The United States Olympic Committee evaluation team begins a three-day visit to San Francisco Monday to assess the city as the U.S. candidate for the 2012 Summer Games.
The team will inspect each of Northern California’s 27 proposed venues from Monterey to Sacramento, including the site of the proposed Olympic Village at Moffett Field. The broadcast centre will also be there, in a blimp hangar.
They’ll travel by bus, train and even ferry to reach the facilities, among them 3Com Park for soccer; the Cow Palace for boxing; Moscone Center for fencing, team handball, table tennis, tae kwon do, indoor volleyball; Pac Bell Park will be the venue for baseball; Marina Green for road cycling; Aquatic Park, site of the triathlon; the Polo Fields for beach volleyball and Treasure Island for sailing and tennis.
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and track and field, will take place at Stanford Stadium, which is to undergo a $300 million renovation.
The Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC) CEO, Anne Cribbs, said, “it’s an understatement to say this is a big week for us. I believe this is our best opportunity and maybe our one opportunity”.
BASOC is happy to point out that the average temperature in San Francisco from July 27 to Aug. 12, when the Games would take place, is only 63 degrees.
Cribbs says of the USOC visit, “there won’t be any fanfare, rallies, ad campaigns, banners and certainly no gifts. We’re going to win this one based on the merits of the Bay Area and its people”.
BASOC has the backing of the entire region, and has promised that no public money will be used to foot the $2.22 billion bill. In fact there doesn’t even seem to be any grass roots opposition to San Francisco’s bid.
