Mayor Gives Approval For Chicago To Pursue 2016 Olympics
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Daley Gives Go Ahead For Chicago
To Begin 2016 Olympic Pursuit
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Chicago Mayor Richard Daley “has given the go-ahead to officials both inside his
administration and business leaders on the outside to pursue a serious” bid for
the city to host the 2016 Games, according to city sources cited by Fran Spielman
of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Daley previously ruled out a bid, “arguing that the
millions of dollars in upfront costs required to make a serious pitch was not
worth the longshot chance” of winning. However, that was before the $475M Millennium
Park was completed and before local business leaders “agreed to front the city’s
bidding costs.” Other elements “strengthening Chicago’s position are improvements
to U.S. Cellular Field, the planned expansion of Wrigley Field and yet another
expansion of McCormick Place.” City Hall sources “insisted that the bid has been
in the works behind the scenes for months and it is not a diversion from the corruption
scandals that have beset” Daley (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/27).
BACK AT IT: On Long Island, John Jeansonne reports Steve Feuerstein, a
sports consultant who hosts a talk-radio show on WSNR-AM, formed N.Y. Citizens
for the 2016 Olympic Games about a month ago, before the city was eliminated as
host of the 2012 Olympics. Feuerstein said his “contact with some members of NYC2012,
and with others knowledgeable in Olympic matters, convinced him that [N.Y.] had
a better chance for 2016 than it did for 2012” (NEWSDAY, 7/27).
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