[Southsider2k12]

What are people's feelings about potentially having the Olympics 60 miles away from us? I work in Chicago, and I think it could be one of the greatest things to happen here in a long time. I think MC could benefit as well, as there would be people probably staying out here and visiting here.

http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/352419.php?co...ontentId=410178

Olympics Decision Is One Day Away


CHICAGO (CBS 2) - Chicago officials have just one more day to convince the U.S. Olympic Committee that this would be the best place to hold the 2016 Summer Games.

As CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, Chicago and Los Angeles will each have one final opportunity to make one final pitch to represent the United States in the quest to host the 2016 Games.

On Friday 11 USOC board members will sit down to dinner in Washington and start a discussion that will lead to a decision on Saturday.

The mayor and other Chicago officials will deliver a final pitch to the Olympic committee tomorrow (Saturday). The announcement on which U.S. city won this contest will come at 3 p.m. WBBM Newsradio 780 will have live coverage.

The U.S. city that wins the bid will go on to compete with other cities around the world to host the 2016 games. The winner will be announced in 2009.

One major issue on which Chicago officials are focusing is security. City officials on Thursday unveiled a new high-tech command post at McCormick Place.

The new center is designed to ensure security and protection for the mammoth McCormick Place convention center. The security operation will have 450 cameras running once the latest edition to McCormick Place is completed on the west side of the facility this summer.

But in addition to its immediate use for McCormick Place and the more than 3 million people who go there annually, the security system is also designed to be part of the overall operation to protect the Olympic sites and activities.

If Chicago were to win the Olympic bid, McCormick Place would be one of the most important sites for the games. The Olympic Village complex would be situated just south of McCormick Place, and security there would have to be tight.

The assault on Munich Olympic Village and the massacre of Israeli athletes there remains the worst tragedy in modern Olympic history.

But city leaders say they believe Chicago is better prepared than Los Angeles to handle potential security issues.

"Los Angeles like New York and other places that had elected over the years to build smaller but separate systems are now looking at Chicago as the way to go," city Chief Emergency Officer Cortez Trotter said.

Mayor Richard M. Daley is also touting Chicago as an international city, and a place where people from all over the world come to work and play.

"What Chicago's all about is the great history of America; as an American city, still today, proud of its immigrants even arriving today – right now – and really show the best of America," the mayor said.

If Chicago won the U.S. bid, it would be a first-time host city. Many see that as a plus, but a negative is the fact that many of the venues, including a $366 million stadium, have not been built.

Los Angeles has hosted the summer games twice already, but city leaders there point that out as an advantage for them.

It’s no surprise Mayor Richard M. Daley is boosting Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympic Games, but when a world-renowned, French-born, Chinese-American musician speaks, its music to the mayor's ears.

"Far more than any other American city, Chicago has an incredible will to get things done," cellist Yo-Yo Ma said.

Before performing at Symphony Center Thursday night, Yo-Yo Ma told an orchestra trustee Chicago is a truly international city.

"No other city has the entire world living within it the way Chicago does,” he said.

That’s one argument the mayor will make in Washington.

“We want to portray Chicago as a city of immigrants and of migration as well,” Daley said.

The mayor met with the president of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and got a pledge from him.

"If I’m lucky enough to be president of the United States in October 2009, I will be at the IOC meeting fighting hard for the U.S. to get the bid,” said Republican presidential candidate Mit Romney.

Romney remains a long shot for the White House, but Olympic officials have long maintained that a strong push from Washington is crucial to U.S. hopes.

The mayor and his chief security officer emphasized another strength Thursday.

Earlier, a report said a team from the U.S. Olympic Committee recommended neither Chicago nor Los Angeles as the U.S. pick for the 2016 Olympics after visiting each city.

City officials hosted the Olympic Committee in early March. After visiting, the committee said the lack of a guarantee of financial backing was the city's most serious weak point in its Olympic bid.

A short time later, the City Council voted to offer a financial guarantee of $500 million in local tax dollars for the Olympics.

Mayor Daley has cited the more compact nature of what would be Chicago's Olympics grounds, with a stadium at Washington Park and an Olympic village near McCormick Place, as a selling point over Los Angeles. The Olympic activities there would be more spread out.

[JHeath]

Chicago hosting the Olympics could potentially be one of the best things to happen to NW Indiana.
Just imagine the influx of tourism dollars that would come through the area.

[Southsider2k12]

CHICAGO IT IS!!!

Now we just have to wait two years for the decesion between the final 5 cities of the world.

[Southsider2k12]

http://heraldargus.com/archives/ha/display.php?id=376065

Olympic effect
Comment on this story

Daniel Przybyla, 1-866-362-2167 Ext. 13865 , dprzybyla@heraldargus.com


Chicago Olympics could prove to be a huge boon for county

LA PORTE COUNTY -- While the International Olympic Committee is still two years away from deciding the site of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, La Porte County is gearing up for the possibility Chicago could be selected as the host city.

Such a decision could mean a significant boost for La Porte County’s economy in terms of lodging, attractions and food, and it has those in the tourism industry in the area giddy at the thought of the world’s biggest sporting event coming to their backyard.

