[chiphile]

I'm surprised no one has brought this up, I hope this train gets some serious wheels on it soon, the olympics in Chicago would be just what we need.

Here's an article from Sports Illustrated:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Get wind of this
My proposal for Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics


After New York failed to capture the 2012 Olympic Games, no one made too much noise in the Big Apple. People were bummed, but the average pedestrian on the street shrugged his shoulders and went about his day.

Parisians were crushed, as were the people of Madrid. Oddly enough, the crowd in Red Square continued to cheer nearly an hour after Moscow had been eliminated. It seems no one informed them of the International Olympic Committee's decision.

So where does the U.S. Olympic Committee go from here? What city should represent America's bid for the 2016 Games?

While it is common for cities to rebid, the USOC made it clear the 2016 decision would be a "very open process," meaning New York City is not a lock to represent America the next time around.

The USOC should forget about NYC. An Olympics where few major events are held in Manhattan is ridiculous. To the world, Manhattan is New York City, not Queens or Brooklyn. New Yorkers flee the city when crowds descend, and the Olympic city and its people should not only welcome the Games, they should join in the celebration.

Since so much of the Olympic experience is tied to the physical environment, I'll explain my vision for Chicago 2016.

In recent years, the IOC has stressed a more compact and centralized games. This reduces transportation nightmares and creates a true celebratory environment by connecting the Olympic Park, the venues and the athletes. Chicago's layout allows for such an Olympic experience.

Every bid for the 2012 games had a strategic layout. For New York, it was the Olympic "X" plan, extending from the Bronx in the north to Staten Island in the south, New Jersey to the west and Queens to the east. Chicago similarly could utilize its extended lakefront along Lake Michigan. All of the neighborhoods along the shore would be an important part of the games, from Jackson Park in the south to Northwestern University in the northern suburb of Evanston. Not only would this encompass geographical diversity, but racial diversity as well, reconnecting all of Chicago's inhabitants.

The Second City's beaches, museums, zoos, aquariums, parks and harbors could be mixed with Olympic venues such as beach volleyball, track and swimming. Massive Grant Park, which sits in between the iconic Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan, could serve as the center of the Olympic celebration.

Grant Park, along with the newly unveiled Millennium Park, could be transformed into an Olympic Park where visitors congregate for concerts (the Petrillo Band Shell and the Frank Gehry-designed Pritzker Pavilion), food, kids' games and evening parties (perhaps the famed Holland House that was the center of the Athens 2004 nightlife can set up shop here as well). Just east of Soldier Field, Northerly Island could serve as the site for the Aquatic Center, placing one of the game's premier events at a central location. The Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum and Navy Pier also will serve as attractions during the Games.

Just up Lake Shore Drive, which would serve as the major artery for Olympic buses, a beach volleyball venue could sit at the east end of North Avenue. Each summer, Chicagoans congregate there to play volleyball, and it seems only fitting to place the stadium at the beach. I can't say I know exactly where the Olympic stadium would be located -- perhaps newly renovated Soldier Field or another location a bit south?

It should be noted that, like New York City, Chicago's government has a very solid relationship with the private sector, and Mayor Richard M. Daley always has been a major force behind Chicago's public works and summer festivals.

Transportation is always a topic of contention and here, Chicago is again a unique city. The "El" can be expanded and updated. As an above-ground rail line, it allows visitors traveling to events an opportunity to view the city.

Another major asset of Chicago and the Chicagoland area is the number of universities with existing athletic venues that could renovated over the next 11 years to accommodate the Olympics. Northwestern's campus could host field hockey, basketball and other sports.

The University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion has hosted U.S. women's basketball games in the past. Loyola University's gymnasium, along the northern lakefront, could house wrestling or judo. Allstate Arena could host basketball or gymnastics, whichever event does not land in the United Center. Chicago State, Northern Illinois and the University of Illinois could host soccer games, along with other Big Ten schools for preliminary contests. The central role of universities during the Chicago Games is appropriate for a nation in love with collegiate sports.

Chicago, like New York and London, is a multiethnic city. The city itself is a manifestation of the Olympic motto, "Citius, Altius, Fortius" (faster, higher, stronger). Once a frontier city, Chicago now stands as one of the top major economic and cultural centers of America.

Chicago deserves the Games because too few people appreciate what the city offers. Oprah obviously gets it, and we all know that Oprah is never wrong.

Let's forget about the gorgeous and feasible layout of the Chicago Games and its cultural qualifications. The beauty of the Olympics lies in the images we have from past games. Jesse Owens winning in Berlin, the silhouette of Greg Louganis in Seoul, South Korea and the emotional impact of Cathy Freeman's win in the 400 meters in Sydney, representing both Australian and Aboriginal people. Cities that host the games become a part of a collective global memory that bind us together as citizens, even in the face of economic strife, war and terrorism. Chicago deserves to and will contribute its own wonderfully inspiring images.

Imagine the gold-medal baseball game played against the backdrop of the Ivy at Wrigley Field (if baseball is voted back into the Games in 2016). Imagine Lake Shore Drive filled with cyclists for the road race. Imagine the Chicago skyline at night with the Olympic flame burning brightly. And lastly, imagine two-time gold medalist and world sports icon Michael Jordan lighting that very flame, a moment that will rival Muhammad Ali's lighting of the Atlanta torch.

So, I call upon the prominent citizens of Chicago (Oprah, that means you) and Mayor Daley to seize this idea. I am writing this in the hope that Chicago 2016 is not a pipedream but a potential reality. I truly believe the city deserves the Games and would be a tremendous Olympic host.

[FourOneFive]

the author makes a very compelling argument for chicago to host the 2016 olympics. i can't wait to see the final bid package! :D

[The Agonist]

That is a well thought out vision.

Using the numerous large scale cultural institutions as backdrops for events is intriguing.

[jpIllInoIs]

Right now this subject is getting some discussion on the "Chicago building boom- everything under 12 stories" thread. It deserves it's own thread here. It will be a good watch. Don't bet against "Da Mare".;)

[Clevelumbus]

Very interesting ideas.

[sflacali]

I hope LA will get it (CITY PRIDE) hahahaha

[spyguy]

There was another SI article supporting a Chicago bid a few months ago when the idea was first mentioned. Good supporters to have I guess.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

I hope LA gets it too. But if any city outside of LA deserves it, I think it's Chicago.

[Steely Dan]

LA is a good olympic city, but they just hosted the games back in 1984. chicago has NEVER hosted the games and is much more deserving of a chance than two-time olympic city LA.

[VivaLFuego]

LA is a very international city, and it that sense would be fitting. La is phenomenal in how its a patchwork of people and cultures from around living and working together in close proximity. Symbolically, it'd be perfect for the olympics.

But from an urban infrastructure perspective, which the writer of the article kind of emphasized, Chicago is definitely the best choice in the US, because of the way everything is clustered around the lake and lakefront parks, such as museum, transportation, and so on.

[Wright Concept]

The only thing that would give Chicago an edge is the need to upgrade O'Hare Airport and allow Daley to build and fund need transit infrastructure products.

Maybe having the Olympic Games in Chicago would allow to the dead zones in South and West Sides to be built and harness the rich culture of Jazz/Art in that area.

Only concern would be where would you put certain field events?

[brian_b]

I would only be willing to support the games here in Chicago if significant public transportation improvements were made. Not only that, but anything built along the lakefront or in the parks must be something that benefits the public long after the games leave town.

Sure it would be great if Chicago held the Olympics, but when you look at what the games tend to do for a city afterwards, it's really hard to justify the expense and the "destruction" of public space.

[jpIllInoIs]

The most lasting benefits of the Olympics is the infrastructure. Daley knows this. All permanent construction would be focused toward the Universities and cultural facilites. Daley would most certainly push for the McCormk transit to the train stations. also the new Silver Line would get some attention. The track & field and nautatorium for swimming/diving, velodrome construction benefits would be shared with DePaul.UIC.Loyola.NU.UC & IIT.

