May 10, 2006 7:00 pm US/Central
Olympic Committee Chairman Has Chicago Ties
Peter Ueberroth Ran LA Olympics In 1984
by Jay Levine
(CBS)
Chicago is making a big push to host the Olympic Summer Games in 2016.
The first step in going for the gold is to form an exploratory committee, and that's just what Mayor Daley did Wednesday.
As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports, a man with local ties will help decide if Chicago winds up a winner.
Peter Ueberroth ran the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Now, the Evanston native is chairman of the U.S. Olympic committee which chose Chicago as one of the five finalists.
"Chicago is a city on the move. You take into all the factors that somebody would count if moving here or doing business here and they like what they see," Ueberroth said. "Chicago's going in the right direction, and we're impressed by that."
But that doesn't mean Chicago's got the inside track over Philadelphia, Houston, Los Angeles or San Francisco, or that we're even going to bid for the games.
"We wouldn't be having this meeting if we didn't think Chicago has much to offer the Olympics and the Olympics has a lot to offer the city of Chicago," Daley said.
The mayor's exploratory committee, chaired by insurance magnate Pat Ryan, will determine whether bidding for the Olympics makes sense – as in dollars and cents.
"We understand the process. We understand the requirements, and we will be doing our homework," Pat Ryan said.
Perhaps the biggest unanswered question involves recently-rebuilt Soldier Field. It's just too small. Chicago would have to build a new 100,000 seat stadium for track and field and the opening and closing ceremonies.
There's also the question of who will be leading Chicago in the years leading up to the games.
"A strong mayor is important in our view," Peter Ueberroth said.
But with Daley not yet announcing whether he'll run for re-election next year, the question was whether he'd be here to see the bid through.
"Oh, I'm gonna here," Daley said. "I'm not gonna be participating in the Olympics."
He ducked that one the same way he ducked when asked the same question last Friday night in Tel Aviv.
But he may not be able to do that much longer.
For Chicago to have any chance, the mayor may have to assure the Olympic committee, which says it wants to make a decision before the end of the year, that he is running again.
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