Unless there’s a strong commitment from all levels of government United States Olympic Committee (USOC) chairman Peter Ueberroth said no American city will bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Ueberroth said the bidding process to host the Olympics had altered on issues such as guarantees and security and that the United States had to adapt to those changes, reports Eurosport.
Ueberroth told a media summit for the Turin 2006 Games “we are looking less favourably toward 2016 bidding at this moment. We have not ruled it out. The rules are changing a bit and we need to have a strong mayor and a strong city with a strong governor, with strong senators and congressional members.
“We need a federal government that understands that the game has changed for bidding cities”.
He said the USOC would decide within the next six months whether to bid.
“We don’t want to enter and not win. We don’t want cities spending an awful lot of money and not have a full chance to be victorious.
“The thing that is going to be most important is that there is a federal, state, private-sector, city coordinated effort before anybody gets out of the blocks”, he added.
“I’m not saying we won’t bid. I’m saying we want to be very careful, understand it all before we start spending money and getting enthusiastic and competing against each other. We have to be smart”.
Several U.S. cities have expressed an interest in bidding for the 2016 Summer Games. The International Olympic Committee will make its decision in 2009.
“We want to bid”, said Ueberroth. “ But if we’re going ragtag we’re not going to win”.