[chiphile]

I'm hoping for this more than any single skyscraper development, or even the top ten combined. This has huge potential and all those ass clowns who say it isn't worth the cost are just NIMBYs.
The idea of the Circle Line, Stadium, O'Hare expansion and numerous other projects steam rolled into Chicago within 10 years is just awesome. Plus the media exposure and place in history as an olympic host, I can't wait.
I have a gut feeling this is a certain thing that will happen. I just have a ton of confidence in Mayor Daley, and I can hear the gears of a machine getting started, greater than the machine that built Millennium Park and the one that lured in Boeing.
Bring on the construction!

[spyguy]

There was an interesting idea on SSC that you could build the stadium near McCormick Place and once the Olympics are done with the city could convert it and connect it to the convention center.

There are a number of benefits to this idea, including the fact that it won't become a white elephant and won't upset the NFL. It also will be near the lake and somewhat centralized to some of the other venues. Also, the transportation to this venue and the hotels that are bound to pop up nearby are already needed for future convention business anyway.

[rgolch]

I'm hoping for this more than any single skyscraper development, or even the top ten combined. This has huge potential and all those ass clowns who say it isn't worth the cost are just NIMBYs.
The idea of the Circle Line, Stadium, O'Hare expansion and numerous other projects steam rolled into Chicago within 10 years is just awesome. Plus the media exposure and place in history as an olympic host, I can't wait.
I have a gut feeling this is a certain thing that will happen. I just have a ton of confidence in Mayor Daley, and I can hear the gears of a machine getting started, greater than the machine that built Millennium Park and the one that lured in Boeing.
Bring on the construction!

Of course, I would also like to see the olympics in Chicago. But I don't know how confident I am about it being in the US, much less Chicago. We are all talking about how the olympics would be great as an accelerator for development and upgrading of much needed infrastructure. But certainly anyone making the final decisions about the host city are not concerned about the individual needs of each potential city.

[wrightchr]

i think out of any US cities that deserve the olympics...it would be chicago and philadelphia.

[PaSkyX]

LA's already had it twice. More than one city in the US is capable of holding the Olympics. No to LA 2016. Maybe 2084.

[Jersey Mentality]

The only thing that would give Chicago an edge is the need to upgrade O'Hare Airport and allow Daley to build and fund need transit infrastructure products.

Maybe having the Olympic Games in Chicago would allow to the dead zones in South and West Sides to be built and harness the rich culture of Jazz/Art in that area.

Only concern would be where would you put certain field events?

We would really need a third airport then we dont have the capacity now to deal with what we have, imagine the Olympics, plus this is 10 years from now, so that means 10 years of growth.

[spyguy]

^Third airport, ugh. That's both a good and bad thing. Bad because no one wants it, good because then Jackson and Co. will have to support a bid to get this airport built.

I think renovating and expanding Gary Int'l is still a better idea.

[sflacali]

LA's already had it twice. More than one city in the US is capable of holding the Olympics. No to LA 2016. Maybe 2084.

hahahaha:haha: That it just too brutal!!!

[jpIllInoIs]

Daley's proposal for another NFL team for Chicago to help underwrite an Olympic stadium seems to be tied to this whole idea. The only problem is the Bears have veto authority over any NFL expansion into its market within 50 miles of them. There's no way they will allow it.

Plus any dome stadium would need some sort of tax to fund bonding and is going to met with much oppositon.

I don't think this thing has a chance.

Don't forget that Da Bears play in a city owned-taxpayer financed stadium. Daley does have some leverage.

[brian_b]

I'm hoping for this more than any single skyscraper development, or even the top ten combined. This has huge potential and all those ass clowns who say it isn't worth the cost are just NIMBYs.
The idea of the Circle Line, Stadium, O'Hare expansion and numerous other projects steam rolled into Chicago within 10 years is just awesome. Plus the media exposure and place in history as an olympic host, I can't wait.
I have a gut feeling this is a certain thing that will happen. I just have a ton of confidence in Mayor Daley, and I can hear the gears of a machine getting started, greater than the machine that built Millennium Park and the one that lured in Boeing.
Bring on the construction!

Yes, I can see that you have fantastic faith in Daley. But, speaking as someone with family in the Salt Lake City area I can tell you that the citizens feel very little benefit from hosting the games. It cost a lot and when the games were over they were left with white elephants sitting in formerly prime public spaces that are now operated by private clubs with limited access.

Can Chicago do it the right way? Maybe. But it will be a lot harder than luring Boeing or getting Millenium Park built. It will require a level of determination to do it right that Daley has never shown nor been required to show. You can't just assume it will work out the way we want it. And for the sake of the city, we MUST insist on nothing less than the best or nothing at all.

[bigcanuck]

Have Jordan pass the torch to a trio: Jim McMahon, 'The Fridge' and Ditka. Visualize McMahon with a Jacques Rogge headband on...

[MNdude]

I have an early indication that the 2016 olympics will be in Pierre, SD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Waaaaaaaahooooooo !!!

[rgolch]

Yes, I can see that you have fantastic faith in Daley. But, speaking as someone with family in the Salt Lake City area I can tell you that the citizens feel very little benefit from hosting the games. It cost a lot and when the games were over they were left with white elephants sitting in formerly prime public spaces that are now operated by private clubs with limited access.


As much as I would love to see the games in Chicago, on some level, I agree with you. I think it's easy to exagerate the benefits to host cities. The 1893 worlds fair was a HUGE event for Chicago. But times are so dramatically different now. People have such short memories, and there are so many other entertainment outlets that the olympics has to compete with. I'll just wait and see what the proposal is for Chicago 2016, and how it would have a lasting benefit for the city.

[spyguy]

Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics, which is less of a spectacle than the Summer Olympics and of course not as big of a city. The Atlanta bid in '96 is also unfair to look at as many considered it over-commercialized with corporate sponsorship and of course the bombing didn't help.

LA in '84 however, is a good reason why Chicago should pursue a bid, as they somehow produced a profit of $200 million in addition to the publicity.

Basically, if Chicago wants to be successful it will need to make sure everything is first class and run a tight shift, meaning no handing out jobs, Daley :nono:

[SSLL]

Chicago will make a good host someday...

[Steely Dan]

^^ chicago's centuries-long penchant for corruption will probably be the death-blow to any chicago olympic bid. given all of the negative publicity surrounding the IOC's various scandals over the past decade, they probably have zero interest in getting tangled up with a town like chicago.

[alex1]

the '84 LA games were the best run games in financial terms. If Chicago can accomplish that then great. However, not having the most important stadium for hosting a game gives me little hope that Chicago can come out on top without a financial strain on the region.

But whatever. If Chicago gets it, great. If they don't, no skin of my back...

[Marino33]

I think this would be great for the city!

[FlyersFan118]

Philadelphia has confirmed their intent to bid on the 2016 Olympics I believe.

From what I understand, Baltimore-DC, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, LA, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York and San Diego are also considering bidding.

LA and Philadelphia are the only cities that have made a serious mention about it so far to the best of my knowledge.

Denver and Detroit are focusing mainly on the 2018 Winter Olympics but haven't ruled out the 2016 Summer Games.

Philly's considered a frontrunner because of its sports complex (all the major stadiums are next to each other in one location in south Philly - something unique that most other cities can't offer). Also, the Olympic Villiage would be in close proximity to the complex, and there are subway stations that run directly to downtown center city from the complex.

If Chicago puts in a bid, they better have something good.



I think that so far, other cities that have expressed interest in the games are as follows:


Havana - Confirmed
Montreal
Toronto
Buenos Aires
Rio De Janeiro
Cape Town
Dubai (who'da guessed)
New Delhi
Tel Aviv
Sapporo, Fukuoka, Tokyo
Busan
Bangkok
Istanbul
Prague
Hamburg
Milan, Lombardy, Rome, Naples
Rotterdam
Lisbon - Confirmed
Moscow - Confirmed
St. Petersburg
Madrid


Thats a fairly strong list. I do hope an American city is picked, whether Chicago or Philly or LA or whatever.

[spyguy]

It'll be funny if the US decides not to even pick a city to run for 2016. Destroy the dreams of the most sought after Olympics in quite some time.

[TexasBoi]

Rio De Janeiro
I really believe they or any other city in South America will get it. Would be great if Chicago or any other US city could get it but the rest of the world is tired of the country hosting the olympics according to a long long 20 page thread on SSC a couple months ago. I think it will be in the Americas though. Whether South or North, I don't know.

