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Sep 15, 2007 12:23 am US/Central
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Olympic Experts Put Chicago In Lead For 2016 Games
by Jay Levine
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Experts do not believe the CTA money problems will be a factor in Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics because getting the games would make money available for major mass transit improvements.
And Friday, seven cities, including Chicago, have been accepted by the International Olympic Committee as official bidders for the 2016 Summer Olympics. CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports on the early line of favorites.
"I think it's Chicago's to lose right now," said Philip Hersh of the Chicago "Tribune."
Hersh has covered Olympics sports and politics for three decades. He puts Chicago and Madrid at the top of what he considers a four-way race, on the strength of Chicago's bid and Madrid's track record of hosting international events. Right behind, Hersh says, are Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
"People know all about our bid all across the world, and the other countries are just now submitting their bids, and they're gonna have great bids too," said former Olympian Mike Conley Sr., of World Sport Chicago.
NBCOlympics.com columnist Alan Abrahamson also puts Chicago on top right now, neck and neck with Rio. Madrid, Doha in the Persian Gulf and Tokyo, he says, will likely also be chosen next year as finalists. Chicago's fortunes, he believes, could hinge on a new way of dealing with the International Olympic Community. Conley agrees.
"The attitude of the community was that the Americans were a little arrogant and I think we've come a long way in that regard," Conley said. "We're not bragging about our bid, we're not bragging about the city, we're out saying we have something really good to offer. And we're being humble about it."
Ed Hula of
AroundTheRings.com also puts Chicago and Rio ahead of the pack right now, but says if Brazil hosts world cup soccer in 2014 it could hurt its chances. Tokyo, Madrid and Doha, he feels, will also be finalists.
All three experts, then, believe Chicago is a frontrunner right now, but that doesn't necessarily mean much.
"Let's remember that the bidding for 2012, one year before the vote, London was dead in the water," Hersh said. "So being a frontrunner is not necessarily a fantastic thing."
But the things that favor Chicago, according to the three men we spoke to Friday are geographical rotation, that points to the western hemisphere for 2016; weather, that could make an August Olympics uncomfortable in Doha or even Tokyo; and security concerns for Rio.
Those factors could lead to a bid that goes, as they say in horseracing, wire-to-wire.
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