The organizers of the city's 2012 Olympic bid kicked off a 4 day production yesterday to impress the. NYC2012, the committee leading New York's bid, unveiled several presentations outlining its Olympic vision for the 13 visiting delegates at the Plaza hotel in Manhattan.
"They came in with a lot of questions and we responded appropriately," said Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, the NYC2012 founder and architect for New York's Olympic movement. "I think this is an absolutely critical milestone in a very long process. It is essential that they leave believing in our plan. We think we had a great day, but ultimately the only thing that matters is what they think."
"We're a town with a tradition of putting on big events," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who joined U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth in a brief meet-and-greet with the evaluation committee in the morning. "We hope to show the IOC Evaluation Committee how our city would put on the biggest event of them all -- the Summer Olympic Games. Hosting the Games in New York City will give us the opportunity to show the world our diversity, the fact that this city best represents the Olympic movement."
Bloomberg and 50 former Olympians from around the globe greeted a sea of flag-waving supporters for the Olympic bid at a noon rally at the Rockefeller Center rink that included a performance by gold-medal figure skater Oksana Baiul.
"It is not two weeks or four weeks," Bloomberg said of the impact on the city. "It is what will go on for decades after that. We will transform a thousand square miles of our city into new or enhanced parklands. We will create whole new venues along the rivers. We will transform lakes and wilderness and waterways into sports and recreation areas. This will change the city in every single borough." Bloomberg said the Olympics would leave behind a "lasting legacy".
Two sports would be played in New Jersey: soccer at Giants Stadium and volleyball at Continental Airlines Arena.
Bloomberg put on a happy face, but admitted that the NYC2012 leaders "still have some bridges to cross" and "some battles to fight." Chief among them is the uncertainty of the New York Sports and Convention Center on Manhattan's West Side.
The future of this projected state-of-the-art facility, which would be the Olympic stadium and the home of the Jets, remains unclear after Cablevision recently bid $600 million for the rail yards. Doctoroff said discussions about an alternate site for the stadium "did not come up" with the evaluation committee and that the two sides "walked through pretty much every single venue one-by-one."
"We've managed to separate out the little battle we're having over the rail yards with the support of the Olympic Games," Doctoroff said. "Many people in this city are Olympic enthusiasts even if they have questions or concerns about the new stadium."
I think it would be pretty cool to have the 2012 Olympics here in the states, especially in New York. You can bet that no matter where the 2012 Olympics are held we'll be talking about them here at Sports-Chat.