[FourOneFive]

Philadelphia has confirmed their intent to bid on the 2016 Olympics I believe.

From what I understand, Baltimore-DC, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, LA, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York and San Diego are also considering bidding.

LA and Philadelphia are the only cities that have made a serious mention about it so far to the best of my knowledge.

Denver and Detroit are focusing mainly on the 2018 Winter Olympics but haven't ruled out the 2016 Summer Games.

Philly's considered a frontrunner because of its sports complex (all the major stadiums are next to each other in one location in south Philly - something unique that most other cities can't offer). Also, the Olympic Villiage would be in close proximity to the complex, and there are subway stations that run directly to downtown center city from the complex.

If Chicago puts in a bid, they better have something good.



I think that so far, other cities that have expressed interest in the games are as follows:


Havana - Confirmed
Montreal
Toronto
Buenos Aires
Rio De Janeiro
Cape Town
Dubai (who'da guessed)
New Delhi
Tel Aviv
Sapporo, Fukuoka, Tokyo
Busan
Bangkok
Istanbul
Prague
Hamburg
Milan, Lombardy, Rome, Naples
Rotterdam
Lisbon - Confirmed
Moscow - Confirmed
St. Petersburg
Madrid


Thats a fairly strong list. I do hope an American city is picked, whether Chicago or Philly or LA or whatever.

don't forget San Francisco and the Bay Area. ;) We ran #2 to New York for the US candidate for the 2012 Games. With a retooled bid focusing on a new 49ers stadium and the city of San Francisco, the bid would be hard to beat. and you can count Toronto out. With Vancouver hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics, the IOC would never give Canada two Olympics in one decade.

[Jersey Mentality]

^ I guess that means you could count Montreal out too. I think L.A. should be counted out as well unless they get a third time like London. But I doubt it. And San Diego is too close. Balt/DC, imagine the security concerns, Bush shouldnt be in office so who knows maybe things will have cooled down some.

I say its between Chicago, possibly Detroit, Philly and Minny for North America. I think Denver would be more suitable for winter olympics

[Late1]

If Philly doesn't host the 2016 Olympics, then Chicago would be my 2nd choice. I like (visiting) LA, but if they get a 3rd Olympics this soon when other worthy American cities are bidding, I'll puke... on their Olympic logo.

[sflacali]

I Can Only Imagine In 2016....Banners all around, Big Company Sponsorship, Hollywood Celebrities Doing Promotions For Olympics...AND THEN

Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles 2016

[chiphile]

I think Mayor Daley is a double edged sword. The IOC can look at Daley as a shady character, or someone who gets shit done. Our stadium issue won't be the same as New York's, where NIMBY's rule, if Daley wants a stadium there will be no locals to stand in his way.

As far as philly's stadiums being next to each other, that truly is a great advantage, but Chicago's aren't very far apart, and if this new stadium is built near the United Center or on the lake, we can have a sort of sports complex.

Perhaps the olympics aren't worth the congestion and maybe added hassle, but there is no argument for not having them. Atlanta got a lot of infrastructure built because of them, and as far as I'm concerned, was put on the map because of the olympics, and Hartsfield airport got a major expansion, which has everything to do with Atlanta's economic success today.

An olympic bid would give us access to federal money that would otherwise be hard to come by, and to tell you the truth, I could honestly care less about the media coverage, that's a benefit far down the list, it's the new infrastructure we will have, and Daley will make sure it will benefit the public long after the games are over, aka see Meig's field. As Kamin said, Chicago 2016 could make the city's dreams come true.

[alex1]

eh, not a big fan of having sport complexes bunched up together such as Philly has but it is a great advantage for things such as an Olympics.

Chicago would also have the advantage of many complexes being near one another. If the southside is the area of the city that houses the Olympic village (which I personally think is a horrible idea as far as putting the facilities in a relatively remote area of the city, far from great transit options and the hot nightspots and restaurants of the north, northwest, west and loop) the athletes will be within 1-8 miles of most venues. There's something a bit nicer as well as to have the venues in different areas of the city as opposed to a hulking sports complex that's relatively a dead zone.

But I regress. Chicago, Philly, Toronto, nY, Boston, SanFran, Montreal...they're all great cities and worthy host cities. Unlike the embarrassing mess that was Atlanta.

[Chi-town]

I think they should build the Olympic Village along the South Branch in what was to be Riverside Park. The apartments for atheletes could be resold as condominiums and rental apartments following the event, and they'd be right there.

[Marvel 33]

^^ chicago's centuries-long penchant for corruption will probably be the death-blow to any chicago olympic bid. given all of the negative publicity surrounding the IOC's various scandals over the past decade, they probably have zero interest in getting tangled up with a town like chicago.


I don't really think that the history of government corruption in Chicago would actually hurt the bid. Remember one thing...for American standards, Chicago's history of corruption might seem like a big deal, but there are many other cities around the world that have hosted the Olympic games and have a much worse track-record, when it comes to politics and corruption.
i.e. Rome, Athens, Mexico City, Moscow, Seoul, etc.
The I.O.C. is more concerned with making sure that whomever organizes the games delivers what they promise during the bidding process, and at the end of the day, they just want to make sure that the event is successful.
In my opinion cities that already have a solid infraestructure like Chicago, have an upper hand vs. cities that have to start from scratch.
Another advantage is that many tourists around the world would actually want to visit a city like Chicago since it offers so many attractions. This city is already known for its beautiful architecture, its great shopping, its world-class fine dining and some of the best museums anywhere in the world.
Throughout history cities that have hosted the Olympics and World Fairs have raised their profiles in the international arena. Some cities have actually taken advantage of it like Barcelona, which has seen a significant increase in tourism since they hosted the games. Other cities haven't taken advantage of that, like Atlanta.
Some people in Europe and other parts of the world still think that Chicago is the dirty, high-crime place of the 70's and 80's. A city of run-down buildings, and gangsters shooting at each other.
This would be a great opportunity to showcase the newly revived beauty of the city, our newest buildings, Millennium Park, the lakefront, Michigan Avenue, Navy Pier, Grant Park, our different neighborhoods, etc.
I say, let's go for it!

[staff]

Isn't it a little early to have yet another Olympics in a country that has held it twice the latest 10 years (Atlanta and Salt Lake City)?
I would like to see Greece hold the Olympic Games 3 times in 20 years. :haha:

Anyway, it's Copenhagen in 2024. :)

[Buckeye Native 001]

I like (visiting) LA, but if they get a 3rd Olympics this soon when other worthy American cities are bidding, I'll puke... on their Olympic logo.

I'm going to hold you to that if it happens.

[Chi-town]

Isn't it a little early to have yet another Olympics in a country that has held it twice the latest 10 years (Atlanta and Salt Lake City)?
I would like to see Greece hold the Olympic Games 3 times in 20 years. :haha:

Anyway, it's Copenhagen in 2024. :)
You can't compare country to country. Greece is smaller than many U.S. states, in size and population, with one major city. The United States is the size of Europe. Having the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, Salt Lake in 2002 and Chicago in 2016 would be like having the Olympics in Athens, Torino and London in a 12 year span. Ohh, wait a minute...

[Jersey Mentality]

^ yeah the winter olympics have traditionally been held in Europe and about one in three summer olympics held in Europe, wanna change the name to Eurolympics. But Africa, and South America, I would actually rather see a city in one of those places get it before another North American city, but I dont think Europe should host another olympic until at least one city from either place holds it.

[spyguy]

to showcase the newly revived beauty of the city, our newest buildings, Millennium Park, the lakefront, Michigan Avenue, Navy Pier, Grant Park, our different neighborhoods, etc.
I say, let's go for it!

What's scary about that is that all the new buildings and attractions will be 5-10+ years old :eek: 2016 is so far away...

[Chi-town]

^ yeah the winter olympics have traditionally been held in Europe and about one in three summer olympics held in Europe, wanna change the name to Eurolympics. But Africa, and South America, I would actually rather see a city in one of those places get it before another North American city, but I dont think Europe should host another olympic until at least one city from either place holds it.
Two problems: Not a lot of places in Africa or South America could handle the infrastructure required, and you run into a problem in the Southern hemisphere: the seasons are opposite.

