A report in the Washington Post says that Washington-Baltimore is likely to advance in the race to become the U.S. candidate city for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, according to several members of the USOC’s site evaluation team.
According to the newspaper, several officials have said that it is hard to imagine a scenario in which Washington-Baltimore fails to survive the cut, because of the broad appeal and strengths of Washington’s bid.
Still, officials cautioned that no city could be considered a lock given that the 10 voting team members had not yet jointly discussed their rankings.
Washington ranked second in a confidential report by site team members Greg Harney and Frank Aires, which sources said was distributed last week to the rest of the team.
San Francisco also seems to be a strong candidate to advance, having received top marks on a strictly operational review of the four bids compiled recently by two site team members, according to sources.
The Washington Post reports that one site team official said Washington-Baltimore seemed to have fewer shortfalls across the board than any other candidate. Washington and San Francisco both wowed the site evaluation team with revamped bids this spring.
Meanwhile, New York and Houston appear to be the underdogs in the race, says the Post, but both have strong support from within the USOC for different reasons and could advance Tuesday.
New York, which has received criticism for its billion-dollar capital projects and lack of cohesive local backing, ranks high in international appeal – which site team chairman Charles H. Moore has said ultimately is the most important criteria.
And Houston’s bid is considered solid all-around, but many USOC officials have said they don’t think it can win the international contest for the Games.
