Mar 6, 2007 10:34 pm US/Central
Chicago Pulls All The Stops For Olympic Committee
Officials Want U.S. Olympic Committee To Call Chicago 'My Kind Of Town'
CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman and Chief Correspondent Jay Levine contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Tuesday was a big night, with Chicago's committee leaders pulling out all the stops, to try to convince the United States Olympic Committee that the Olympic flame should end up right here.
As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports, the city's Olympic-sized sales pitch includes building-sized billboards. The USOC delegation that already scrutinized Los Angeles and its bid for the 2016 games is now doing the same in Chicago.
One member of the city's team told CBS 2 preparing for this visit was like training for an event.
The question now is: How did they do?
It's hard to tell how it is going for Chicago, but the question appears to be whether Patrick Ryan, CEO of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Evaluation Committee, and company can convince the USOC that they can do what they say they can, on time and on budget.
Chicago left nothing to chance, organizing an enthusiastic reception Tuesday night at the Art Institute for commission members who had spent 9 hours scrutinizing and questioning Chicago's bid, and getting to know the people behind it.
"My sense was that they felt we were well organized, that we had done a lot of good work and clearly we were a team that works well together and could work well with them," Ryan said.
Chicago has often been called the heart of America, and that heart beats a little quicker at the thought of hosting the Olympics and leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.
The USOC team was shown a brand new video extolling the virtues of Chicago and its athletes.
Linda Mastandrea, a Chicagoan and Paralymic gold medalist, was on hand Tuesday night, as were other Illinois Olympians, including Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
"I could sit in my chair and watch the world go by, or let other people sit in their chairs and watch me go by," Mastandrea said in a promotional video.
Mayor Daley played a key role Tuesday, greeting and entertaining the committee members.
"They were very impressed that he just won re-election with more than 71 percent of the vote. I think they were very impressed with Chicago. Look at the skyline buildings with 2016 on them," Ryan said. "The spirit of the city is clear, and he represents the spirit of the city."
Mayor Richard M. Daley and crew want members of the Olympic Committee's evaluation commission in hopes they can call Chicago "My Kind of Town," like the old Frank Sinatra song.
The title of that song was on the bus that brought the committee to Soldier Field, and it was playing just before Mayor Daley's opening remarks – presented in front of the Chicago 2016 logo and its promise to "stir the soul."
"I could spend house and hours talking about our great city, and that's why I believe it's far and away the best location for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic games," the mayor said.
"We're a Cinderella story we really are," said former Olympian Bob Berland. "We have an unbelievable city with a great ability to entertain, host and put a face to America that is fresh."
A video was unveiled for the 11-member evaluation committee, which was formally greeted Tuesday morning by Daley, After a star-studded presentation in Los Angeles last week, they saw another video of another rising star – presidential candidate and Illinois Senator Barack Obama.
"I can think of no better place to hold the 2016 Games than in this most American of America's cities," Obama said. "From our civic parades that wave the colors of every culture, to the kaleidoscope of languages spoken in our classrooms, we are a city that lives and breathes the Olympic idea."
"We are prepared to host a game that will bring the world together around the principles of respect and mutual understanding," he continued.
The civic spirit in Chicago is in sharp contrast to Los Angeles where the USOC visit last week was largely ignored.
"We're going to be very tough on Chicago to make sure their guarantees and commitments are what they said they are," said USOC Vice President Bob Ctvrtlik.
The USOC warned they would be going over Chicago's plans with a fine-toothed comb. The questions, CBS 2 has been told, have been tough, but fair.
"I don't think that we've been asked anything that we haven't been prepared to respond to," Berland said. "We haven't been caught off guard because we've done our homework."
In some ways, Chicago has far more work to do than rival Los Angeles. There, they have Olympic housing already in place from the 1984 summer games, and a stadium already in place needing only minor modifications.
USOC officials want to know with certainty that big projects like an Olympic village and a proposed stadium in Washington Park will come in on time and on budget.
Wednesday, the commission will tour at least three of the proposed venues, trying to picture how plans on the drawing boards will come to life and compare to sites that already exist in Los Angeles.
The USOC will decide on a city for the U.S. bid by April 14. But if Chicago gets the nod, several other cities in the world are still competing – including Madrid, New Delhi, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Tokyo. A final decision on the host city will come in 2009.
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