TO-Bid’s President and CEO John Bitove told the Toronto Star’s Royson James that until the governments agree on the infrastructure plan for waterfront development, (the Olympic site and village plan) just looks like a “Disneyland pie-in-the-sky thing”. He added “we have a plan that’s envied by everyone else, but there is a credibility problem on it. If they say ‘no’ they can kill what chance the bid has of surviving; if they say ‘yes’, they can make what is a much-envied plan become a reality”.
According to the Star, Bitove admits the Olympic plan depends on the waterfront develoment. He says it fulfills environmental requirements and it provides a legacy, two things the International Olympic Committee promotes.
Bitove says hosting the Olympics often leaves a legacy of first-class training and performance facilities, but to improve results in time for 2008, Canada must provide facilities and funding far in advance of the Games.
The International Olympic Committee will be sending a delegation to Toronto between March 7-12 to make a technical assessment. Bob Richardson, COO of Toronto’s bid said “they intend to visit our existing venues and potential sites for venues that will have to be built”.
Beijing will host the same IOC delegation in the last week of February, and from there the IOC will go to Osaka and then to Toronto. Istanbul and Paris are the last of the five candidates cities to be visited. Richardson said Toronto was happy with the order of visits announced.
Prior to going to Moscow next July where the host city will be announced, Bitove said TO-Bid will unveil a plan to build “high-performance training centres, multiple training centres and acclimatization centres from coast to coast. That’s pre-Olympics” he said. “There’s no point building performance centres if they open after the Games. He said it should be done as close to 2001 as possible.
“What we need is coaches, training, equipment, funding and development now for our youth” said Bitove.
