Feb 6, 2009 5:05 pm US/Central
Chicago Olympic Bid Ready To Be Sent
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Mayor Richard Daley is joined by other officials Friday Feb. 6, 2009 in unveiling Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
CBS
It's comprised of three volumes, 17 chapters, and 560 pages. Final details of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics are ready for shipping to the International Olympics Committee in Switzerland.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports.
"This book also articulates our vision for the games, the impact it will have on our city, the nation and the world to come," Mayor Richard Daley said Friday.
Completion of the bid books represents another milestone in Daley's nearly two-year quest to land the games. The final decision is now eight months away.
"Everything they want to know is in this bid book," Jim Scherr, CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said.
But Chicago's biggest hurdle remains convincing the IOC that the city can pull off the games, including new stadium venues, and a large Olympic village for athletes without money from taxpayers.
"This is not going to affect taxpayers, this will not affect taxpayers," Daley said. "We've said that a thousand times. We'll say it again."
But that puts the burden squarely on the corporate sector, in the midst of a worldwide recession.
"We have an opportunity to raise the money over a seven-year period, and what we have to do is we have to show the evaluation commission, give them the comfort and certainty that this money will be there," Pat Ryan, CEO of Chicago 2016, said.
Students at Jesse Owens School, named after Chicago's greatest Olympian, voted overwhelmingly to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago. But then, this election was rigged, Chicago-style. Stuffing the ballot box at the IOC won't be nearly as easy.
"We're very proud of the bidding process," Daley said. "We'd be very proud to be selected."
Next week, Jesse Owens' grandson will hand-deliver Chicago's bid to the IOC in Lusanne, Switzerland.
Full details of Chicago's final proposal will be released next week.
The Olympic committee meets to decide who receives the 2016 games on Oct. 2 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The other finalists are Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio de Janeiro.
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