May 29, 2008 6:01 pm US/Central
Chicago Should Make Final Cut For 2016 Olympics
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
It's one ranking where Chicago would rather not come out on top – the ranking of finalists in the competition to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The announcement will be made next week in Rome and, according to CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine, the top spot has been the kiss of death.
Of the seven applicant cities for the 2016 Summer Games, three, four or five cities are expected to make the cut; two are not. Baku in Azerbaijan and Prague in the Czech Republic are not likely to advance.
Doha is the wild card, as the first Arab nation to apply. Madrid and Tokyo are good bets, so is Rio de Janeiro. Chicago is just about automatic.
Doug Arnot, director of sports/operations for Chicago 2016 said, "I think it would be unusual for a candidate from the United States not to pass this first hurdle. I think it would be very unusual."
Still, Chicago-proposed Olympic venues have been limited to sketches, animations and models, while others, like Rio de Janeiro – which hosted last year's Pan American games – have the actual buildings and more experience with international events. Last year's World Boxing Championships in Chicago will help the city's bid.
U.S. Olympic Committee Board Member Robert Ctvrtlik said, "hundreds of foreign either competitors, coaches or dignitaries coming through and it went off without a hitch, so that was a great example of what we can do."
Next week's report will rank the competing bids. It will be similar to one issued 4 years ago, when Madrid and Paris were ranked tops among 5 finalists for the 2012 Olympics. London, the eventual choice, was third, followed by New York and Moscow.
"For some reason, frontrunners at this stage don't fare well at the end and we have to remember this isn't a sprint, it's a marathon," Ctvrtlik said.
Making the finals will give Chicago time to refine its plan for an Olympiad that will provide a blueprint for the future. With Beijing spending more than $30 billion on this summer's games and London spending nearly $20 billion for 2012, Chicago promises to deliver 2016 for far less.
"To say what it is in today's dollars, today's dollars, $5 billion, I'd be surprised if we went north of that," Arnot said.
Mayor Richard M. Daley and Chicago 2016 CEO Pat Ryan will be in Athens for next week's announcement. But behind the scenes, staffers are already hard at work on security, transportation, medical, and other working groups, putting together Chicago's 500-page bid book, due next February, prior to a Spring visit by the Olympic site selection committee.
A final decision on the 2016 Olympics is still nearly 18 months away.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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