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USOC pares 2012 bids cities list
Updated: Friday October 26, 2001 6:34 PM SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Will it be the Big Apple or the Golden Gate? The nation's capital or Texas bluebonnet country? One of four American cities will carry the U.S. Olympic Committee's banner for the 2012 Summer Olympics. New York, Houston, San Francisco and Washington made the cut Friday as the U.S. Olympic Committee narrowed down the list of American cities competing to stage the Games. Dallas, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Tampa, Fla., were dropped from consideration. The USOC will choose an American candidate from the four finalists in November 2002. The International Olympic Committee will vote on the host city in 2005. Each finalist offers strong bids and powerful images for an American Olympics, from the sailing regatta flowing under the Golden Gate Bridge to canoeists rowing down a manmade course below Houston's towering skyline. Imagine the Opening Ceremony on the National Mall and marathon runners snaking through Washington's famous landmarks. How about Olympic rowers stroking their sculls past the Statue of Liberty? The selection committee visited each city and ranked them in 13 categories, including venues, security, financial solvency, transportation, community support and international appeal. Charlie Moore, chairman of the USOC's site selection committee, emphasized that cities did not compete against each other. Rather, they were evaluated against a set of criteria. He repeatedly refused to rank the cities or explain why one advanced and another didn't. "I'm not going to go there," Moore said. "We are absolutely not going to go back and rank them. It's done, finished. Everyone that's left will start with a fresh slate." New York, battered by last month's terrorist attacks, was considered a sentimental front-runner. The bid got a boost this week when state lawmakers approved a $250 guarantee if the Games lose money. "It's a very significant step toward the city winning that designation," Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said. "We're very, very hopeful that New York will eventually be selected as the city." The Houston bid, with a similar financial guarantee, should benefit from having most venues within a 6- to 8-mile-wide area. They also got added help when Dallas organizers promised to support the other Texas city. "We've always felt we had one of the strongest bids out there," said Houston 2012 president Susan Bandy. "With 75 percent of our venues constructed and 14 percent in progress, it makes our financial picture look good." The strength of San Francisco's bid is the waterfront and scenic vistas. Organizers plan to use the Golden Gate Bridge as a signature emblem, the way Sydney's Opera House was used during the 2000 Summer Olympics. "The San Francisco Bay area already has most of the athletic venues we need to host the Olympic Games in 2012 today," said Anne Cribbs, president of the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee. Washington, with its experience as host to world diplomats, is another strong contender. Although venues would stretch from Baltimore to Northern Virginia, mass transit makes the bid feasible. "I'm really optimistic," said Washington bid chairman John Morton. "The foundation of our bid is the strengths of our region, our build-less-not-more approach and our mass transit system." Cities surviving Friday's first cut can still be dropped from contention if they can't post guarantees of $100 million to $250 million by Nov. 30. Organizers from Washington and San Francisco were confident it won't be a problem. The American nominee will be part of a crowded field of contenders. Potential bidders include Rome; Paris; London; Moscow; Madrid, Spain; Budapest, Hungary; Istanbul, Turkey; an undetermined German city; Toronto; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and possibly an African candidate. The USOC made the announcement in the city that was the site of the biggest scandal in the history of the Olympics. Salt Lake City bid leaders won the 2002 Winter Olympics after plying IOC members with more than $1 million in gifts and scholarships.
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