A closer look at the city's official Olympic bid--what you didn't know that's in it and what's missing from it, according to the Chicago Reader. And Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn says let's save the city $10.5 million and come up with an Olympic mascot. See photogallery of past mascots here.
February 2009 Archives
LONDON (AP) -- The international softball federation has ruled out a joint bid with baseball for inclusion in the 2016 Olympics.
UW-Madison students and community members will participate in a recreational basketball tournament this weekend to support the city of Chicago in its bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
VANCOUVER -- Olympics are a hard sell in tough times, experts say.
Baseball hopes to submit a joint bid with softball in an effort to gain reinstatement for both to the Olympics for the 2016 Summer Games.
Continue reading New Minnesota stadium to host soccer if Chicago wins 2016.
Continue reading Obama gives Chicago an edge: Former IOC exec.
Dr. Ichiro Kono is the chairman and CEO of Tokyo's ambitious--and well-funded--bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games. Kono recently sat down for an interview with IHT/Asahi at bid headquarters Tokyo and talked about what the Olympics would mean to Toyko and its people, about the use of illegal drugs, security and costs and benefits.
Continue reading Is a 110 mph train in the future if Chicago snags 2016 games?.
Golf, roller speedskating, baseball, softball, rugby sevens, squash and karate--these seven sports want to be included in the 2016 Summer Games and have submitted their proposals to the International Olympic Committee. They are competing for a maximum of two openings on the 2016 program. The decision will be made in October at the IOC session in Copenhagen.
BRUSSELS--All major broadcasters in the United States have expressed an interest in acquiring the rights to screen the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games, International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge said on Friday. Read full Reuters report
The Olympic stadium, Berlin, August 1, 1936. (Associated Press) Berlin, 1936.
The major leagues would likely free up top players for the 2016 Olympics should baseball be reinstated in the summer Games, according to the head of the sport's world governing body.
Playing host to the Olympics can mean big business for minorities and women, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin told a Chicago Urban League gathering Thursday. Full report
If Chicago wins its bid to host the 2016 Olympics, Evanston and Northwestern will be greatly affected, said city and university officials, who got their first look at the "bid book" last Friday.
"It'll be a significant thing for Evanston to be in the spotlight for the entire world for at least a few days in 2016," said Ald. Edmund Moran (6th), who added he hoped the 2016 Chicago Olympic committee will be working with transportation agencies in Chicago to upgrade facilities for the summer games. Read full story in Daily Northwestern
Atlanta's mayor meets with the Chicago Urban League Thursday to advise on minority participation in the Olympic games. That's a hot topic for many community groups following the release of the hefty Chicago 2016 Olympic bid book. The bid book has no specifics about community benefits, including affordable housing. Read WBEZ's full report
A rendering of the Olympic and Paralympic Village Plaza from Chicago 2016 organizers. (Max Wave Media Inc./Courtesy of Chicago 2016)
With London well on the way to being ready to host the 2012 Olympics, attention for many has turned to who will host the 2016 Olympic games. Irish bookie Paddy Power is offering odds on the likely host and it seems as though the US will get the honour. Read more on OLBG Betting News
The International Olympic Committee appointed a leading sports marketing agency Wednesday to handle the lucrative European broadcast rights for the 2014 Winter Games and 2016 Summer Olympics.
Sportfive was granted rights for all media platforms _ including free and subscription television, Internet and mobile phones _ across 40 countries in Europe for the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, and 2016 Olympics, whose host city will be selected in October. Read full story
Four international sports federations - softball, rugby, golf and squash - have submitted their questionnaires to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to have their sport added to the Olympic Games program.
The International Softball Federation (ISF) has collated responses to 80 detailed questions, which will highlight the growing popularity of the sport, said an ISF press release, working with 127 national softball federations. Read the full story at gamesbids.com
LONDON--Rio de Janeiro's bid team for the 2016 Olympic Games has come up with a youth-targeted X Park concept to try to impress the IOC.
The X Park project was opened up in London Monday as bid president Carlos Nuzman, general secretary Carlos Roberto Osorio and ambassador Janeth Arcain unveiled details of the city's candidate file. Read more on SportsFeatures Communicators
TOKYO -- Asian countries will support Tokyo's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, Chinese State Sports General Administration Director Liu Peng told Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone on Monday, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry.
