Sydney on track
Atlanta committee member predicts successful Olympics
Posted: Friday February 12, 1999 10:53 AM
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- A senior member of the Atlanta Olympic
organizing committee on Friday strongly endorsed preparations for
the Sydney 2000 Games.
"I can tell you that what I have seen in Sydney is the best I
have ever seen," said A.D. Frazier, chief operating officer for
the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.
Frazier is in Sydney to examine and advise the Sydney organizing
committee (SOCOG) on its plans for the 2000 Games.
"I think the accumulation of sports competition venues at
Homebush Bay, the adjacencies to the village and the way these
venues are situated is simply unsurpassed, it's just the best there
is," Frazier said.
"These will be the best Games ever because you are off to the
best start with the best facilities."
Frazier said SOCOG staff appeared to be working hard, unaffected
by "the noise that seems to be going on about either the politics
or the bidding process."
But the recent controversy surrounding the Olympics would make
their task tougher, he said.
One of Australia's International Olympic Committee members, Phil
Coles, was this week named in an ethics report on Salt Lake City's
successful bid for the 2002 Winter Games.
Frazier defended the Atlanta bid, particularly Billy Payne, the
head of the bid and later chief executive officer and president of
the organizing committee.
"I don't think they misbehaved, frankly," Frazier said.
"Billy's my friend . . . we worked shoulder to shoulder for six
years, I have never known a person who could inspire 100,000 as
quickly and as promptly."
Asked about his experience with IOC members, Frazier said
members of all parts of the Olympic family, including media and
sporting federations, sometimes made unreasonable demands.
"What I came across was a level of service enhancement beyond
which I thought was either affordable or reasonable, which in many
cases is the same kind of thing as a demand, and you have got to
deal with it," he said.
"If you're asking if it's the bulk or it's a few, in my
experience it must be a very few."
He said Sydney's Games organizers had a number of advantages
over Atlanta because of state government involvement -- the New
South Wales government is underwriting the 2000 Games while the
Atlanta Games were privately funded.
"Inherently it's just going to be better here," he said. "The
notion of having unified law enforcement command, which is unlike
the United States, is incredibly powerful; unified transport and
the ability to control spaces outside of venues, which was
something outside control."
He also urged SOCOG to look after the media, admitting Atlanta
had failed in tat area.
"I will be the first to admit that we did not do a very good
job on press operations and you excoriated us for that," he said.
"Our transport for press and media for those who were there was
not the best, encumbered by poor traffic management."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