We're not about to see an Olympics in, say, Columbia or Venezuela. Sao Paulo and Rio may be a little too disorganized for the IOC's tastes. Buenos Aires maybe, but our summer is their winter, so the weather may not cooperate that far south. It's not like it ever gets that chilly in South Africa, but you run into the same problem there. And South Africa is the only African country with even the faintest hope of being able to pull off the Olympics in the next few decades.

[Marvel 33]

^ Hopefully by then we'll have the Fordham Spire and if it is built it'll probably be 2 to 5 years old. We might also have other buildings that we don't even know about right now like the 3,000 ft tall "Chicagoan"! ;)

[spyguy]

And the cow...it'll be floating across Lake Michigan.

[citizen j]

Chicago in 2016? I'd say Amen. But Munich (1972), Innsbruck (1976), Montreal (1976), Lake Placid (1980), Moscow (1980), Sarajevo (1984), Los Angeles (1984), Calgary (1988), Albertville (1992), Barcelona (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Atlanta (1996), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004), Torino (2006), Vancouver (2010), and London (2012) is pretty heavy representation for the "West" (code for Europe and North America). Sydney (2000) sort of counts there, too. 2016 will go to someplace like Brazil. Shoot for 2020.

[theman]

Chicago in 2016? I'd say Amen. But Munich (1972), Innsbruck (1976), Montreal (1976), Lake Placid (1980), Moscow (1980), Sarajevo (1984), Los Angeles (1984), Calgary (1988), Albertville (1992), Barcelona (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Atlanta (1996), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004), Torino (2006), Vancouver (2010), and London (2012) is pretty heavy representation for the "West" (code for Europe and North America). Sydney (2000) sort of counts there, too. 2016 will go to someplace like Brazil. Shoot for 2020.

Don't forget that the 2008 games are going to be in Beijing. The summer games would not have been held in the US for 20 years by the time 2016 roles around. I look for the US to get it then and Brazil or South Africa getting it in 2020.

[chiphile]

I agree with everything but the third airport of course....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2016 Games could make city dreams come true
A third airport, a West Loop transportation hub, new subsidized housing--the Olympics could be the ticket

By Blair Kamin
Tribune architecture critic
Published December 24, 2005

Let the Games--or, rather, the argument over how to plan the Games--begin.

With Mayor Richard Daley and civic leaders gearing up to make a bid for Chicago to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, the possibilities for making dreams on the city's priority list come true are dazzling.

Forget, for a moment, Daley's unlikely trial balloon of building a domed mega-stadium that eventually would host a second Chicago NFL team. Think of the other big-ticket public works the Games could spur: New subsidized housing, to be built as an Olympic village. A proposed West Loop Transportation Center linking buses, CTA and Metra trains and high-speed intercity rail, which would move spectators around. Perhaps, if U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and south suburban leaders can twist Daley's arm, a third airport that would provide a new gateway for visitors.

But all this dreamy stuff hinges--aside from the inevitable bickering over how much it will cost, who will pay and who gets what piece of the pie--on whether Chicago can deliver the stadium that would be the Games' centerpiece. And there, the mayor must escape a trap of his own making. He wouldn't be contemplating a new stadium if he had told Bears owner Michael McCaskey a few years ago to move the team out of Soldier Field and off the lakefront.

Unburdened by the need to shoehorn a glistening modern seating bowl between Soldier Field's now-dwarfed colonnades, Chicago could have built a more typically sized NFL stadium--about 70,000 seats, as opposed to Soldier Field's 61,500, the second smallest in the league. Throw in another 10,000 temporary seats and you've got an Olympic stadium.

Daley thus wouldn't be talking about luring a second NFL team to Chicago to provide a long-term tenant for an 80,000-seat Olympic venue. The odds of that happening appear to be as long as Sears Tower is tall. The NFL has higher priorities, like keeping the New Orleans Saints in their hurricane-battered city and putting a team in the nation's second-largest market, Los Angeles, which doesn't have one now.

Without an adequate stadium plan, any bid to host the Olympics is doomed. Just ask New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. His efforts to win the 2012 Olympics were dealt a mortal blow in June after New York state leaders refused to go along with his quest to build a Manhattan football stadium that also could be used for the Olympics.

End of story? Not quite.

Back in October, local writer Lester Munson revealed in Crain's Chicago Business that Daley had turned to Marc Ganis, a Chicago-based sports facilities consultant, to solve the stadium conundrum. Ganis, president of SportsCorp Ltd., which is advising the New York Yankees on their planned new stadium, won't confirm whether he's talked to the mayor. But he did agree to speak in his capacity as a consultant.

"If you think outside the box, there are ways of addressing the main Olympic stadium," Ganis said. "It's used primarily as a track and field facility and for the opening and closing ceremonies. There is nothing magical about using the same facility for both."

A solution in Cicero?

His pitch is to use Soldier Field as the primary facility for the opening and closing ceremonies, assuming tens of thousands of temporary seats could be added to the stadium. Olympic track and field events, which won't fit into Soldier Field, would go elsewhere, perhaps to one of the Chicago area's horse racing tracks, like Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero.

The horse racing tracks have the "right geometry and the right amount of land," Ganis said. To expand Hawthorne's current seating capacity of 35,000, he suggests building another grandstand opposite the existing one. It would rise within the existing oval for horses.

"The cost of that could be a fraction of what building a new stadium could be," Ganis said, estimating the price tag at $200 million to $300 million. A domed stadium would cost $600 million to $1 billion, observers say.

There's a precedent, he argues, for a flexible stadium: Atlanta's Turner Field, built for the 1996 Summer Olympics. It was initially constructed as an oval-shaped facility seating 80,000. Then it was turned into a diamond-shaped, 50,000-seat baseball stadium.

While it's hard to say in the abstract how such a plan might work, timing should work to Daley's advantage: The International Olympic Committee is expected to select a host city for the 2016 Games in 2009.

That year will mark the 100th anniversary of Daniel Burnham's legendary Plan of Chicago, which gave Chicago new lakefront parks, double-deck Wacker Drive and a host of other amenities. Burnham famously said, "Make no little plans." And Daley, with lakefront mega-projects like Millennium Park, has shown himself to be a mayor in that mold.

In the same bold-stroke spirit, the Olympics could provide the impetus to construct big-ticket items like the West Loop Transportation Center along Clinton Street, a key item in Daley's Chicago Central Area Plan of 2002 and one based on the original Burnham plan. You don't just need venues for sports events, after all. You need to move around thousands of spectators, coaches and officials.

Another possible item on the civic wish list: turning a massive stretch of lakefront land, the former U.S. Steel mill known as South Works on the Far Southeast Side, into an Olympic village for athletes. If South Works proves too remote, then other sites closer to downtown could work, provided rising land values don't make acquiring them too expensive.

A long way from gridlock

That such possibilities are being entertained shows how far the city has come from the political gridlock of the 1980s, when the plan for Chicago to co-host the 1992 World's Fair collapsed.

Back in 1985, when the state legislature rejected state financial backing for the fair, infighting among Chicago Democrats was to blame. The Democrats controlled both legislative chambers, and House Speaker Michael Madigan and his Chicago regulars weren't about to spend political capital on a project that would have benefited their Council Wars nemesis, the late Mayor Harold Washington.

Today, in the wake of Millennium Park's cultural and financial success and Daley's still-strong, if slightly weakened, grip on power, the city looks to be on a roll--ready, perhaps, to recapture the glory it enjoyed when it hosted the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the 1933-34 Century of Progress.

Asked if Daley was simply using an Olympic bid to distract from the scandals that have rocked his administration, Millennium Park's chief fundraiser, former Sara Lee Corp. chairman John Bryan, said: "I don't think so. He's not trying to distract. I think he's sees Chicago as having a very good chance to do something that world-class cities do."

----------

bkamin@tribune.com

[Chicago2020]

Daley mining Olympic goal
Mayor pitches Games for affordable homes

By Delroy Alexander
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 30, 2005


As Mayor Richard Daley weighs the idea of bidding for the 2016 Olympics, he has raised the possibility of new projects that later could be used as affordable or senior housing, as well as transportation links to ease congestion. And he confirmed that he is looking seriously at luring a second NFL franchise to the city.

