L.A. bids for 2016 Olympic Games
Date: 19-01-2007
Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamUnited States |
|
With the Coliseum and 75 years of memories standing behind them Friday, "The Marathon Mayor" and bodybuilding governor told the world that Los Angeles deserves to host the 2016 Olympics.
It has the facilities, they said, from the storied stadium to the modern Staples Center. It has the people, they noted, with more than 1,000 Olympians hailing from the region over the years. And most importantly, they stressed, it has the history.
"In this very stadium," solemnly intoned Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, whom other speakers praised as quite a runner in his own right, "Carl Lewis set record after record and won medal after medal."
On Monday, the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games will formally present its proposal to host the Summer Games to the U.S. Olympic Committee. Its pitch, pitting the city against Chicago, will rely heavily on memories of successful, profitable competitions in 1932 and 1984 and its slew of large facilities.
The only thing the area lacks, backers conceded, is a shooting facility, which would be built at Pomona's Fairplex. Athletes would bunk at UCLA, while the media and Olympics officials would settle in at USC. The soccer gold medal match would be held at the Rose Bowl, as it was in 1984, said David Simon, president of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games.
"It would obviously be a jewel in the crown of the city's record of athletic events at the Rose Bowl," said Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard.
The equestrian events would return to Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, where they were held in 1984, Simon said.
To add a little political and celebrity heft to its pitch, the SCCOG enlisted the help of the state's most high-profile resident. He addressed the crowd in English and a bit of German and vowed that, even hobbled by crutches, he would throw his weight into winning the bid.
"I will do everything," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said. "I will fly anywhere. It would bring great joy to all Californians to have the Olympics here."
To formally hype their proclamation, the plan's backers arranged a ceremony with much of the fanfare of the games themselves. The USC marching band blew John Williams' "Summon the Heroes" as the mayor and governor made their way in, surrounded by athletic legends and a cavalcade of kids. Once they'd made their case, they dramatically relit the Olympic flame memorably kindled by Rafer Johnson in the 1984 proceedings.
Bruce Jenner, gold-medalist decathlete and alternate flame-lighter during L.A.'s last stint as host, recalled the city's efforts fondly.
"L.A. was a changing point in the Olympic movement," he said. "The Canadians lost money in '76, we boycotted the '80 games, but '84 was just so good. I'd love to see it come back."
Chicago also will submit its proposal Monday. About five weeks later, a USOC evaluation team will visit each city for two days.
On April 14, the USOC board will be presented with the team's findings. That same day, both L.A. and Chicago will make their final presentations and the USOC will choose between the two.
The USOC will submit its finalist to the International Olympic Committee on Sept.15. The 2016 Games host will be chosen in 2009.
According to the Associated Press, other cities expressing interest in the 2016 Games are: Madrid, Spain; New Delhi; Prague, Czech Republic; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Rome; and Tokyo.
If Los Angeles wins the IOC bid for the 2016 Games, gymnastics would be held at Staples Center, and swimming would take place in a temporary pool built on the same Long Beach parking lot where the 2004 U.S. Olympic trials were held. Diving would be at an indoor pool in Long Beach. Basketball would be played at Honda Center in Anaheim.
Other venues to host events would be the Galen Center, USC's basketball arena; Home Depot Center in Carson; and the Pyramid arena at Long Beach State. Preliminary soccer games would be played in San Diego and San Francisco, said SCCOG chairman Barry Sanders.
Not in the mix as venues are Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Sports Arena, Angel Stadium or UCLA's Drake Stadium. Sanders said any of them could be used as practice sites, though.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
