If Chicago were awarded the 2016 Summer Olympic Games it would have to build an Olympic stadium with 80,000 to 100,000 seats needed to host track and field events and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, according to a top aid to Chicago’s Mayor.
Paul O’Connor, the executive director of World Business Chicago, who is serving as Mayor Daley’s Olympics point man, said the need for yet another new stadium on the heels of the controversial $606 million renovation of Soldier Field could make the Mayor’s Olympic dream a “non-starter”. He said, “there isn’t one here. You’d have to build it. You need track and field facilities which you don’t have. There’s nothing big enough and you don’t have (a stadium suitable for) Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Soldier Field is too little”.
O’Connor reportedly said he has no idea how another new stadium could be financed – or whether it could be sold politically. That’s a dilemma further complicated by the fact that a hotel tax increase – backed by a portion of the city’s share of state sales tax revenues – is tied up for decades to retire Soldier Field bonds, reports the Chicago Sun Times.
“The Mayor has been very clear throughout the whole process that he doesn’t want to burn a bunch of money up front. And he doesn’t want to go into the multibillion-dollar arena of spending”, O’Connor said. And even if you did find the money there’s the question of what to do with a 100,000-seat stadium after the Games are over.
Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp Ltd., a leading developer of sports facilities, said Chicago could do the same as London did in its 2012 bid and it would cost $250 million to $450 million, minus the cost of land and infrastructure. London agreed to build an 80,000-seat stadium that would be cut down to a more useable 25,000 seats once the Olympics are over.
Ganis said, “you don’t build all the bells and whistles of Soldier Field. You’re not marketing suites. It’s the event that draws people – not the level of finishes”.
He said Chicago could reduce the price tag even further by retrofitting an existing racetrack or auto track, which already has the “right configuration” for track and field.
Officials from the U.S. Olympic Committee are expected to visit Chicago later this month for a “frank assessment” of the city’s chances. They’ll assess existing facilities, and advise the city what it still needs to bid for the 2016 Games.
