The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) announced Wednesday that it will meet with leaders from five U.S. cities interested in representing the United States in a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
The meetings are a critical next step for the USOC in deciding whether it will pursue a U.S. bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth will be part of the six-member delegation and in each city the mayor will lead a delegation of no more than 10 representatives from the public and private sectors.
The USOC officials will be in Houston May 8, Philadelphia May 9, Chicago May 10, and on May 18 they will be in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
“The process of bidding to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games is more competitive today than ever before, and the increased level of competition requires a new approach and fresh thinking on the part of the USOC”, said Ueberroth. “These meetings are an important step in a new process we are following to determine when to bid, how to more effectively bid and with whom to bid.
“We appreciate the interest these cities have shown in bidding to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and we look forward to providing a clear, candid assessment of all that is involved in the bid process”, he said.
USOC officials will conduct two-hour meetings in each city to assess the willingness of each city to proceed in the USOC’s 2016 evaluation process. During the meetings they hope to outline the requirements and realities of the Olympic bid process, both nationally and internationally; create a clear understanding of the role that the USOC, as the National Olympic Committee, will play in any Olympic bid process; share observations and lessons learned from the 2012 Olympic bid process; gauge governmental commitment and support; and learn more about why each city is interested in bidding for the Olympics. They also want to meet with leaders from both the public and private sectors who might be involved if there is a 2016 Olympic bid from the U.S.
New York, the United States candidate for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, has not been included in the prospective bid city visits.
“We could not be more proud and appreciative of the efforts of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff and the entire NYC2012 team”, said Ueberroth. “NYC2012 developed and presented an outstanding bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Much of what we present during the upcoming meetings will be the lessons learned and valuable information imparted by NYC2012”.
International Vice President Bob Ctvrtlik called the process extremely competitive requiring not only an exceptional bid, but support from every level of the public and private sectors, and the government. He said, “it also requires a strong partnership with the National Olympic Committee and that is one of the key points we plan to address during our meetings”.
Following the series of meetings with the cities the USOC Board of Directors and Management Team will decide whether or not to pursue a U.S. bid for the 2016 Games, although no timetable has been set.
The IOC will select a 2016 Games host city at its session in Copenhagen in 2009.