In response to Nakasone's request to support the bid, China's state sports director said Japan is capable of hosting a successful Olympic Games. Read full report on japantoday.com
Rio de Janeiro finally released its 2016 Olympic bid book today, and its revenue
projection means that Chicago expects to bring in at least $1 billion more than
its three rivals to cover operating expenses.
Rio projects revenues and operating expenses of $2.81 billion, about the same on both counts as Tokyo and some $150 million more than Madrid. Read full story on chicagotribune.com
Besides its disappointing (but still salvageable) plan for an Olympic Village, Chicago's
2016 bid book raises another major design issue: Will the Games mar or upgrade
Washington Park, the South Side park planned in 1871 by Frederick Law Olmsted and
Calvert Vaux, the same pair that produced New York City's masterful Central Park?
That question has gained a new intensity because the city's Olympic organizers don't
just want to put the temporary, 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium in Washington Park,
as they first announced in 2006. Now they are proposing to put the Olympic aquatics
center there as well. Read Blair Kamin's blog.
Oddsmakers have long put Chicago in lead position for the 2016 Olympics. But the city will
have to persuade the International Olympic Committee to take a lot on faith if it is to
land the Summer Games.
The city says it can raise about $1 billion more than its rivals to pay for Games
operations. It says it can rely on private donors and the sale of naming rights
to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars to build sports facilities. Read the full report at chicagotribune.com | Transportation plan | Design pitch
Tickets range from $9 to $1,645 in the four cities, depending on the event. See the prices here.
Chicago's 2016 Olympic plan is banking on nearly $1 billion more in revenue than any of its rivals and counting on International Olympic Committee voters to buy the idea that it can cover $1 billion in construction costs without any public funding or guarantees. Read the full story on chicagotribune.com | Photos from the bid.
Some tickets for the opening ceremonies at a 2016 Olympics in Chicago could cost nearly $1,700, according to the city's bid book released today.
But the closing ceremonies would be a bargain: just under $1,400 for some seats. Read full story.
Olympic Stadium and Aquatic Center. Source: Chicago 2016If you're trying to envision how Chicago plans to pull off the Olympics, think of Millennium Park.
Facing a tough economy and pressure to make good on Mayor Richard M. Daley's pledge that taxpayers won't foot the bill to host the Olympics, the city's bid team will lean even more heavily on private donors than previously expected. Read the Crain's report.
Madrid's 2016 Olympic Games bid officials said today the city's plans are more financially viable than those of rivals Tokyo, Chicago and Rio de Janeiro amid the global economic crisis. Read full report.
Tokyo organizers unveiled details of their bid to host the 2016 Olympics on Friday, emphasizing a compact, "green" and relatively inexpensive games.
Tokyo, Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro submitted their official bid books to the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, before the Thursday midnight deadline, setting the stage for the final eight months of their global campaign. Tokyo's book was the first to be made public. Read full report.
Brazilian Olympic officials unveiled a $14.4 billion plan Friday to host the 2016 Summer Games, building on past events the city has hosted.
Rio will use facilities from the 2007 Pan American Games, and plans to use new and renovated venues from hosting the 2014 World Cup. Read Associated Press report.
Rio will use facilities from the 2007 Pan American Games, and plans to use new and renovated venues from hosting the 2014 World Cup. Read Associated Press report.
Despite concerns that transportation is a major weakness in Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics, the transit system proposed by the city relies heavily on existing infrastructure, according to its bid book unveiled this morning.
"Chicago's current transport infrastructure effectively delivers millions to parks where venues and celebration sites are planned," it said. Read more here.
Rendering of a proposed venue. (Courtesy Chicago 2016)
With promises to create an elaborate Olympic village on the South Side - consisting of more than 20 high-rises centered on a vibrant Main Street -- Chicago unveiled its final bid book to the International Olympic Committee today, sidestepping transportation concerns and projecting revenue of nearly $4 billion.
Chicago 2016 estimated revenues of about $1 billion more than all three of its rivals, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro. Read full report.
The four cities bidding to host the 2016 Olympics were on Friday showcasing their cut-price budgets as economic austerity takes grip of the quadrennial parade to win the right to stage sport's biggest event. Read the full story in The Financial Times.
