The USOC Board Of Dirs voted Saturday to select San
Antonio over Raleigh-Durham as the U.S. bid city for the
2007 Pan Am Games. San Antonio will join a yet-to-be-
determined field of bid cities from North, Central and South
America, and the Pan Am Sports Organization will select the
host city in the summer of 2002 (USOC). In San Antonio,
Jerry Briggs noted that Indianapolis was the last U.S. city
to host the Pan Am Games in '87. The USOC gave San Antonio
"the nod ... despite not knowing whether the city's voters
would approve" funding for a new arena. While Raleigh
"clearly had superior facilities overall," it "didn't
convince" the USOC that "it had the ability to win against"
South American cities. San Antonio "clearly held the upper
hand -- and perhaps the trump card in the whole process --
with its Hispanic heritage and a largely bilingual
population" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 10/24). USOC
President Bill Hybl: "There was a sense of romance in San
Antonio" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 10/24). San Antonio
Sports Foundation Exec Dir Susan Blackwood "estimated the
bid process over two-and-a-half years cost $600,000, not
counting about $250,000 of value-in-kind assistance" (DALLAS
MORNING NEWS, 10/24). In Raleigh, Gene Cherry reported that
should San Antonio win, it will "pay several athletes"
$15,000-150,000 to be ambassadors for the Games, while NC
"would offer no such assistance" (NEWS & OBSERVER, 10/24).
