San Francisco 2016 bid officials said Thursday that they have been blindsided by the 49ers’ announcement that the NFL team was abandoning the Candlestick Point stadium project which was to be the Olympic Stadium if San Francisco won the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
USOC international Vice President Bob Ctvrtlik said Thursday at the end of the USOC’s two-day seminar with the three cities that want to become the U.S. candidate for the 2016 Games, “not having an Olympic Stadium is non-starter No. 1. It’s a very difficult hurdle to overcome”.
The stadium was considered key to San Francisco’s bid.
Members of San Francisco’s delegation at the seminar said they were stunned Wednesday when they heard the news. They reportedly said they were going home to come up with a new location for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and track and field.
Jesse Blout, San Francisco’s director of economic development said, “we’ll look at any and all options. We don’t have enough information now. The mayor wants to win these Olympics”.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said he would contact USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth to discuss the new developments.
Although they didn’t say the city would withdraw its bid, Blout and Jaime Rupert, director of communications for San Francisco 2012, admitted it was an option. Blout said, “if I’m in the USOC’s position, I’m not seeing a lot of certainty in that situation”.
Rupert said, “this is our Olympic dream. You’re stunned and numb. When I have a little more time to process it, I’ll have a few more adjectives for you”.
Blout said, “we’re not prepared to say there’s not (a backup plan)”. We’ve got our challenges in front of us. It’s very disappointing. We certainly feel…that we had a very exciting project that was going to work for the Niners, the community and the Olympics”.
Ctvrtlik called the 49ers’ decision a “major setback” for San Francisco’s hopes for 2016”. He said, “any time you get surprised by something like that, it’s a little bit of a shock. But we’ll work together to find a solution. If it includes San Francisco going forward, that’s great, and if it doesn’t, then lets make that decision. But we need to know the real information”.
Bill Scherr, chairman of Chicago 2016 said, “anything that San Francisco and Los Angeles does or doesn’t do doesn’t have an impact on us. Those are two great cities. I’m sure all three bids will end up being strong”.