“I think it’s pretty exciting. I’m hoping we get it,” said Jeff Fisher, who with his wife owns the bed and breakfast Maison Des Fleurs in Michigan City.

He estimates La Porte County could experience an economic development impact of $8 to $10 million.

While that remains to be seen, Sue Bietry, executive director of the La Porte County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said she’ll be conducting lots of research in the months ahead so that when Olympic officials make their decision in 2009, La Porte County will be ready.

“We want to get our foot in the door. I want to make sure our name is on the list and we’re not overlooked,” she said.

For now, she said she hasn’t heard from her tourism bureau counterparts in Chicago as to the plan of attack in terms of accommodations, transportation and area attractions the county might promote to out-of-town visitors.

She said she’s already received calls from three tourist attractions interested in knowing what can be done to take advantage of the Olympics possibly being only 60 miles away.

“It wouldn’t be much to draw (Olympic visitors) here if there was an attraction they wanted to see,” she said. “I think it’s absolutely wonderful. It’s great for the region and the area.”

The Porter County Convention Recreation and Visitor Commission stands to benefit even more from a Chicago Olympics, due to its even closer proximity to the Windy City.

“This magnitude of an event doesn’t come around every day,” said commission Executive Director Lorelei Weimer. “It’s an opportunity for the Midwest to show the world what we can do. It’s critical to get these visitors in our communities and spending.”

Northern Indiana, she said, offers a host of attractions for visitors, including the dunes, museums, Amish country and Lake Michigan.

The two weeks of Olympic events would allow area hotels to raise their rates for out-of-town travelers, said David Gielczyk, general manager of Holiday Inn in Michigan City.

“It will be a great boon for the area,” he said.

Helping to get visitors who are staying in La Porte County back and forth to the Windy City would be the job of the South Shore Line, Michigan City Mayor Chuck Oberlie said.

There’s also the possibility, Oberlie said, that Olympic athletes could train in the Michigan City area for beach volleyball, sailing and softball.

The Lubeznik Center for the Arts would shape its displays to match the international crowd that might flock to the area, Executive Director Carolyn Saxton said.

“(La Porte County) is a perfect venue for extended visitors. I think this offers this region a chance to be showcased,” she said.

[Max Main]

It would be great to have the Olympix here, but my money is on rio.

[Southsider2k12]

It would be great to have the Olympix here, but my money is on rio.

Yeah the chatter seems to be that any Asian bids will suffer because of the 2012 games being in China, and that Europe's 2008 games will push back any bids for them. The Western Hemisphere is the clear favorite, with their being a clear sentiment for South American, because it has never hosted an Olympics before. I think I will say is to NEVER underestimate Rich Daley. The man is a machine when it comes to delivering the big ticket item for Chicago. I would not be the least bit surprised if Chicago wins these games.

[Ang]

Southsider, I hope you're right, it would be awsome for the economy and possibly a boost for the $100mil that MCvoter says is needed to fix Franklin St. However, I'm afraid the Olympic committee won't find anything attractive about Chicago and northwest Indiana to want to come there.

[Southsider2k12]

I think locally the old saying "familiarity breeds contempt" is an apt thing here. The world view of Chicago is much different than many of the local views. Chicago is a "world" city, and is well known world wide for its huge immigrant populations and neighborhoods. Rich Daley has been really active both nationally and internationally in promoting Chicago as a world wide tourist destination. He routinely meets with public officials from around the world, and having met the man myself a few times, he is one of the world's best schmoozers. I think the biggest thing the US bid will have to over come is the world's view of the US as a whole, and not anything to do with Chicago.

[Max Main]

i agree with southsider. chicago is definitely world-class. Europe just hosted the winter olympics, asia is next summer, so I am betting on rio. Which is a city under extreme social stress, by the way.

[RexKickass]

I would think Sao Paolo would be a more likely candidate out of Brazil - although I would think Santiago would be a better choice for the IOC - in that Chile really does have the money to spend - more so than any other South American country.

[Max Main]

I hope that it is not Chile--another place I boycott!

[Southsider2k12]

I hope that it is not Chile--another place I boycott!

Why do you boycott Chile?

[Ang]

Why do you boycott Chile?

Cause it's cold there.

[Ang]

Chicago made the final four!!!

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug...p&type=lgns

IOC picks Chicago among 4 finalists for 2016 Summer Olympics
By STEPHEN WILSON, AP Sports Writer
1 hour, 9 minutes ago

Buzz Up PrintATHENS, Greece (AP)—Getting to the final phase was one thing. Now, Chicago has some hard work ahead to overcome weaknesses in its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Chicago was one of four cities selected as bid finalists Thursday, along with Tokyo; Madrid, Spain, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The lineup sets up a high-profile contest featuring major cities from the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Failing to make the International Olympic Committee shortlist were three cities—Doha, Qatar; Prague, Czech Republic, and Baku, Azerbaijan.

The IOC said Doha had the potential to host the Olympics and even rated the Qatari capital tied for third with Chicago in its technical assessment. But the IOC said it turned back Doha because it proposed holding the games in October.

