City unveils Olympics plans
By Kathy Bergen
Tribune staff reporter
Published January 23, 2007, 6:17 PM CST
Chicago sought to portray its push for the 2016 Olympics as eminently doable Tuesday, saying 80 percent of the cost to build a stadium and other sports venues will be paid for with Olympics revenues, and the remainder with private donations.
The city's ability to present an ironclad plan is crucial as it vies against Los Angeles to represent the United States in the international competition to be the host city. Los Angeles, which has mounted two previous Olympics, has most facilities already in place.
In a press conference Tuesday morning, the day after the two cities filed bid books with the U.S. Olympic Committee, the Chicago 2016 Bid Committee revealed a host of fresh details:
--A temporary stadium at Washington Park, the linchpin for the Games, has reduced in size, while cost estimates have risen. The plan now calls for 80,000 seats, rather than 95,000, to trim costs. This is estimated to cost $316 million.
-- After the stadium is dismantled, another $50 million will be spent to construct a lasting amphitheater in Washington Park. The facility, for cultural and sporting events, will seat 5,000, down from the 10,000 originally planned.
-- The combined cost of the temporary stadium and the amphitheater, $366 million, is up from earlier estimates of $300 million to $320 million. A nationally known contractor has committed to build it for that amount, adjusted for inflation, though ultimately the project will go out for bid.
--The stadium design was unveiled, showing a bowl-shape arena, with a partial roof over seating for Olympics officials and the media. An outer skin will display dramatic images of Olympic athletics, and live coverage of the events will be projected on huge screens, at Washington Park and in other city parks, including Grant Park.
--The overall plan, which concentrates most venues downtown, by the lakefront or in city parks, becomes even more downtown-centric, with a decision to move the rowing competition from the South Side lakefront to Monroe Harbor. The cost of adapting the harbor is estimated at $60 million.
--Six private developers have signed letters of intent to bid on construction of a $1.1 billion Olympic Village, to be erected on a platform above the truck parking lot at McCormick Place. This project, too, will go out for bid. Officials said the city is committed to seeing an Olympic Village complex, even if Chicago does not get the Games. The goal is to transform and create a new community that will be very much like the high-rise communities along North Lake Shore Drive.
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
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