United States Olympic Committee (USOC) CEO Scott Blackmun’s invitation to 35 mayors across America on Tuesday came as a surprise to some but was scoffed at by others. In the letter, Blackmun says that the USOC is seeking feedback from some of the top cities in the U.S. in order to gauge the potential of a bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games.
On Thursday, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak returned a letter to Blackmun, declining the offer.
Rybak said “…bidding on the Olympic Games entails an extraordinary commitment of time and resources.”
“Upon review of your letter, and after consultation with local partners, we have determined that it makes more sense for Minneapolis to pursue large-scale, national-caliber events like the Super Bowl, the Democratic National Convention and others than to proceed with an Olympic bid at this time.”
A spokesperson for Rochester, New York Mayor Thomas Richards told the Democrat and Chronicle that the Mayor was surprised he received the letter from the USOC.
“From an infrastructure standpoint, it’s not practical,” said city spoksman Michael Keane. “I highly doubt there are 45,000 hotel rooms in all of Monroe County.”
“That’s just an investment that we cannot afford,” he said.
“We appreciate the consideration, but from a pragmatic standpoint it doesn’t make sense.”
The Tennessean reported that Nashville Mayor Karl Dean wasn’t inclined to pursue a bid.
“We got the letter, along with 34 other cities, and it’s nice they thought of us and asked,” the mayor’s press secretary said.
“Hosting the Olympics is a massive undertaking and would be extremely expensive.”
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed had similar sentiments, reported the San Jose Mercury
“It takes billions of dollars to put on the Olympics,” Reed said.
“San Jose doesn’t have billions to put into Olympic games. San Jose cannot afford to put in a bid.”
Perhaps the most disappointing response for the USOC came from Chicago Mayor Emanuel. Chicago was the USOC’s most recent nomination when it was selected to bid for the 2016 Olympic Games but the result was an embarassment when the city finished last in a controversial IOC election when many believed the Chicago was likely to win.
The Mayor’s spokesperson put it bluntly, “Our position remains the same – we are not bidding.”
Some other mayors embraced the idea.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter told NBC “everyone loves the Olympics, it’s certainly very exciting. It would be an honor just to have it in the United States, let alone in Philadelphia.”
“We’re talking about something that is 11 years away, the United States Olympic Committee has to first decide to bid or not.”
Washington D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray told WTOP that he “would have to weight the benefits to the people of our city.”
Washington staged a joint domestic bid with Baltimore for the 2012 Olympic Games.
“I’m excited that Baltimore is being considered and that we’ve been invited to bid,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told the Baltimore Sun.
“It’s way too early to say what we’re going to do. But I think it’s a testament to the work that we’re doing, shining a spotlight on Baltimore as a sports city.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl told WPXI “Certainly there would be extraordinary obstacles and challenges to meet in putting a bid together,”
“We will reach out to community members to gauge their interest.”
In a statement, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell said “It’s certainly an honor to be mentioned as a candidate city. I think Austin has proven itself as a great city, and we’d stand up well to our competition.”
Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose Diaz told CBS “the Olympics is a very expensive endeavor, but we would be partners with the USOC.”
“We have a lot of the infrastructure and venues. We’ve hosted 10 Super Bowls. We would have to analyze what it would mean to citizens, taxpayers and business people. If the community isn’t behind it 100 percent, don’t go for it. In the meantime, we keep an open mind.”
Charlotte Mayor Anthony Fox told Eyewitness News “I’ve told you before that I think an Olympics could be in our future.”
Janis Schmees, Executive Director of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority told the Houston chronicle “we’ve been through this before, and we understand the process.”
“We have great relationships internationally and good venues, so it will be a matter of whether it is worth our resources to have a bid.”
Houston has recently been involved in domestic campaigns to bid for the Olympics.
There has been no official reaction from Detroit, the city that unsuccessfully bid for the Games seven times in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s – coming second in both 1964 and 1968. However, an upstart group has already established a Website at http://www.detroit2020.com (now repurposed for a 2024 bid) and a Facebook page.
The USOC has yet to make any decision about a potential 2024 bid. National nominations will be due into the International Olympic Committee in 2015.