The finalists now advance to a 16-month race that will culminate on Oct. 2, 2009, with a secret ballot by the full IOC at its session in Copenhagen, Denmark.

“It’s a very competitive field,” said Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who is trying to take the Summer Olympics back to the United States for the first time since the 1996 Atlanta Games. “The competition begins now.”

Chicago got a strong dose of reality in the IOC’s report assessing the technical bids, which cited problems with finances and transportation, among other things.

“We really respect the experts who have done the evaluation,” said Chicago bid leader Patrick Ryan, who had not yet read the report. “We’re going to learn from that. We’re going to respect it and we’re not going to alibi to ourselves about it. We’re going to do everything we can to correct all the deficiencies.”

Tokyo scored highest in the technical evaluation, which rated cities in 11 categories—including infrastructure, venues, transportation, security and finances—on a scale of 1 to 10.

The Japanese capital scored an overall average of 8.4, followed by Madrid with 8.2. Chicago was back at 7.0 with Doha, with Rio at 6.5. Chicago didn’t rank first in any of the categories, and lagged in fifth in three.

The early ranking is not crucial, however. When the IOC picked the finalists for the 2012 Olympics in 2004, London was ranked third behind first-place Paris and Madrid in the technical report. London went on to win the games in 2005.

“We’ll evaluate the report, look at the strong points and any weaknesses,” Daley said. “There’s always a wakeup call for everything. If there is any negative, you take it and try to be able to correct it, simple as that.”

The IOC report said Chicago’s wording on government guarantees “does not fully confirm” with requirements; questioned the $27 billion figure listed for highway and transit projects; said sports venue construction budgets “appear low and may warrant review,” and cited a “lack of detail” in plans for transportation between venue clusters.

“We’re very pleased, but at the same time sober knowing we have to improve and have a tremendous amount of work ahead,” U.S. IOC member Bob Ctvrtlik said. “This is the first hurdle. … We’ll keep improving until we submit our bid book.”

Cities must submit their detailed bid files to the IOC by Feb. 12, 2009. After that, a panel of IOC experts will visit each of the cities, tour the proposed sites and meet with bid and government leaders. The panel will release an evaluation report to the IOC members a month before the October 2009 vote.

Madrid is back again after a third-place finish in the vote for the 2012 Olympics.

“I think there are about 40 million Spaniards that want us to bring the games home,” bid leader Mercedes Coghen said.

Tokyo, which held the Summer Games in 1964, hopes to bring the Olympics to Asia eight years after Beijing.

“Now it’s full steam ahead for my team and the Japanese people,” Tokyo bid chief Ichiro Kono said. “We have no time to lose in preparing the best possible candidature file for the IOC.”

Rio would become the first South American city to host the Olympics.

“We’re very happy—the emotion to have a city of a country that never organized the Olympic Games among the others that have already organized. It’s a great challenge but I think we are ready,” Rio bid president Carlos Arthur Nuzman said.

Whether to include Doha in the final mix shaped up as the main issue for the IOC executive board. In the end, the IOC said it couldn’t accept Doha’s proposal to hold the games from Oct. 14-30 to avoid the searing summer heat. The IOC prefers the July-August time slot.

The board “unanimously decided not to grant this exception as it conflicts with the international sporting calendar and would therefore be bad for the athletes and for sports fans,” IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. “It would disrupt athletes’ training programs and overload the sports schedule at an already busy time of the year.”

Doha, capital of a tiny but wealthy Arab Gulf country of about 1 million people, had loomed as the wild card as it sought to bring the games to the Middle East for the first time.

“While we are of course disappointed, we remain extremely proud to have been given the opportunity over the past 12 months to demonstrate that Doha is a truly modern and developing city, able to compete with some of the world’s largest capitals and able to host international sporting events of the highest standard,” Doha bid chairman Hassan Ali Bin Ali said.

[Southsider2k12]

I am so excited! It would be incredible for both Chicago and even a Michigan City for this to happen. Like I said before, Chuck needs to be on the phone yesterday to Rich Daley to try to piggy back any efforts.

[Ang]

Chuck, if you're reading this...

What are you doing? Get off the computer and get on the phone man!

[Southsider2k12]

In all seriousness here, Michigan City is only about 55 miles from the proposed Olympic Stadium, and would have direct access by rail to the sites for the vast majority of the games. When the Pan Am games were in Indy in the 80's Michigan City even hosted some of the sailing events. This would be a HUGE shot in the arm, and could even be exposure to the rest of the world for a tourist town trying to make a break. Attaching ourselves to this kind of a bid would mean a big influx of capital as well, because people are going to be want to be attached to that cash cow. Things like the North Side project will get done for sure. Even if it was something as small as overflow housing for guests and athletes, it would be big to us.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Chuck, if you are reading this, get over to the city planning threads and READ MY POSTS!!!!

[Southsider2k12]

So has anyone gotten really excited about the possibilities of a Chicago 2016 Olympics after watching this years Olympiad?

[Roger Kaputnik]

'12 is in London, so I doubt the Committee will award the Games to two AA cities in a row. I think Brazil's entry has the fast track.