Speaking at McCormick Place Thursday during his sixth annual sports festival, Daley said he would soon appoint a committee to look in more detail at what facilities would be needed to make Chicago a serious bidder for the 2016 Olympics.

"You could do a lot of amenities, a lot of things building up to it," said Daley, giving a rare public airing on the possibility of bidding for the Olympics. "Transportation links would be really important ... Once you build housing for the athletes, then you turn it over to affordable housing ... Or you can turn it into senior housing. There's a lot of issues you can deal with."

Daley said that any new projects must have a viable use after the event is over. He plans to set up a Web site to collect ideas from residents on potential facilities and how they might be used once the Olympics have ended.

"If you build a stadium, what are you going to use it for after the event?" the mayor asked. "San Francisco has two [National Football League teams], New York has two. This is a great city, a great sports town. If it can handle two baseball teams, it can easily handle two football teams."

Daley acknowledged he has not spoken to the NFL about securing a second franchise for the city, but he pointed to the Oakland Raiders franchise, owned by maverick Al Davis, as a possibility. He highlighted the fact that the Raiders, originally based in Oakland, have moved to Los Angeles and back to Oakland and have been rumored to be in search of a new home.

"Another franchise would really help the National Football League in the long run," said Daley. "It would help the Bears as well."

Getting a second franchise was a "goal that we look at especially when you talk about the Olympics," said Daley.

Despite talk of bringing a new team to town, he said he loves the Chicago Bears, which on Christmas clinched the NFC North title and with it a first-round bye and a home playoff game.

"I think they really look good," said Daley. "It's like the [Chicago White] Sox--everybody underestimates them. Nobody talked about the Bears, but all of a sudden they have a nice team."

The potential for Chicago to house another football franchise has been a hot topic since the Tribune revealed last week that the mayor had privately floated the idea of building a new domed stadium to enhance a possible bid for the Olympics.

The renovated Soldier Field seats 61,500, the second-smallest capacity in the NFL.

A new stadium holding at least 80,000 people would be the centerpiece of an Olympics bid and among many facilities expected to be required for an Olympics host city. The International Olympic Committee chooses the 2016 host in 2009.

Initial cost estimates on building a domed facility are between $600 million and $1 billion. Daley said his team would study the economics of making a bid and developing new projects.

"You have to look at it from a financial perspective," said Daley, who is believed to be searching for a senior business figure to head his Olympic bid review team. "You would have to look at the cost factor, all that is involved and what amenities would be needed for Chicago to hold the Olympics."

[staff]

You can't compare country to country.
You can't compare country to a continent either. Europe boasts well over 700 million people, and even though it's united it is very diverse. It's not like Norweigans feel that they were part of holding the Olympics in Athens 2004.

Greece is smaller than many U.S. states, in size and population, with one major city. The United States is the size of Europe. Having the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, Salt Lake in 2002 and Chicago in 2016 would be like having the Olympics in Athens, Torino and London in a 12 year span. Ohh, wait a minute...
Greece is smaller, but still the country where the Olympic Games originate from. USA has had the Olympics several times - China, India or Brazil has never had them even though they are major countries populationwise. Having the Olympics the US three times in 20 years it's not like having the games in three totally different countries on the same continent over a 12 year span. Obviously.

[FourOneFive]

"If you build a stadium, what are you going to use it for after the event?" the mayor asked. "San Francisco has two [National Football League teams], New York has two. This is a great city, a great sports town. If it can handle two baseball teams, it can easily handle two football teams."

Daley acknowledged he has not spoken to the NFL about securing a second franchise for the city, but he pointed to the Oakland Raiders franchise, owned by maverick Al Davis, as a possibility. He highlighted the fact that the Raiders, originally based in Oakland, have moved to Los Angeles and back to Oakland and have been rumored to be in search of a new home.

"Another franchise would really help the National Football League in the long run," said Daley. "It would help the Bears as well."


I love how Daley mentions that San Francisco has 2 NFL teams, and in the same breath almost, says he would want to take one. :D I doubt Al Davis would move the Raiders again. Oakland would probably kill him if he tried it after they defaced the Coliseum for him.

[Marvel 33]

^ I know. Greedy little bastard! :D

[Grumpy]

LA is a good olympic city, but they just hosted the games back in 1984. chicago has NEVER hosted the games and is much more deserving of a chance than two-time olympic city LA.

Which was the last great event that was organized in Chicago ?
I like the Olympic idea for 2016

[Jersey Mentality]

^ maybe the democratic convention of what was that 1996 I think.

But probably the 1898 World's Fair

[sentinel]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the World's Fair was 1893? Can't recall accurately (not that it really matters anyway for the current discussion).

[Jularc]

I hope that Philadelphia wins. ;) But if not then... Chicago.

[ronson]

Chicago is sooo due for an olympics!

[SSLL]

Chicago should be the next city to get the Olympics. Maybe 2020 would be more realistic?

[edsg25]

can you imagine Chicagoans sharing the lakefront with the world?

[alex1]

I love how Daley mentions that San Francisco has 2 NFL teams, and in the same breath almost, says he would want to take one. :D I doubt Al Davis would move the Raiders again. Oakland would probably kill him if he tried it after they defaced the Coliseum for him.

Al is a tool. He's talked about moving the Raiders in past years (Chicago has been mentioned as a possible relocation). Personally I hope it doesn't happen but let's say for the sake of arguing he does bring the Raiders to Chicago, how long do any of you guys honestly think he keeps them in Chicago before moving them back to Oakland?

[Jersey Mentality]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the World's Fair was 1893? Can't recall accurately (not that it really matters anyway for the current discussion).

yeah it was 1893, I knew it was 1890 something

[edsg25]

Daley's proposal for another NFL team for Chicago to help underwrite an Olympic stadium seems to be tied to this whole idea. The only problem is the Bears have veto authority over any NFL expansion into its market within 50 miles of them. There's no way they will allow it.

Plus any dome stadium would need some sort of tax to fund bonding and is going to met with much oppositon.

I don't think this thing has a chance.

expansion maybe, but existing teams (like the Raiders and Rams) do whatever the heck they want in the NFL.

Strange as it might sound, if it was an expansion team, the Bears could, if they chose, be winners rather than losers with an AFC expansion team in town. TV rights are split and the Bears will still sell out every game as usual. This one isn't Cubs vs. Sox. Two franchises in town would not have the same effect in football.

Meanwhile, wouldn't it be great for the NFL to repay Chicago for losing the Cardinals, a move that occurred mainly because of the inability of CBS to work its contract with the league due to the fact coverage wouldn't work in a two team market.

[edsg25]

I think that so far, other cities that have expressed interest in the games are as follows:


Havana - Confirmed
Montreal
Toronto
Buenos Aires
Rio De Janeiro
Cape Town
Dubai (who'da guessed)
New Delhi
Tel Aviv
Sapporo, Fukuoka, Tokyo
Busan
Bangkok
Istanbul
Prague
Hamburg
Milan, Lombardy, Rome, Naples
Rotterdam
Lisbon - Confirmed
Moscow - Confirmed
St. Petersburg
Madrid

The Tel Aviv Olympics???????? Somebody must have a sense of humor. A warped sense of humor.

[Jersey Mentality]

^ yeah imagine the state of the Middle East by 2016. Especially with these lummy heads that keep voting for republicans

[Marvel 33]

** Deleted for copyright infringement **

- Dylan Leblanc

[BVictor1]

City panel to explore Olympics bid

By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter
Published January 4, 2006, 2:16 PM CST


Just as the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 and Century of Progress of 1933-34 helped reshape Chicago, the summer 2016 Olympic games could do the same, Mayor Richard Daley said today.

"Cities always have to change," Daley said, citing the world's fairs as pivotal events in the city's history. "If you don't change, you live in the past, and if you live in the past, you have no future."

Speaking at a City Hall news conference, the mayor said he would appoint an exploratory committee made up of business and civic leaders later this month to investigate the feasibility of an Olympic bid.

"I'd like to make it clear that we haven't bid for the Olympics," Daley said. "No decision has been made about whether or not we will do so."

But if the city decides to seek the games, he said, "you are not going to use any local money that would be used for the local budget that would impair improvements in education, housing, jobs, homeless programs, parks."

