With about 6 months to go before the USOC votes for its favorite bid city, there is suddenly renewed interest in the US 2012 Olympic bid race. Sparked by the scheduled submissions of the bid book addendum by the remaining four cities, the media has focussed in on the competition and the bid committees have welcomed the spotlight. But Houston has been strangely absent from the party.
In April, San Francisco unveiled “The Bridge To The Future” campaign sporting glossy brochures, strong marketing and a more compact venue plan. Washington revealed “Heart of Our Nation…Host to the World” with a new-improved Web site, stepped-up advertising and their own more compact venue plan. But all the Houston Chronicle can brag about is how the San Francisco and DC bids “…mirror Houston’s”.
Houston’s Bid Committee president Susan Bandy told The Chronicle that “everybody else is emulating us” in reference to more compact venue plans – a statement which is not entirely true. Houston and New York got it right the first time and the others are just trying to get it right on the second pass. San Francisco’s Communications Director Tony Winnicker told GamesBids.com that the USOC had suggested some changes that they have now implemented. Reports indicate that Washington was given similar advice. It’s in the USOC’s best interests for them to coach the bid committees accordingly; they want the best bid possible for competition on the international field in 2005. The bids complied.
Without the need to improve their venue plan, the New York bid has effectively hidden in the shadows as well. This might be by choice to avoid any undue attention to the increased costs associated with a revised security plan they proposed in response to 9/11. Still, New York’s temporary absence from the scene doesn’t seem as damaging as Houston’s inability to cope with initial success.
One or more of the four contenders could be eliminated from the race if they place poorly in a majority of the categories that the USOC will evaluate during bid city visits in the summer. In an unscientific GamesBids.com survey which began shortly after the addenda were submitted, almost 50% (at time of publishing) said Houston would be eliminated, while San Francisco, Washington and New York received 15%, 13% and 12% respectively and 10% indicated that no city would be eliminated. Houston bid organizers must be scratching their heads wondering if they can’t find something to “fix”.
