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San Francisco Reluctantly Withdraws 2016 Olympic Bid
Posted 2:48 pm ET (GamesBids.com)

San Francisco 2016 Bid Committee Managing Director Scott Givens has announced that his bid will be withdrawn from the national nomination process against Chicago and Los Angeles.

"We've damaged our reputation...the damage has been done and the damage can't be pulled back" he explained at a press conference today.

"We were all shocked" Givens said as he described how his bid committee was caught off-guard by the 49ers stadium announcement and how it has already caused a "perceptual gap" to the rest of the world.

He said that the bid committee made the decision based on feedback from others in the industry even though there were a couple of remaining viable back-up plans.

San Francisco previously competed for the US nomination to bid for the 2012 Olympic Games but lost to New York - a bid that went on to suffer a similar fate when its stadium plans fell throught only weeks before the final vote by the International Olympic Committee. In reaction to that, the USOC has changed its site selection process in order to avoid more embarassment in the future.

The San Francisco 2016 bid committee already had well-developed plans and $23.25 million - more than required by the USOC - and had established itself as the bid to beat. But while Chicago and Los Angeles are also fighting for the nomination, the USOC still hasn't committed to bidding for 2016 and could shut down the process before the end of the year.

There is no telling what impact San Francisco's demise might have on the USOC, and by extension the other two bids, that may be carried into the international campaign.

Check GamesBids.com shortly for more news on this rapidly developing story.

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