Should Florida 2012 be selected by the United States Olympic Committee to host the 2012 Summer Games, soccer would be at the Florida Citrus Bowl, badminton, fencing, judo, table tennis, taekwondo and weightlifting at the Orange County Convention Center, baseball and basketball would take place at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex and the T.D. Waterhouse Centre would also have basketball.
Orange County chairman Richard Crotty said, “the thought of having events at one of the greatest convention centres in this country, and showcasing that facility to the rest of the world, certainly excites me a great deal”.
The sheer number of hotel rooms in the Orlando area is a factor that can’t help but help Tampa’s cause, say Florida 2012 officials. They said if the Olympics were held right now, there would be more than 158,000 room keys available to spectators, officials and sponsors. The Caribe Royale Resort near Walt Disney Wjorld would serve as the Athletes’ Village in Orlando.
Vice chairman Ed Timberlake said, “that’s mammoth, I guess we go back and forth with Las Vegas as one and two in number of hotel rooms. Clearly we’re strong from a hotel standpoint”.
Florida 2012 recently received a boost from NBA superstar Grant Hill, a member of Dream Team III at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Hill said, “there’s a lot of great athletes who live in Central Florida. We look forward to hosting the Olympics in 2012, and letting athletes from all over the world see what we see here in central Florida”.
Other athletes supporting the Florida bid include two-time softball gold medalist Dr. Dot Richardson, Basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving and soccer star Michele Akers.
