Ted Turner announced that Brisbane, Australia will be
the site of the 2001 Goodwill Games, to be held one year
after the 2000 Summer Olympics, according to Karen Rosen of
the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. Brisbane was chosen over finalist
Guangzhou, China and is the first host city of the Games to
be outside the U.S. and Russia. The Games will squeeze its
"next timetable to three years so that it will no longer
compete for attention and sponsorship dollars" with the
Olympics and World Cup. After 2001, the Games will be held
every four years. The dates have not been finalized, but
the event will "probably" take place sometime in September
or October of 2001 (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/19).
HIS BABY: Turner, during the Goodwill Games Opening
Gala on Saturday night: "Hello, world. Hello, New York.
Hello, United States. This is pretty terrific. These Games
are going to be televised in over 150 countries around the
world, and we send our greetings to every one of them. You
know these Games are dedicated to kids" (TBS, 7/18).
MORE FROM THE MOUTH: Turner joined with VP Al Gore in
celebrating the opening on Saturday. On reports that the
Games will lose $30M in '98, he said, "I don't know why we
in the press -- and I'm in it, too -- why we want to hang
onto some little scrap of bad news and beat it to death?
You know, $30 million, $40 million, why, one NFL game that
lasts two or three hours on ESPN costs more than that. It
just isn't that much money" (NEWSDAY, 7/19). More Turner:
"This is going to be a big franchise. You see where (IOC
member) Dick Pound doesn't like us. He said we were just a
made-for-TV Olympics. Imagine that. He must think we're
competition. Isn't that what life's all about,
competition?" (ATL. CONSTITUTION, 7/20). Turner said that
ticket sales have hit 300,000, and that the Games have sold
100,000 "in the last couple of days." Turner: "Half the
tickets have been sold, which is just, I think, incredible
for a onetime event like this" (PHILA. DAILY NEWS, 7/20).
NOT THE BEST SITE? In Philadelphia, John Smallwood
writes under the header, "Manhattan No Place For Goodwill."
He states that New Yorkers see the event as "just a scaled-
down version of the Olympics. And second-rate just doesn't
fly in New York." He notes yesterday's USA-Puerto Rico
men's basketball game at MSG "was generously" announced at
more than 8,000, which "would be considered a bad" gate for
the WNBA's Liberty (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 7/20).
SMOOTH DAY ONE: Games organizers said that the first
day of the event "went surprisingly smoothly, without any
traffic problems on the nearby roads and with enough parking
for all" (NEWSDAY, 7/20)...."Extra" reporter Maureen O'Boyle
will file a daily report from the Games (THE DAILY).