BBC Sport takes a look at the four cities bidding to host the 2016 Olympic Games. Read full report here.
LONDON--As Chicagoans get their first peek Friday at the details of the city's 2016 Olympic proposal, they might keep in mind how much anticipation and excitement greeted the unveiling of London's "bid book" in 2004. Read full story.
LONDON (AP) -The four cities vying for the 2016 Olympics reached a milestone this week with the submission of their official bid books, as each tries to position itself as the most financially secure candidate in the face of the global recession. Read the full report.
Monroe Harbor. File photo by Nancy Stone/Tribune.
Lots of Chicago boaters are unhappy with plans to use Monroe Harbor as the rowing venue for the 2016 Olympics should Chicago win the Games, but you won't hear many complaints. Mayor Daley's office and the Chicago Park District "do not wish to talk about issues that may be confrontational until after October 2009," a Chicago Yachting Association memo says. Read the full story.
Many Chicago-area residents are looking to the Olympics to help solve the city's public transportation woes. In the city's formal bid, the transportation plan will be a key component. Read the full story.
The answer: A lot. Despite the economy, Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio want the Games in their cities. Read more in Forbes story.
Madrid and Rio submitted their official bid books Wednesday for the 2016 Olympics, a day ahead of the deadline.
The books werehanded over to the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The IOC will select the host city by secret ballot on Oct. 2 in Copenhagen.
--Associated Press
Continue reading Madrid, Rio submit bid books early.
The Tokyo 2016 Olympic bid committee is emphasizing that its proposal is 'athlete-friendly' and that most venues from the athletes' village could be reached within 20 minutes. Read the full report.
Chicago's Olympic bid committee, which has been criticized for not enough neighborhood input in plans for the 2016 Summer Games, expands its community outreach committee to 60 members from 22. Read full story in Crain's.
Washington Park on the South Side would be the site of a stadium if Chicago hosts the 2016 Games (Scott Strazzante/Tribune)
Nearly two-thirds of Chicago-area residents want the city to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, but most don't want tax money to pay for it, a new Tribune poll found. Read the full report here.
But while Chicago leaders say they'll avoid the financial woes of London and Vancouver, Tribune columnist John Kass questions whether it is a smart idea to give City Hall billions of dollars to run the Olympics.
MADRID--Spain is a serious contender to host the 2016 Olympics and 2018 World cup, but a failure to clamp down on fans' racist and extremist behavior could end up compromising both bids.
Read more in this Associated Press report.
One of the largest selling points of a Chicago Olympic bid is the immense American television audience. It has always been one of the biggest factors in US bids for the games. But today, organizers of Tokyo's competing bid for the 2016 games, insisted that games in Japan would generate the biggest prime-time TV audience in Olympic history.
Speaking in Munich, Germany, Tokyo 2016's Deputy Director General, Hidetoshi Maki, said Olympics in Japan would take advantage of hundreds of millions of newly affluent Asians, some 3 billion within a 3-hour time zone radius of Tokyo.
LONDON--Tokyo has already secured $4 billion to fund construction of venues for the 2016 Olympics despite the global economic downturn, a leader of the Japanese bid said today.
Hidetoshi Maki, deputy director of the Tokyo 2016 bid team, said the money has been set aside by the government for construction of sports facilities, roads and other infrastructure costs.
"The money has been secured. It is in the bank," Maki said during a stopover in London. "We have the money already."
TOKYO--A resolution to fund Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games is caught in limbo in the Diet, the Japanese legislature, leaving bid organizers fretting over the upcoming filing deadline.
Opposition from the Democratic Party of Japan means that the resolution is unlikely to be passed in time to submit a Candidate File -- a plan for hosting the games -- for the bid to the International Olympic Committee by the Feb. 12 deadline.
The UIC Pavilion is among five venues made available for the 2016 Olympics. A floor was installed in March, 2006 for an open house for the Chicago Sky women's basketball team. (Tribune/Heather Stone)
The University of Illinois-Chicago has agreed to let the city use five campus venues for the Olympics if the games come to town in 2016.
University trustees approved a deal Tuesday that gives the city use of the UIC Pavilion, Flames Athletic Center, the Physical Education Building, the South Field Complex and Flames Field and the Student Recreation Facility.
Here's all you need to know about Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
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