Chicago promoters of gay sports celebrated the news Tuesday that the city will host the Gay Games in 2006, saying the event promises to bring thousands of athletes and visitors to Chicago and more than $25 million to city businesses.
“Talk about a Super Tuesday,” said Dennis Sneyers, who co-chaired Chicago’s effort to host the quadrennial games.
But others in the city’s gay community voiced concern, noting that the games have lost millions of dollars for corporate sponsors since 1990 and that Chicago now must rush to stage an event that will be competing with a Canadian rival.
Bidding for the games was reopened in November after Montreal–the city originally awarded the 2006 games–withdrew in a dispute with the international host, the Federation of Gay Games. Chicago and Los Angeles submitted new bids.
Montreal now plans to host its own festival, Rendez-Vous Montreal 2006, during the same time.
Chicago’s games come at a time when the Federation of Gay Games has focused almost exclusively on making the event financially viable, trimming many social activities in favor of concentrating on sporting competitions.
The 2002 Gay Games in Sydney nearly were canceled over fundraising issues. The 2006 games are seen in some quarters as the last chance for a lagging enterprise.
“This is going to be the Gay Games that saves the Gay Games movement,” said Jefferson McCarley, volunteer organizer for Chicago Games Inc., the group promoting Chicago for the 2006 games.
But still in question for the Chicago games is a final licensing agreement with the federation and the nettlesome issue of weak community support.
“We’re not spending one dime or one ounce of our resources on this,” said Rick Garcia, political director of Equality Illinois, who fears there is not enough time to plan the 2006 games well. “The largest gay rights group in the state doesn’t want it here. The city is lukewarm at best. We don’t have time to do it, it’s going to be second-rate, and it’s going to be an embarrassment to the city.”
City organizers said they expect 12,000 participants for Chicago’s July 15-22 events, down from the 20,000 they projected when competing with Montreal in the first round of bidding.
The majority of Chicago events will focus on 23 sports competitions including swimming, softball, volleyball, power lifting, wrestling, sailing and running.
No final venues have been selected, but conversations have already begun with Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago and Navy Pier, said games organizers and spokesmen for the facilities.
On Tuesday morning, more than a dozen local organizers stared across their attorney’s conference table at a speakerphone in the third-floor offices of Hinshaw & Culbertson to hear who had won the games.
“We have about 24 hours where we can enjoy this moment, but then we’ve got a lot of work to do. No other Gay Games has ever pulled this off in two years,” McCarley said. “Every other Gay Games has had four years to do it, and no one else has had competition.”
“And no one else but Chicago can pull this off,” he added.
