A group calling itself the Queens Olympic Committee (QOC) is taking its concerns about the New York 2012 proposed Olympic stadium directly to International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge. David Oats, a 54-year-old urban planner and Chairman of the QOC wrote in a letter to Rogge that “a monstrous stadium on the West Side of Manhattan – a cost-busting urban planning nightmare that not one elected official from its community supports” would be an “Olympian” error.
Instead, Oats’ organization suggests locating the centerpiece of the bid at “an 80-acre site at Willets Point in Queens directly adjacent to Flushing Meadows, the US Open and Shea Stadium. An area encircled by a multitude of existing highways, mass transit and waterways,” according to the letter received today by GamesBids.com.
Oats describes the QOC as “an organization of citizens located in the Borough of Queens (New York’s largest land-area borough with a population of over 2 million residents).”
Oats denies that the QOC is against the bid, dedicating much of the letter in support of the opportunity and explaining why New York is both capable and deserving of the Games – and would be honored to be selected to the short list on May 18. However, his organization feels that the current stadium plan will “doom New York’s chances” because of its “cost and complexity”, something Oats says the IOC is wisely trying to control.
The letter will be hand-delivered to the IOC by Thursday the group revealed, and they plan to return to Lausanne in May to present a detailed report “of the fatal flaws of NY’s present stadium plan” to the IOC and the media before the release of the IOC’s evaluation report and short list. The letter suggests that there will still be time for NYC 2012 to change its plans and win the bid.
This venue change would put a dent in New York’s “Olympic X” plan which was designed to provide a highly desirable compact venue layout, something that most bids strive for. Under development since campaigning for the United States nomination in 2000, the significant parts of the plan are unlikely to change. However, should New York make the short list as expected, they would still have until November to submit their final plans to the IOC.
Local interest groups have brought their concerns regarding Olympic bids directly to IOC presidents in the past, but they normally don’t also claim support for the bid. In 2000, a group opposed to Toronto’s bid for the 2008 Games because the city was planning to dump garbage near their community, approached then IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch with their complaint. Samaranch dismissed the group explaining that this local issue was of no concern to the IOC.
The QOC has also talked about plans to put the stadium issue to a vote on an election-day ballot. Referendums have a habit of killing Olympic plans – most recently when Berne, Switzerland lost a vote and pulled out of the 2010 race, and Denver had to cancel plans to host the 1976 Winter Games. Vancouver, Canada “survived” a referendum last year and was eventually chosen to host the 2010 Winter Games.
A public opinion poll released yesterday showed that 77% of New Yorkers support the bid – up from 73% that the bid reported to the IOC in January. However, only 45% supported the stadium plans.
