Toronto Star reporter Jim Byers is in Salt Lake City and writes that the two main lobbyists for Toronto’s 2008 bid, John Bitove Jr. and James Villeneuve are expected there Thursday. Although they have been involved in their own business ventures since Toronto lost its 2008 bid to Beijing, Byers says the two insist they’re not there to promote a potential bid for the 2012 Games, but just to enjoy the Games.
Still, they’ll be around members of the IOC, Byers says, who will vote on whether the 2010 Winter Games should go to Vancouver and could end up voting for a Toronto 2012 Games. And since everyone knows that Bitove and Villeneuve were connected with Toronto’s failed 2008 bid, human nature being what it is, they will probably be asked about a 2012 bid. Just seeing the two men together will speak volumes about Toronto’s potential interest in re-entering the Olympic race, writes Byers.
Someone connected to the 2008 campaign told Byers, “they’re not going to be out there handing out Toronto pins. But there’s nothing wrong with them showing their faces and making sure IOC remembers remember them, just in case Vancouver loses”.
But it seems Vancouver 2010 isn’t worried. Its head Jack Poole told The Star “we had a very good chat about it and John (Bitove) is extremely supportive of us. He wants Canada to win any Games it can. And James (Villeneuve) has already helped us out several times in his capacity with Labatt.
Poole said that if the subject of a Toronto bid comes up, “I would hope and expect he would simply say that Canada’s bid is Vancouver’s bid for 2010 and let’s see what happens”.
Poole said his group has been getting a good deal of help from Toronto’s 2008 bid team and that he expects the relationship will continue.
Meantime, Vancouver’s 2010 bid has a very low-key presence in Salt Lake City. Poole and John Furlong, chief operating officer for Vancouver 2010, took a tour of Park City and Utah Olympic Park venues. Poole said that so far the tour has shown him that the Vancouver bid is going in a “reasonably solid direction”.
Poole said he’s been able to make several introductions at the Little American Hotel, where he’s staying along with IOC officials and was relying on IOC members and other contacts to introduce him to several people.
