Swiss precision
IOC evaluation praises Sion bid for 2006 Winter Olympics
Posted: Sunday January 24, 1999 11:34 AM
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- The Swiss city of Sion received a
glowing review Saturday from an IOC panel assessing the six bids
for the 2006 Winter Games.
The International Olympic Committee's Evaluation Commission said
the Swiss candidate was strong in sporting terms and had a sound
financial base, excellent infrastructure and good environmental
credentials.
The report generally praised the Italian bid from Turin but said
its venues were too far apart.
It raised serious doubts about the multi-country bids involving
Klagenfurt, Austria, and Helsinki, Finland, saying these posed
major logistical problems.
And it questioned whether Poprad Tatry in Slovakia and Zakopane
in Poland had the necessary infrastructure and finances to host the
Games.
The commission issued its report under the shadow of the
corruption scandal surrounding Salt Lake City's winning bid for the
2002 Winter Games.
In a bid to limit future scope for bribery, the IOC Executive
Committee this weekend is expected to recommend overhauling Games
bidding procedures. Proposals include banning visits of IOC members
to candidate cities and leaving the selection to a small group
rather than the full IOC assembly.
The new streamlined system would be submitted for approval by
the general assembly at a special session March 17-18. If ratified,
it would be in place for the selection of the 2006 host at the June
IOC session in Seoul, South Korea.
Chiharu Igaya, chairman of the Evaluation Commission, said he
was confident that the host city could be decided on the basis of
the bid documents and evaluation report alone rather than by full
site visits.
"That should be sufficient for them to give a fair judgment on
which city could host it," he told a press conference.
Sion, which lost out to Salt Lake City as host for the 2002
Olympics, has long been considered a front-runner, slightly ahead
of Turin.
"The sports concept is well thought out, with the Olympic
Village centrally located in Sion, the ice sports in the Rhone
Valley and the skiing events in the mountains on either side of the
city," the report said.
It said the transport plan was "well thought out," and that
there was adequate accommodation.
Sion 2006 Director-General Jean-Daniel Mudry said he was
"happy" with the report.
On Turin, the report criticized the fact that organizers wanted
to stage ice hockey and figure skating in Turin and other sports
like skiing in the Suse valley in Pragelato.
"Considering the existing infrastructure the Evaluation
Commission believes that the sports concept should be more
concentrated," it said.
It criticized the fact that most of the ice rinks in Turin would
be dismantled after the event.
But Turin officials remained upbeat.
"What I learn from the report is that Sion is ready to host the
Games and that Turin is capable but needs more time. But it's a
matter of months, not years," said Marco San Pietro.
The main fault of Helsinki was the proposal to stage the Alpine
skiing events in Lillehammer, Norway, because of the lack of
mountains in Finland, the report said.
"Whilst the individual venues are excellent, the distance
between Helsinki and Lillehammer and the fact that a large portion
of the Games will be held in Norway may lead to organizational and
operational burdens," it said.
The report said the Klagenfurt bid -- which also includes
neighboring Italy and Slovenia "represents the original concept of
an Olympic games beyond borders between Austria, Italy and
Slovenia."
"This concept presents interesting aspects but also potential
organizational difficulties," it said.
In some cases, the distances involved were too big, it said. If
Slovena were still outside the European Union in 2006 this would
complicate border crossings and security, it pointed out.
Igaya said in general, joint bids posed a "big challenge."
The report found major problems with the bid of Poprad-Tatry.
These included lack of guaranteed funding for the Olympic Village,
insufficient quality venues and lack of a nearby international
airport.
"The Evaluation commission believes that the costs of building
infrastructure for and putting on the Olympic Games will be a
significant challenge to the financial resources of both the public
and private sectors in Slovakia," it said.
Sports, hotel and transport facilities all needed upgrading in
Zakopane, the report said. It added that there were also question
marks over the budget.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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