradford's smiles vanished in glumness. They and others in a small crowd gathered to get the word from the U.S. Olympic Committee in Washington sighed almost in unison, "Oh-h-h-h."

Louis Zamperini, a 1936 track Olympian, and Michael O'Hara, a member of the 1964 U.S. volleyball team, both shook their heads.

Naber said a few moments after the decision was announced that the USOC had to decide which of the two U.S. cities might have a better chance of being picked by the International Olympic Committee to stage the games when it selects from the international candidates.

"They're second-guessing, but they obviously thought it would be an easier sell to bring the Olympics in 2016 than Los Angeles," said Naber, who won four gold medals in swimming in the 1976 Olympics and is the vice president of the group that tried to bring the 20016 Games to the city.

"At this point, I support Chicago. They made the Olympic team. We want them to do well. All of us wish Chicago nothing but great success," Naber said.

A small group of city officials, former Olympians and members of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games had gathered in a small park at an outdoor mall for what they hoped would be a pep rally kicking off Los Angeles' international bid for the 2016 Olympics. Then Peter Ueberroth, who headed the city's successful 1984 Olympics and now is the USOC chief, made the announcement that Chicago was chosen.

"I was dumbfounded," said Bradford, a kayaker in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.

Bradford, president of the Southern California Olympians, added, "But now we former Olympians, and there are some 1,200 in California, are going to do everything we can to support Chicago."


O'Hara, who was holding an Olympic torch replica, was disappointed that Los Angeles didn't get the call from the USOC, but said he understood.
"They like to move the Olympics around, share it with the world, and we've already had two successful Olympics here," he said. "I think it came down to Middle America over Hollywood.

"Chicago is one of the best sports towns in the world. The fans really back their teams whether they win or lose. I think they would probably snap up tickets for the Olympics, where people here might be more wait-and-see."

The 90-year-old Zamperini, who finished eighth in the 5,000 meters in Berlin and said he was one of the few Americans whose hand Hitler shook, said, "It would have been great to have the Olympics here again, but Chicago will do a good job."

Even though Los Angeles lost, City Councilman Tom LaBonge still released balloons that had been tied at the back of the small stage for the gathering.

"We wish Chicago well and send these balloons off with our good luck to the Windy City," he said.

[Fiorenza]

Wow! A Chicago olympics would be spectacular. Wonder what the competition is?

[Marcu]

You have to wonder how impressive Chicago will be by 2016.
To be completed by 2016

Block 37 Office/Housing/Retail/Entertainment Complex
Carson Prarie Scott Redevelopment
Palmer House Retail Redevelopment
Trump Tower
Water View Shangri La Hotel
Chicago Spire (fingers crossed)
Huge Chicago Federal Center expansion at State and Adams
North/Clybourn-New highrises and hundreds of thousands of more sq ft retail space
300 N. LaSalle, 353 N. Clark, 155 N. Wacker and plenty more office skyscrapers will be added
More residential highrises will be built in the Loop itself
Metropolis in Bronzeville 600,000 Sq ft of retail in mixed use complex
Central Station build out
Cermak Road Entertainment District near MPlace
Motor Row becoming "Main Street" of South Loop
Loyola, UIC, Northwestern, DePaul,Columbia, Roosevelt, Rush expansions
U of Chicago expansions
CityFront Plaza Complex
LakeShore East Build Out
Illinois Medical District new hospitals
Countless new skyscraper hotels, condos going up all over downtown and the lakefront
CHA redevelopments will be complete
Chicago River Entertainment "Districts"

and many, many more


What are the DePaul extension, federal center expansion, and medical district hospital projects?

[rgolch]

I've gotta say, all of the LA media (and forumers, I might add) have really been class acts. I think its great they offer their congrats.:)

[Kngkyle©]

Here is a video I threw together that has a bunch of pictures of Chicago and the proposed venues with Olympic music playing. Googlevideo really killed the quality of it, I'll try uploading a better version tonight, since it takes forever. First time doing something like this so that might explain why it is poor quality. If you click on the little arrow pointing down and select "Smooth Video" it looks a little better. It's also not the olympic song I wanted but it is near impossible to find good quality olympic theme songs on the web. That was the best I could do.

EDIT: OK google video just butchers the quality of the video. So I reuploaded it to this other site. It is much better here, although the transitions are still a bit bad. Going to try and fix that tonight. When you play it, make sure the bit rate is at 1000, it should say in the bottom right. It is default on automatic, I think it chooses a bit rate automatically depending on your connection speed/workload. Bit rate 1000 is 800x600. More than likely it will be 1000 on default.

http://kngkyle.phanfare.com/album/258447#imageID=15393968

[nomarandlee]

I know its out of Chicago's hands but wouldn't it seem ironic and rather sad if baseball was continued to be dropped from the Olympic program in 2016 when we have two great complexes and arguably the most iconic baseball stadium in the world? I know its out for 2012 but hopefully they will decide to put it back in in 2016 since I read it will be reconsidered for the 2016 games.

If it is not I wonder how Wrigley and the Cell could be thrown into the mix. Maybe Wrigley could be at least used as a temporary medal ceremony and Olympic entertainment venue for some of the northside events (kayaking, tennis, etc.).