Apr 14, 2007 9:19 am US/Central
Decision Day Comes For Chicago Olympic Bid
U.S. Olympic Committee Will Pick City At 3 p.m.
CBS 2's Mai Martinez, Chief Correspondent Jay Levine and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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LIVE: U.S. Olympic Committee Chooses City To Champion For 2016 GamesToday Chicagoans will find out whether months of hard work, planning, wining and dining will pay off in the bid to represent the United States in the quest for the 2016 Olympics.
As CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, the U.S. Olympic Committee was getting ready to announce at 3 p.m. whether it will be going with Chicago or Los Angeles to compete for the games with other world cities.
Mayor Richard M. Daley believes Chicago is going to come out on top.
Leaving a news conference late Friday afternoon, Mayor Daley ran into his Los Angeles counterpart, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
In a last-minute move, Los Angeles upped its financial guarantees for the Games. But Mayor Daley said he was left with a good feeling after the last-minute preparations and rehearsals.
Both sides rehearsed their final arguments. Each team has six presenters whose presentations will be followed by the report by the USOC's Site Selection Commission.
"At the end of the day this has been a very competitive process and we have two cities that could host a great Olympic Games," said USOC Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr.
"We feel very confident, quietly so," Villaraigosa said of his city's chances.
"We're not cocky," said Pat Ryan, chief executive officer of Chicago 2016. "We're confident that we have a great, great bid."
But that confidence comes with nervousness.
"If you don't have butterflies, you're not ready," Ryan said.
Those who have been following the bid process closely believe Chicago is more than ready despite what some see as Los Angeles' upper hand as a two-time past host city. The Olympics were held there in 1932 and 1984.
"When you look at these cities side by side I think you'll be able to see Los Angeles has the experience, but on the other hand, Chicago has a very practical bid," said Ed Hula, who covers Olympic bidding and business issues for the Web site AroundTheRings.com.
"For example in the last month, the way mayor and city respond to the request for financial guarantees. I think Chicago has a very strong reputation of being able to get done what it sets out to do," Hula said.
Meanwhile, Mayor Daley said Chicago is a city solidly behind the bid.
"Just people walking down the street saying, 'We're going to do it, we're going to do it,' it's really exciting," he said.
"The people who will be ambassadors for the Chicago bid. We're not really part of the committee, but are really committed having Chicago be the host city," Ryan said.
Daley will be joined in presenting by his brother Bill, the former U.S. Commerce Secretary, and former CTA Chairman Valerie Jarrett.
In the end, the USOC's decision will likely come down to which city can convince Olympic officials that it can deliver on its promises and attract the international support needed for the games.
Madrid, New Delhi, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Tokyo are among the other world cities that have expressed interest in landing the 2016 Games.
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