Apr 8, 2009 5:53 pm US/Central
Chicago 2016 Team Confident After Olympic Visit
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Nawal el-Moutawakel of Morocco, the chairwoman of the IOC evaluation commission, talks with Mayor Richard M. Daley
Chicago 2016
The Olympic inspection team is heading home Wednesday night after nearly a week evaluating the city's bid for the 2016 Summer Games.
So, how'd we do?
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports the day after the evaluation commission's rave review, Chicago's operations chief, Doug Arnot, a veteran of six games and bids, breathed a sigh of relief.
The visit went well. One International Olympic Committee official actually sounded like it was a matter of when, not if, there'd be an Olympic village south of McCormick Place.
"The site is beautiful fantastic, it's gonna be a great village for the athletes, no doubt about it," said Olympic Executive Director Gilbert Felli.
They toured that site on Sunday, when the weather was miserable. Arnot said that might actually have worked in Chicago's favor.
"Throughout the tour every time the bus would pass by some of the supporters with signs who were standing out on that cold day, the members of the commission asked for the bus to slow down and waved to the people," Arnot said. "It made a real connection. Particularly at the United Center and the chairwoman going out and high-fiving a little 11-year-old gymnast."
The world may be on a first name basis with Chicago's high profile supporters: President Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, but Arnot feels the effort that has already begun to raise the profile of Olympic sports in urban schools may be what sets Chicago apart.
"I think at the end of the day, the notion of opportunity for young people rings very, very true to them," Arnot said.
But it's not game, set, match. Chicago's the first city they've evaluated.
Arnot said, "I feel very, very strongly about our team. I feel our team can stand up against anyone anywhere in the world."
Next comes what is very much like a political campaign, with lots of retail campaigning. There are 105 voters. You need 53 to win. Over the next six months, members Chicago's team will have to track down and talk to every one of them.
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