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Daley: Chicago Would Be 'Ideal Site' For Olympics

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Mayor Richard M. Daley said Wednesday that Chicago would be an "ideal site" for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The mayor met with members of the U.S. Olympic Committee Wednesday morning to discuss a possible bid for the summer games.

"Obviously, we are at a very, very early stage in this process. We have a long, long way from making the actual bid," Daley said.

Daley said if the Olympics did come to Chicago, they would "provide a platform to showcase off our city to billions of people," and could provide the city with affordable housing that could be created from an athletes' village.

In addition to the athletes' village, other big building projects would include an 80,000-seat stadium, which could be made smaller later.

"Chicago would be an ideal site," Daley said. "I told the committee Chicago's an international city."

But the mayor emphasized that the Olympics could not detract from services the city needs to provide.

"We will not seek the Olympics if we think it will detract in any way from the ongoing efforts to improve the Chicago Public Schools, or strengthen our neighborhoods, make our city safer, more affordable or help those most deserving of our support," Daley said.

Daley pointed out that the infrastructure needed to host the Olympics was already in place, with two international airports, public transit, and interstate highways, as well as sports venues, hotels and general safety.

"Anyone can get to here from anywhere, and once they're there it's easy for them to get anywhere," he said.

He also said the "civic-minded business community" in the city was certain to assist in funding the Olympics.

"If Chicago's selected in the bid for the 2016 Olympics, I can guarantee that our business community and others all across the city will be heavily involved," he said.

U.S. Olympic Committee Board Chairman Peter Ueberroth said the city should not be concerned about losing money that is needed for services to its citizens, because an Olympic bid must be privately funded.

"It must be privately financed so there is no impact on schools or churches or synagogues… or whatever charity you might be supporting," said Ueberroth, who was the director of the Los Angeles Olympic games in 1984.

"In the next few months, we'll decide if there's a partner that works for us and works for the city, because we don't want any city to do something, the mayor said very well, that's not good for the city," Ueberroth added. "It's got to be good for the city first and everything they touch must be good for the city."

Olympic Committee Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr pointed out that Chicago already has a "great legacy" of local Olympic athletes, particularly speed-skating champion Shani Davis.

"It's a great city, it's got all the amenities that would make it a wonderful experience for our athletes," Scherr said.

But Ueberroth emphasized that financing must be secured before any bidding process moved forward. He also said concerns that the city could go into a budget crisis as a result of hosting the Olympics are overblown.

"Money is both misunderstood and overblown as a figure, and that's a danger. You hear enormous security costs, and they're just not true," Ueberroth said. "If I hear a number, I'll be quick to refute it if somebody wants to say one."

Aon Insurance executive chairman Patrick Ryan is heading up the exploratory committee for the Olympic bidding.

Published reports suggest a host city's budget could run as high as more than $4 billion.

Daley will soon be going to Beijing, China, where he plans to talk with officials about that nation's successful bid for the 2008 Olympics and see what they are doing to prepare.

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