Mar 8, 2007 10:34 pm US/Central
City Finalizes Financial Guarantee For Olympic Bid
Some Concerned Say There Is No Guarantee Public Money Won't Be Used To Finance Games
by Jay Levine
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Mayor Richard M. Daley is set to officially announce Friday how Chicago will offer a financial guarantee to the U.S. Olympic Committee.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports on the plan the mayor, and others, shared with him Thursday night.
It is a multi-tiered guarantee, being crafted at City Hall Thursday night, where if there's a deficit, the first few hundred million dollars would be covered by private interests. Chicago would be on the hook only in what the mayor considers the unlikely possibility of a huge overrun.
Daley helped kick off Chicago's St Patrick's Day celebrations Thursday night, while back at City Hall aides and colleagues were putting the finishing touches on his plan.
"People are back at the office still working on that, making sure our numbers are correct and the numbers and the facts are there," Daley said.
They are working extra hard to satisfy Olympic officials who during their visit this week said they needed financial guarantees just in case the games lose money.
"Tomorrow we'll be issuing our report in regards to the public-private financing. …and what they need is it's going to cost x amount and if everything fails, everything drops dead, someone's got to support it," he said.
The last three Olympic Games held in the U.S. – in Salt Lake City, Atlanta and Los Angeles – all made money.
Chicago's enthusiasm is evident in the sale of Macy's limited edition T-shirts.
"When they're gone, they're gone, and they'll be gone very shortly," said Macy's regional vice president Ralph Hughes.
But selling T-shirts won't guarantee the financial success of the games.
"I don't think anybody can reasonably guarantee that public money won't be used in this situation," said Professor Irv Rein of Northwestern University.
Rein cites a book, "The Elusive Fan," that details the increasing worldwide popularity of sports like soccer and cricket, and the decline of the Olympics.
"The Olympics does not have the cache that it used to have. That's the main issue here," he said.
It's hard to predict how they'll be viewed nine years from now. What the Olympic committee wants is an insurance policy. How the city will protect them, and Chicago taxpayers, is what they're working Thursday night.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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