NYC has chance to modify Olympic proposal
BY JOHN JEANSONNE
STAFF WRITER
June 10, 2005
New York City's Olympic bid, badly wounded when its West Side stadium plan was rejected, could be resubmitted with last-minute adjustments, the International Olympic Committee informed NYC2012 founder Dan Doctoroff yesterday.
Since Monday's vote against the West Side plan by the state Public Authorities Control Board, NYC2012 officials are not commenting beyond saying they are exploring their options. But one person familiar with some of the meetings said their two priorities are to save the stadium and to save the bid and that he would describe the bid leaders as "determined."
A scenario that such scrambling could lead to a proposed Olympic stadium in Queens -- long espoused by many opponents of NYC2012 -- remained unlikely. NYC2012 has said it would not be able to fund such a stadium, and the Jets, who had earmarked almost $2 billion for the West Side arena, continue to say they are not interested in building in Queens.
Shea Stadium, Doctoroff has said, could not be retro-fitted to accommodate the 400-meter running track needed for a main Olympic stadium.
One source said there has been no discussion of simply walking away from the bid before July 6, when each of the finalists -- Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow are the others -- is scheduled to make a final, one-hour bid presentation in Singapore, followed by the IOC vote to award the 2012 Games.
The West Side stadium would be the venue for track and field events and the opening and closing ceremonies. IOC officials have said New York's bid will not succeed without a stadium.
"As we now understand the situation, New York is not able to provide such guarantees," IOC communications director Giselle Davies said in a letter to bid leader Dan Doctoroff. "In such an exceptional circumstance as this, a bid city has the right to address the issue in front of the executive board."
"We're exploring every option," Doctoroff said Thursday, declining further comment.
NYC2012 executive director Jay Kriegel also gave little away.
"We're just continuing to make every effort to work this out to continue the bid in a strong way that can be successful in Singapore," he said. "We're analyzing all the factors right now. We're trying to move as fast as possible."
It's unclear what those options might be.
A last-minute deal salvaging the West Side site hasn't been ruled out, and using another stadium in the New York area is another possibility. The legal and financial issues also involve the New York Jets, the planned future tenants of the Olympic stadium.
But if New York can't come up with a viable stadium plan to present in Singapore, the city could also pull out of the race.
NYC2012 leaders have been consulting with the U.S. Olympic Committee, which fears that a withdrawal could harm the chances of future American bids.
"We're in the process of fact-finding and gathering additional information," USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said earlier this week. "We look forward to having an opportunity to speak with our colleagues at NYC2012 and learn more about their plans moving forward."
The USOC counts on bringing the Olympics to the country on a regular basis. Hosting the games boosts the Olympic movement on home soil and brings in big sponsorship revenues.
The majority of international Olympic sponsors are U.S.-based corporations, and NBC provides the bulk of the IOC's television revenues.
The United States has hosted the Olympics four times since 1980 -- Winter Games in Lake Placid (1980) and Salt Lake City (2002), and Summer Games in Los Angeles (1984) and Atlanta (1996).
Doctoroff, the deputy mayor who has spent 10 years on the 2012 project, is reluctant to give up. He has repeatedly told IOC members that New York would secure the stadium project, but now has nothing to show for it.
"We have told people that we'll deliver," he said in an interview last week. "We've got to make sure we deliver."
The uncertainty can't drag on much longer.
Bid cities are due to submit responses Monday to the IOC evaluation report released this week. The report gave New York a generally positive review, but cited the lack of guarantees for the stadium and other concerns. Front-runner Paris got the best overall assessment.
Doctoroff and the other 2012 bid leaders are due to attend an African Olympic assembly next week in Ghana, where the cities will give their last major presentations before Singapore.
New York's withdrawal from the race would leave an all-European contest. London believes it would benefit by picking up support from New York backers.
"I would say they have to stay in the race," senior IOC member Dick Pound of Canada said. "Walking away at D-day minus three weeks is not a good message for the United States. It's better to go out with your guns blazing."
