Olympics – Chicago Style?

Come on Chicago — Here is our chance to host the Olympics! At Park Community Church, we are committed to encouraging and enabling people stay in this world-class, global city, to establishing and nurturing families within the city, being role models to our neighbors, and passing on the Gospel to future generations —thus impacting the city of Chicago: one life, one family, one block and one neighborhood at a time. One of the new aspects of Chicago is its asporation to host the 2016 Olympics.
(Reuters) – The United States will bid to host the 2016

Olympic Games in either Los Angeles or Chicago, officials announced on TuesdayUnited States Olympic Committee (USOC) chairman Peter Ueberroth said he began evaluating 18 months ago “whether or not a U.S. bid for the 2016 Games could be competitive internationally.”Based on our analysis, we believe the time is right for a U.S. city to bid, and we fully intend to proceed with a unified, national effort to bring the Games back to America in 2016,” he said in a statement.Ueberroth said Los Angeles and Chicago would make their pitches to host the Games over the next three months and the USOC would announce on April 14 which city it would put forward.

Plan

 

 

(Wikipedia) Typically opposed to Olympic bids in the past, Mayor Richard M. Daley is orchestrating the current campaign to bring the Olympics to Chicago. Success of the bid is heavily reliant on whether or not he continues to be mayor after the 2007 election.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley was officially welcomed in Beijing by the government of the People’s Republic of China during the week of May 15, 2006, when the mayor discussed Chicago’s venture; he is the only mayor of an American city vying for the 2016 Summer Olympics to have been welcomed to Beijing on official Olympic business.

Chicago’s chances for hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics are bolstered by preliminary commitments made by major corporations and wealthy Chicago philanthropists; promised participation in the planning process by community and government leaders (including the Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, a political party usually opposed to Daley); and the enthusiasm of the citizenry. Opinion polls conducted by local newspapers in early 2006 suggested that public support for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Chicago could be as high as 80 to 85 percent. Most importantly, the city’s existing infrastructure and venue options are considerably more substantial than the offerings available in other interested cities. Bob Ctvrtlik, part of the initial assessment team, said, “It’s got all the amenities that would make this a wonderful experience for our athletes.” Ueberroth added, “Chicago is going in the right direction, and we are impressed by that.”^[1]

Financing

Ueberroth and members of the national committee met with Daley on May 10, 2006 for the initial assessment. On the same day, with permission from Ueberroth, Daley appointed business executive Patrick G. Ryan of Aon Corporation and part-owner of the Chicago Bears to lead the city’s bid process, especially in areas of corporate participation in fundraising. In previous years, Daley opposed possible bids for the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games owing to former international committee financial-guarantee requirements. Those requirements have been relaxed in favor of a new philosophy in which the Olympic Games would become smaller in terms of construction and related costs. ^{[citation needed]} Early cost estimates hover at $5 billion, with $1 billion needed for a new Olympic stadium in Chicago. ^{[citation needed]}

 

 

Historic venues like Wrigley Field are considered for field events.

Venues

Despite the need for an Olympic stadium, Chicago has dozens of existing sport venues: Soldier Field, United Center, U.S. Cellular Field, Wrigley Field, Allstate Arena in Rosemont and the new Toyota Park in Bridgeview. Venues at Loyola University Chicago, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Chicago among others are also available. Navy Pier and the lakefront could host all beach and water events. Other regional mayors have offered venues in Indiana and Wisconsin, including use of the University of Notre Dame or University of Wisconsin facilities.

 

 

Soldier Field will not serve as the main Olympic Stadium in Chicago. However, the sports venue will host a significant number of events and most gold medal matches.

Stadium

Chicago initially proposed building a temporary 80,000 seat stadium adjacent to Soldier Field to act as the main stadium, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the track and field events. [1] Previously, according to the Chicago Tribune, Mayor Daley had expressed a desire for an additional NFL franchise to come to Chicago in order to obtain the 80,000 seat stadium needed to host an Olympics. The plan has since been revised to include a 95,000-seat stadium inside Washington Park on the south side of the city. After the games, it would be converted to a 10,000-seat track and field venue that could also host other events.
Chicago’s reputation as a major convention hosting center will also help its cause. The main convention center, McCormick Place, is the largest convention center in the United States and is undergoing an expansion that will be completed in 2007. The city of Chicago has over 50,000 hotel rooms in the immediate downtown area and has the largest skilled-labor workforce in the U.S. catering to conventions and other large-scale media events.