Daley repeated his previous assertion that any infrastructure built to host the games would have to be reusable in a way that would improve the quality of life for local residents.

The mayor has floated the idea of building a new stadium in Chicago for a second National Football League team that would double as the main Olympic venue. But today, he said it also might be possible to use an existing arena elsewhere.

"You look at Indiana, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, South Bend," Daley said. "You have the University of Illinois at Champaign. Then you look at how well you improve transportation to Champaign-Urbana. You would need it. You need better transportation to Milwaukee. You need better transportation to South Bend. You have a lot of options."

"Remember, everything you do benefits not only the city but the region, and that's how you have to look at this," Daley said.

Jim Scherr, chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said at the news conference Chicago would "not only be an excellent host for an Olympic Games, but would have an opportunity to be a successful bidder if it chose to bid and if we chose to run".

"But we are quite a ways down the line there, without deciding even to have a bid process yet," he cautioned.

Scherr said the U.S. Olympic Committee has not yet decided whether to offer an American candidate city to the International Olympic Committee, which will determine by 2009 where the 2016 games will be held.

Scherr and Daley also announced Chicago has been selected as a new "Community Partner," joining three other U.S. cities that have agreed to promote Olympic programs and ideals.

The city also is setting up a Web site that will ask the public about possible future uses for facilities built for the Olympics.

The mayor previously has said an Olympics committee would look at the economics of making a bid and developing new projects, such as a stadium, as well as housing for athletes, transportation and other issues. Today, he did not give a timetable for the committee's work.

In late December, the Tribune revealed the mayor had privately floated the idea of building a new domed stadium to enhance a possible Olympics bid.

Unlike the renovated Soldier Field, which seats 61,500, the new stadium would hold at least 80,000 and would be the centerpiece of an Olympics bid. Initial cost estimates on building a domed facility were between $600 million and $1 billion.

WGN-Ch. 9 contributed to this story.

Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

[the urban politician]

can you imagine Chicagoans sharing the lakefront with the world?

^It already does. The ethnic diversity along its beaches is quite impressive

[spyguy]

U of I and Notre Dame? This is getting ridiculous. I don't care about "sharing the wealth" so to speak, but when you're not in the same metro or state even, there's a problem. Unless we build maglevs or something to these venues, I don't think Chicago will win presenting a plan with stadiums spread out so far apart.

[sflacali]

LOS ANGELES 2016

http://www.aldaver.com/Images/Os/ms1984s3.jpg

[FourOneFive]

U of I and Notre Dame? This is getting ridiculous. I don't care about "sharing the wealth" so to speak, but when you're not in the same metro or state even, there's a problem. Unless we build maglevs or something to these venues, I don't think Chicago will win presenting a plan with stadiums spread out so far apart.

That's what ultimately crippled San Francisco's 2012 Olympic bid. The sponsors wanted to have the Olympic Stadium at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto nearly 30 miles outside of San Francisco. Ultimately, the USOC went with NYC and their ill fated West Side Stadium proposal. With these bids for the 2016 Olympics, there needs to be a middle ground between using existing infastructure and relying on pie-in-the-sky proposals. For 2016, San Francisco's bid will rely on the new 49ers stadium at Candlestick. It'll be in the City, but the proposal isn't concrete.

Again, hopefully Chicago will learn from the mistakes of both San Francisco and New York's previous bids.

[northface]

^ yeah imagine the state of the Middle East by 2016. Especially with these lummy heads that keep voting for republicans

yeah, imagine it if we hadnt done anything....we might not have a chicago if everyone had voted for a liberal.

[chiphile]

Another article, and can the L.A. fuckers please leave, we get it.. bye..

-------------------------------------------------------------

Mayor expands Olympic dream
Daley says Games would benefit not just city but region

By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter
Published January 5, 2006

Sounding increasingly enthusiastic about hosting the 2016 summer Olympics, Mayor Richard Daley on Wednesday said the games could reshape Chicago the way the World's Columbian Exposition did in 1893 and the World's Fair did in 1933.

"Cities always have to change. If you don't change, you live in the past, and if you live in the past, you have no future," Daley said. "When the Olympics leave, what do you have? You have housing, you have parks, you have improvements in schools, you have improvements in public transportation."

Though he said it is far too early to know whether Chicago will toss its hat into the ring, the mayor said he will appoint an exploratory committee of business and civic leaders by month's end to investigate the feasibility of a bid.

If Chicago decides to seek the Games, "you are not going to use any local money that would be used for the local budget that would impair improvements in education, housing, jobs, homeless programs, parks ... things like that," he said.

He raised the possibility of a fundraising effort that would go beyond Chicago's boundaries.

A financial package presented to Olympic officials could be submitted "by a city, by a state, by a region or a number of states" that would reap some measure of benefit from the Games, he said. "There are many options."

Daley reiterated that any infrastructure built to host the Games, from housing to high-speed rail lines, must be reusable in a way that would make life better for local and regional residents.

The Tribune reported last month that the mayor has floated the idea of building a new major stadium in Chicago for a second National Football League team that would double as the main Olympic venue.

Daley acknowledged that he had not yet talked to the NFL, and critics have scoffed at the idea and questioned who would pay for a facility with at least 80,000 seats that could cost from $600 million to $1 billion.

But on Wednesday, the mayor expanded on remarks he first made last fall when he raised the possibility of using an existing arena.

"You look at Indiana, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, South Bend," he said. "You have the University of Illinois at Champaign. Then you look at how well you improve transportation to Champaign-Urbana. You would need it. You need better transportation to Milwaukee, you need better transportation to South Bend.

"Remember, everything you do benefits not only the city but the region, and that's how you have to look at this."

The University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium has nearly 71,000 seats, Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, about 81,000.

Miller Park, the Milwaukee Brewers' home, has the advantage of a retractable dome, but seats only 42,700, far under Olympic requirements. However, the University of Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium in Madison has a capacity of over 80,000.

Daley, who prides himself on being a student of history, said that the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the 1933 World's Fair helped redefine Chicago.

Both events "changed the city ... the feeling of the city and the perception of the city," the mayor said.

Jim Scherr, chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said Chicago would "not only be an excellent host for an Olympic Games but would have an opportunity to be a successful bidder if it chose to bid and if we chose to run.

"But we are quite a ways down the line," he cautioned.

The U.S. committee first must be convinced that an American candidate city would compete on "a level playing field" as the International Olympic Committee considers worldwide contenders, Scherr said. "We would not ask [a] city to spend the $30 million to $35 million to conduct the bid phase without a real chance of winning."

The international committee is scheduled to make its choice for the 2016 Games in 2009.

The three American cities that have hosted modern Olympic Games all have had "financial surpluses," Scherr said. Atlanta and Salt Lake City had "modest surpluses," while Los Angeles "had a record surplus which still stands in the Olympic movement."

Scherr appeared with Daley at a City Hall news conference where they announced that Chicago has been selected as a new Community Partner, joining three other U.S. cities with the same status. The cities raise money for Olympic-related causes, including training of local athletes, and host Olympic and Paralympic (for disabled athletes) events and programs.

Participating in the Community Partner program "demonstrates not only to us but to the international world that a city is interested in supporting the Olympic movement and its goals," Scherr said. "I think it is very important."

----------

gwashburn@tribune.com

[edluva]

Another article, and can the L.A. fuckers please leave, we get it.. bye..


seriously, who is this guy? he's fucking annoying.

back on topic. chicago or a host of other old-school cities would be awesome. atlanta did it for sun-belter bids. a philly, boston, or new york olympics, even if commercialized to atlanta's extent, still won't seem so bad. i swear atlanta was organized by a team of pta mothers from rancho cucamonga. talk about blandness. it was anywhere usa, plus a throng of coca-cola billboards, plus a tacky public water fountain. god forbid houston tries its luck. the day houston gets the olympics is the day i nominate ted nugent for honorary torchbearer

[VivaLFuego]

The Soldier Field renovation looks more like a debacle every day.

What about Ryan Field at Northwestern?
Currently seats only 50,000. But theres no seating at all at one of the endzones, more could be constructed, and the other end zone could be expanded......add some more rows on either side, i think you could approach 80,000....and shit, thats already accessible by the L.

