Jan 10, 2007 12:41 pm US/Central
City To Ramp Up Olympic Bid With Sports Alliance
Group To Bring Smaller Events In Preparation For 2016 Games
CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (AP) ―
After learning there will be a U.S. bid for the 2016 Olympics, Chicago is ramping up its bid to host the games.
City leaders announced the formation of World Sport Chicago Wednesday. The group will work to bring amateur sports and international competitions to Chicago as the city tries to attract the games. It will be privately funded and continue to exist whether or not Chicago is successful in its bid.
"I think we have to act like we are going to get it," said Jerry Roper, president and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
The group's executive director is Michael Conley, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump. Organizers said its first event will be the Chicago Cup, an exhibition wrestling match between the U.S. National Team and the defending world champion team from Russia scheduled for Feb. 6 on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston.
"It shows Chicago is dedicated to being a global sports town before and hopefully during and after the games," said Patrick Sandusky, a spokesman for Chicago 2016.
Chicago needs to prove that it can beat Los Angeles, which has a similar alliance and is the city to beat to move on to the international arena.
"There's no doubt that we need to have this alliance because you have to be able to prove that you can do some of these smaller events," Roper said. "You have to convince 60 other countries that Chicago is the right place. You call it politics – it's another one of our great sports in Chicago. We've got the best athlete when it comes to that, and that's Mayor Daley."
Bid books outlining preliminary host plans go to the USOC on January 22. Chicago's bid likely will feature ample mass transit, a Washington Park Stadium, and a lakefront Olympic village.
"We're a great city, we're one of the greatest sports cities in the country and I think that we want it, we want it bad," Chicagoan Jim Madsen said. "I think that we deserve it."
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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