Feb 12, 2009 8:38 pm US/Central
Will Chicago Get Stuck With Olympic-Sized Cost?
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Be careful what you wish for, the old saying goes. This week, we use it to describe Chicago's quest for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports on concerns about Chicago following in the financial footsteps of other host cities.
In Switzerland Thursday, the grandson of Olympic great Jesse Owens hand-delivered Chicago's 500-page vision for the 2016 Games. It was filled with Chicago stars hand-drawn by students from the South Side school named for the Olympic great, whose shoes from the 1936 summer games are enshrined in the Olympic Museum.
The bid, which was just a dream three years ago, is now refined into a formal plan. It was accompanied by videos showcasing the beauty of our city.
It comes on the heels of our celebration seen round the world, featuring the hometown hero who will present Chicago's case next fall.
How can we lose? Some say the real question is: Do we really want to win?
Could Chicago's Olympic dream turn into a nightmare?
"Athens lost money, Sidney lost money, Vancouver is going to lose money," said Allen Sanderson, a sports economist at the University of Chicago. "Beijing, it's hard to say they lost money … London is certainly going to lose money.
London's plan, most believe, never stood a chance.
"Once the euphoria of winning the games was over, we then started to see what the reality of putting on the Games really is," Roger Blitz of the Financial Times of London said.
"If we had a plan like London's plan, I'd be very nervous," Chicago 2016 operations chief Doug Arnot said. "Our total construction budget is less than London's stadium budget."
Arnot was ready for tough questions about the plan Chicago will reveal Friday. It estimates costs of $4.9 billion, about the same as London proposed.
But given Chicago's record on cost over-runs on major projects, like Millennium Park, the fear of having to dip into the city's $500 million guarantee seems quite real.
Arnot tried to allay such fears. Twenty-two of the 28 venues proposed for a Chicago Olympics are already built. The federal government is expected to pick up security and transportation costs.
And besides, every Olympics ever held in the United States has made money. Chicago is banking on doing the same.
Contents of Chicago's bid will be revealed Friday morning.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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