According to the Mercury News, Roland W. Betts, a U.S. Olympic Committee member and an original backer of NYC2012, who helped short list New York and San Francisco as finalists in the U.S. Olympic candidacy raise, is facing conflict of interest questions that could threaten U.S. chances of winning the 2012 Games.
Mike Moran, USOC spokesman told the Mercury News, “I don’t believe that these issues that have been publicized are going to harm our potential candidate city. But the potential is there. The very sensitivity causes us to be concerned”.
The Mercury News says that while some U.S. bid leaders quietly complained about Betts over the past two years, foreign bidders might be more willing to use the situation against an American candidate. Domestic bidders said they were worried about a backlash from the USOC if they had made too big an issue.
Reports say that Betts, a New York developer, stands to gain from a New York Games because the city’s plan calls for building an Olympic stadium a few blocks from his Chelsea Piers project on the Hudson River. No Olympic venues are planned at the 30-acre sports and entertainment complex, but any revitalization of the neighbourhood could enhance the village, say urban development analysts.
An official from one of the eliminated bid cities said, “forget the economic interest. He is not some anonymous citizen. He is a recognized civic leader in New York City. The USOC is having a tin ear in that perception may be more important than reality”.
The Mercury News reports that according to a March 15, 2000 article in the New York Observer Betts was one of the primary backers bringing the Games to New York as early as 1996. And the article identifies Betts’ Chelsea Piers business partner, Tom A. Bernstein, as an NYC2012 committee member at the time.
A number of bid cities, including San Francisco, raised concerns about Betts to the USOC said Susan Bandy, president of Houston 2012, one of the eliminated cities.
Another concern involves Betts’ failed attempt to build a West Coast version of Chelsea Piers in San Francisco, which was awarded to a competing bid. There are concerns that Betts might harbor some resentment toward San Francisco, which Betts denies.