[skylife]

Greece is smaller, but still the country where the Olympic Games originate from. USA has had the Olympics several times - China, India or Brazil has never had them even though they are major countries populationwise. Having the Olympics the US three times in 20 years it's not like having the games in three totally different countries on the same continent over a 12 year span. Obviously.

Yeah, well. The Olympics are held in wealthier countries. That's the way it is. Greece was the poorest country to host the Olympics in a long time, and it will be paying for it for 50 years or more.

I'm sure you wouldn't object to Spain hosting again. Just the US.

[Jersey Mentality]

Yeah the Olympics really broke the Greeks pockets, they really put themselves in the hole.

[Chicago2020]

Daley calls for statewide effort for '16
Posted: Thursday January 5, 2006 10:00AM; Updated: Thursday January 5, 2006 10:00AM

CHICAGO (AP) -- Mayor Richard Daley said Wednesday a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics could be a statewide effort involving sporting venues in cities such as Champaign-Urbana, or a regional bid with Wisconsin and Indiana.

Daley first talked about the possibility of Chicago bidding for the Olympics last July, and last month he said luring a second NFL franchise to the city would make it more worthwhile to build a domed stadium that could also be a component of an Olympics bid.

On Wednesday, at an event announcing the city is becoming a community partner of the U.S. Olympic Committee, Daley said he expects to soon announce the members of an exploratory committee.

That group will examine the experiences of other recent and upcoming hosts, along with determining the kinds of facilities that would have to be built, the transit improvements that would need to be made and the long-term economic benefits, he said.

Daley said a new stadium in Chicago is not a prerequisite for an Olympic bid. The renovated Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, seats 61,500, while the stadium capacity for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the 1984 games in Los Angeles was greater than 80,000.

"You have to look at options," Daley said, mentioning Milwaukee, South Bend, Ind. -- home to the University of Notre Dame -- and Champaign-Urbana -- home to the University of Illinois.

"Then you look at how well you (can) improve transportation to Champaign-Urbana, you'd need better transportation to Milwaukee, you'd need better transportation to South Bend," Daley said.

The International Olympic Committee will choose a host for the 2016 Olympics in 2009. The U.S. Olympic Committee has not set a date for choosing any city it might support, said its CEO, Jim Scherr.

Beijing is set to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. London was chosen last July to host the 2012 Olympics.

Daley stressed that he would not want taxpayer money to be diverted from the city's budget to finance the Olympic Games, but he did not detail other funding possibilities.

"This is an opportunity for the city of Chicago to look at -- not to take an answer right now of yes or no," he said.

Communities that partner with the USOC help increase awareness of Olympic sports and raise funds that help support local athletes. Other partner cities include Houston, Birmingham, Ala., and Edmond, Okla.

Chicago will focus on raising awareness and funds for the Paralympic Games, which feature athletes with disabilities. Scherr said such a partnership could be "very important" for cities seeking to make an Olympic bid.

"I think having a city who is a community partner who does host Olympic event activities and opportunities for Olympic athletes demonstrates not only to us but for the international world that that city is interested in supporting the Olympic movement and its goals, more than just the benefits of having the Games in its city," Scherr said.

[chiphile]

Olympian effort to land Games in 2016 worth it

There's a scene in "King Kong" in which the chimp is rendered unconscious by large doses of chloroform. Some people who have seen the movie have had a hard time buying the idea that, in the very next scene, King Kong finds himself in shackles in New York.

How, they wonder, could a ship's crew of early 20th Century sailors get an ape the size of a small mountain back to the United States?

What I tell my friends is that if you're going to accept the premise of a very large monkey living on an uncharted island inhabited by dinosaurs and oversized, man-eating slugs, you're going to have to accept the idea that Jack Black somehow could transport a groggy monster back to Gotham. Maybe the big lug water-tubed.

It takes a similar leap of faith to get us to the idea of the 2016 Olympic Games in Chicago. I don't know how we're going to get there, but I like the destination point. And, yes, I do know King Kong didn't turn out to be too good for New York, its buildings or its infrastructure.

A lot of people are calling this a pipe dream by Mayor Daley, and a certain number of those people are wondering what's in that pipe and where they can get some.

It's a grand dream. It's also a reasonable dream. This is a city built on dreams. And so I dream of a sophisticated city staring childlike during the Opening Ceremonies. I dream of a city full of anticipation and wonder as a 400-meter sprinter comes out of the final turn like a slingshot. I dream of a city smelling of chlorine and sweat.

I dream of 2½ weeks of something completely different.

It's those pesky details, however, that keep getting in the way of the dream. The International Olympic Committee requires that a host city have a stadium capable of seating at least 80,000 people. You might have noticed Chicago doesn't have one. Daley has floated the idea of building a new stadium to house a second NFL franchise.

Tying an Olympics to the arrival of another football team in Chicago was silly. It's not going to happen. The NFL wouldn't want it. The Bears most certainly wouldn't want it. It already costs a fortune to see a Bears game. How many more people with that kind of discretionary income are there to watch another NFL team play?

How to solve the stadium issue?

What about expanding Soldier Field? If the new building is such an eyesore, as many believe it is, what a wonderful opportunity to right what some view as some architectural and aesthetic wrongs. You add to the 61,500-seat stadium, divorce yourself from the awkward allegiance to the original columns on the building, help the Bears bring in more fans and get an Olympics. The renovation could push south into the parking area.

"Impossible," Chicago architect Dirk Lohan, who helped design the new Soldier Field, told me. "There's the landmark status of the stadium. That would almost certainly mean major modifications and destroy some of the old walls of Soldier Field. For that reason alone, it's out of the question.

"To add 20,000 more seats—where would you do this? You can't do it over the skyboxes. You don't really want to go higher and further out over Lake Shore Drive. And an Olympic stadium starts out with a much bigger playing field than what we have. A new stadium is the only way to get an Olympics."

Now that I think of it, architecture is out. I'm back to wanting to be a firefighter when I grow up.

A new stadium will cost $750 million, minimum, and it has to have post-Olympics uses beyond the occasional monster-truck competition. Tribune Olympics sports reporter Philip Hersh has advanced the idea of following the lead of London, which for the 2012 Games will build an 80,000-seat Olympic stadium that will be reduced afterward to a 25,000-seat facility. A smaller stadium could be used later for high school and college events.

Daley was right to bring up the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. It transformed the city in ways beyond buildings and structures. Public transportation improved, parks were expanded and imaginations were allowed to soar.

"The idea to seriously look at bids by Chicago for the Olympics was a great idea," Lohan said. "Since 1933 we haven't had a World's Fair. We haven't had anything of this kind of scale. It would have a tremendous impact."

But if you're going to have a Chicago Olympics, you can't try to sell it as a regional event, as Daley has, and put the Opening Ceremonies in, say, 81,000-seat Notre Dame Stadium.

No, it primarily has to be here, in the City That Works. This isn't the City That Contracts Out Work.

Chicago doesn't need an Olympics to feel good about itself. Salt Lake City and Atlanta were so itchy to be considered world-class that they were willing to do almost anything to prove it, including cheating, in the case of the 2002 Winter Games in Utah. Chicago doesn't have anything to prove to itself or anybody else, and maybe that's a problem. Maybe you need a little desperation to be an Olympic city.

Why does Chicago deserve an Olympics? We probably could start and finish this discussion with the argument that if Atlanta could get one, then Chicago should be able to as well. But that's cheap, and even though we're not above cheapness, there are a lot of reasons Chicago would be perfect for the Olympic Games.

One is that there are very few cities that can match Chicago's vibrancy. Another is that there are very few cities that could pull it off.

I put this in the category of a once-in-a-lifetime experience, like the White Sox winning the World Series. And who wants to wait around for the Cubs?

rmorrissey@tribune.com

[MNdude]

^ After viewing the Gary indiana photo thread I think they should have some events in Gary............go Gary !

[MHoadley]

:tup: 1. More bid city discussion:http://www.gamesbids.com/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.cgi?;act=SF;f=21

2. 2009 is the Centennial of The Burnham Plan

3. Ueberroth has proven games can be profitable

4. 2006 Gay Games are being held here

5. 2016 will be 20 years since a Summer Games here

6. The Games have a life of their own, and as they require so much cooperation and public support, corruption is not an option, besides, the US Attorney will be paying plenty of attention to prevent that.

