Chicago officials considering a bid for the 2016 Olympics promised soon to reveal an “elegant solution” for the venue needed to accommodate opening and closing ceremonies, as they disclosed the names of dozens of civic and corporate leaders who will serve on an exploratory committee.
Patrick Ryan, executive chairman of insurance giant Aon Corp. and chairman of the committee, said the solution to the seating issue would be made public after officials present it to the U.S. Olympic Committee at a meeting Friday in La Jolla, Calif.
“We cannot reveal our plans before we reveal them to the U.S. Olympic Committee,” Ryan said at a press conference. “It would be bad form, and frankly I think it would hurt us and would offend them.”
The city needs an 80,000-seat venue for track and field events and opening and closing ceremonies. Soldier Field has fewer than 62,000 seats. There has been talk of building a temporary facility or using a university stadium.
“We have what we consider to be an elegant solution to the issue of opening and closing ceremonies … and also track and field,” Ryan said.
Mayor Richard Daley and others are to provide the USOC with information about Chicago’s virtues as a site for the games at the meeting in Southern California. The USOC has requested presentations from Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
Daley spoke at the process conference, pointing out that Chicago is a global city with non-stop airline service to all parts of the world and is “well-equipped to handle Olympic-sized crowds.”
“When we do things in Chicago, we do them right,” Daley said. “But we have to make sure we have a complete understanding of cost and revenue implications before, of course, we commit to bid.”
Accompanying Daley and Ryan to California on Friday is Miles White, chairman and chief executive of Abbott Laboratories. White is one of nearly 50 prominent Chicago-area residents serving on a committee to promote the games.
If enthusiasm is needed to win the Olympics, White has plenty to spare. “We have a unique melding of international culture, a warm and welcoming community and a supportive civic and business environment to ensure it all comes together successfully,” he said.
But the “elegant solution” has not been shared with the committee of civic leaders.
“I don’t think they have it resolved,” said Andrew McKenna, non-executive chairman of McDonald’s Corp. He said the venue solution “has yet to be determined.”
John Rogers, chairman and CEO of Ariel Capital Management and a member of the committee, said he played basketball at Princeton University, and would love to watch the Olympic hoop games here.
But as for the obstacle of a large and affordable venue, Rogers is still in the dark.
“I don’t have any knowledge about it,” he said.
Even some architects who have been brainstorming the issue don’t know of any “elegant solution.”
Chicago architect Jeanne Gang said there is a conceptual plan for a stadium that would be converted into housing after the games.
But Gang said she knows of no final plan for a large venue.
Chicago architect Stanley Tigerman, who has been studying the venue issue, said he had heard of no resolution of the problem. “I know nothing about it,” he said, adding “I’m just an architect.”
While some critical details remain to be worked out, it was apparent that backers of the Olympics have attracted broad support from community leaders.
The list of executives and officials working on the city’s committee include top people from Northwestern University, the Piper Rudnick Gray law firm, Chicago Public Schools, Allstate Corp., Boeing Co., Northern Trust Corp., Zenith Electronics Corp., Motorola Inc. and many others.
Apparently the public is also interested in the Olympic torch ending its journey in Chicago.
A poll of 606 Cook County residents, conducted June 13-15 by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, found that 79 percent supported Chicago’s bid, while 87 percent felt Chicago would be a good host city. The poll had a 4 percent margin of error.
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