The U.S. Olympic Festival ended in Denver yesterday with the
USOC announcing that it will cancel the '97 event. The committee
said future festivals "conducted in the current format were in
doubt" and that they were considering min-festivals with
international competitors mixed in. Denver organizers were
preparing for a possible $200-300,000 deficit -- to be paid off
by private donations, not ticket sales (Frank Litsky, N.Y. TIMES,
7/31). Within the USOC, according to Bob Ford of the
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, opinion is "split" between killing the
Festival entirely and merely downsizing (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER,
7/31). Festival Co-Chair Tim Lieweke cited the revenue
competition in Denver, now a four-sport town, and said the event
may have been "more successful in a smaller market that doesn't
have all the distractions" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/31). The DENVER
POST notes the Festival may break even, but that the value was in
boosting the area's "image" (DENVER POST, 7/30). Comparing the
'95 Festival to the successful '94 Festival in St. Louis, Vahe
Gregorian of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH writes that Denver "did
not market as diligently as St. Louis, and it didn't tweak the
same appealing chord with its corporate community" (ST. LOUIS
POST-DISPATCH, 7/30).