7. Chicago has a rich Olympic Heritage through Avery Brundage, U of I grad, Chicago real Estate Developer, and IOC Chair from 52-72'

8. The European bookies have us 6-1 favorites over all other cities

Come help us make it happen............


Chicago 2016

The prospects of and implications for the business community of a Winning Olympic Bid


Panel Breakfast, Wednesday March 1st, 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.



The Mid Day Club of Chicago

56th Floor of One JP Morgan Chase Plaza


Janet Baxter, President, US Sailing


Lee Bey, Director of Governmental Affairs, Skidmore Owings & Merrill,

Former City of Chicago Deputy Chief Staff for Planning & Design



Marc S. Ganis, President SportsCorp Ltd.



Bill Martin, Athletic Director, University of Michigan,

Former Chairman of The United States Olympic Committee


Hugh Murphy, Regional Vice President, Staubach Educational and Municipal Services

Former City of Chicago COO, Director of Revenue, and Director of O’Hare Airport



Ted Tetzlaff, Partner Ungaretti & Harris and

Chairman of The Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority



Sponsored By

The University of Illinois Real Estate Alumni Forum

$20 UIRE Members, $40 Non UIRE Members



Register Online After Friday January 27th, 2006

www.uire.org



For More Information, contact Michael Hoadley, mhoadley@spinnakerventures.biz or 773-294-5868

[pdxstreetcar]

Chicago would be a great Olympic host city, go Chicago!!!

[jcchii]

events in Gary a fine idea

[Chicago2020]

I wonder where the Olympic village would be built?

Hopefully Soldier Field wont be the main Olympic Stadium. NOT ENOUGH SEATS.

[MHoadley]

Are there any definitive examples of sizing for Olympic Villages?

It is feasible to add seats to SF, albeit expensive, certainly less so that a brand new stadium.

[spyguy]

Probably not, because Soldier Field is a landmark (for now) and you'd probably have to destroy more of the historic parts of the structure or compromise the entire design and make it look even more goofy.

[edsg25]

The Soldier Field renovation looks more like a debacle every day.

What about Ryan Field at Northwestern?
Currently seats only 50,000. But theres no seating at all at one of the endzones, more could be constructed, and the other end zone could be expanded......add some more rows on either side, i think you could approach 80,000....and shit, thats already accessible by the L.

There is no growth possiblity at either of Ryan Field's end zones. To the south, the stands practically back up to Central Street. On the north end, Welsh-Ryan Arena gets in the way. The only growth pssiblity for the stadium is to make the east stands the size of the west.

I do think that an englargement is warranted. NU has long since dug itself out of a football hole and has been far more competitve with other Big Ten schools.

[jcchii]

There was the idea of another stadium that might be used to attract a second NFL team.
I don't know what the proposed location was, but there have previously been talks of domes in the vicinity of McCormick Place

[Chicago2020]

Who'll lead on Olympics?
Aon founder favored to explore bid effort

By Kathy Bergen, Tribune staff reporter. Chicago Tribune staff reporter Blair Kamin contributed to this article
Published January 25, 2006


Insurance industry titan Patrick G. Ryan, one of the city's most well-connected business and civic leaders, is believed to be Mayor Richard Daley's top choice to head a panel that will explore whether Chicago should bid for the 2016 Olympics.

The 68-year-old founder and executive chairman of Aon Corp. has been in discussions with City Hall, said one business leader who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"The mayor probably asked him, but I'm not sure he gave an answer," said the source.

A second business leader also reports hearing rumblings about Ryan, who is a part owner of the Chicago Bears and a friend of the mayor.

"The mayor trusts him the most," said the executive, who declined to be identified.

City Hall dismissed the talk as merely talk.

"I can say, unequivocally, there has been no formal request by the mayor to anyone to chair the exploratory process," said aide Michael Segobiano.

Asked if there had been any informal requests, he said: "Anything you're hearing, it's just rumors."

But, he added, "we sense here a very real and genuine interest and excitement in the business and philanthropic communities about exploring a bid for the 2016 games, and we've had numerous correspondence from leaders throughout the region, offering their support."

So far there is no timetable for launching an exploratory committee, said Segobiano. But he added, "it will be sooner, rather than later."

Ryan was traveling and could not be reached for comment.

The son of a successful car dealer, Ryan, a native of Milwaukee, built Aon into the world's second-largest insurance broker. He stepped down as chief executive in April, a month after Aon agreed to refund $190 million to clients to resolve allegations that it improperly steered business to favored insurers. As part of the settlement Ryan apologized for the firm's conduct.

Still, he is a highly visible member of the city's business and philanthropic community, and would be in a position to corral a team of heavy hitters to work on a bid for the Olympics.

He is chairman of the board of his alma mater, Northwestern University, where his family name is attached to two athletic facilities and an auditorium.

He also is a life trustee of Rush University Medical Center and a director of the Chicago Bears Football Club.

The U.S. Olympic Committee is expected to revise bidding requirements after the Winter Games in Turin, Italy, next month, and will meet with a short list of interested cities after that, in March at the earliest.

After that the USOC will decide whether to pursue a bid with the International Olympic Committee, said Darryl Seibel, a spokesman for the USOC.

While weighing the possibility of a Chicago bid, Mayor Daley has met with John Bryan, the former chief executive of Sara Lee Corp., who was the chief fundraiser for Millennium Park and who led a panel that in the mid-1990s explored whether to bid for the 2008 Olympics. The city opted against doing so.

Some observers don't think Bryan is a potential candidate to lead the exploratory process.

"I can't imagine the mayor asked him to do it," said one of the sources who think Ryan is the leading candidate. "He did Millennium Park, and that's heavy lifting."

Bryan was out of town and could not be reached for comment.

In a December interview he said, "I would be on the verge of my 80th birthday when the Olympics came here. I certainly don't want to have a role in the Olympics."

----------

Kbergen@tribune.com

Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

[jcchii]

we need somebody who can make the International Olympic Committee an offer they can't refuse

[wrabbit]

Were Chicago to get the 2016 Games, wouldn't this merit a 5th star on the Chicago flag? (for those of you not familiar with it, Chicago's city flag includes four large red stars, each representing a pivotal moment in the city's history: The Battle of Fort Dearborn (1814 - this is prior to Chicago's incorporation); the Great Fire of 1871; the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893; the World's Fair of 1933).

Seems to me Chicago is in the mood for some preening again, and a large-scale showcase event like the Olympics is precisely the sort of thing that it does best. Heck, we might even get a new Chicago paradigm of architecture, design & engineering out of the whole experience.

As for the stadium issue, I'm heartened that people are already thinking outside of the box about it. My goofball idea would be to build the stadium as a floating structure on Lake Michigan; once the Games are over, NW could float it up to Evanston and reassemble it on the land as a new lakefront bowl.

[HowardL]

My goofball ide is to build the stadium as a floating structure on Lake Michigan; once the Games are over, NW can float it up to Evanston and reassemble it on the land as their new lakefront facility.

That would be a spectacular concept for a stadium. The Lake is essential to the city's identity, so why not incorporate that into a plan for the stadium. It could really be quite cool.

[Chicago2020]

Lets say the city gets seriously involved with the 2016 bidding process, they should propose building the Olympic village and stadium close enough to the skyline so the whole world will see.

Imagine the end of the opening ceremony, and all those fireworks exploding in the air with Chicago's skyline right behind the new stadium.

[brian_b]

I think that the only way to have a suitable stadium in Chicago is some sort of temporary structure. There really is no need at all for a stadium that large once the Olympics are finished.

[rgolch]

I fear this stadium issue will be the death of Chicago being the Olympic host.

[VivaLFuego]

Or, just call the new Soldier Field a sunk cost, bulldoze it, and do it right.

Except that government is incapable of operating with any conception of sunk costs, so that will never happen.

The best options I've heard, is for the opening ceremony at somewhat expanded soldier field (temporary seating to bring the capacity at least past 70,000), then modifying one of the many racetracks (Hawthorne maybe, isnt too far from downtown), or perhaps Ryan Field in Evanston for Olympic events.