As Salt Lake City marks the 10th anniversary of its Olympic Games, U.S. Olympic bid ambitions “are on hold,” according to Vicki Michaelis of USA TODAY. The earliest the U.S. could host another Olympics is the ’22 Winter Games, but “it could be much later.” USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said that not having a home Games on the horizon “affects Olympic awareness among fans and influences to some extent how much sponsor and donor money the USOC raises to train Olympians.” Over time, it “could diminish how well U.S. athletes perform.” Not staging an Olympics in the country “that produces more sponsor, television and fan interest in the Games than any other could be bad business” for the IOC, whose “largest single revenue source is U.S. broadcast rights payments.” IOC member Dick Pound said, "If the IOC is smart, it must realize that from time to time, there should be Games in the United States." Blackmun said that the USOC will “wait to bid at least until it resolves a revenue-sharing dispute with the IOC, which chooses Olympic hosts.” U.S. officials also are “trying to navigate changes in the bidding landscape, which has seen the IOC take risks on less technically sound bids to make history in recent votes.” Blackmun said a long drought is worrisome because "we rely on our sponsors and our donors and our television donors to support and train all of our Olympic athletes." Consulting agency Helios Partners President Terrence Burns said that “as lucrative as the U.S. market is, sponsors also like gaining a foothold in a dawning market such as China.” Burns: "It's much harder for the U.S. to compete in the current bid environment." Michaelis notes if the USOC were to bid for ‘22, it “would need to choose a candidate next year in order to get a campaign in place for the 2015 vote” (USA TODAY, 2/7).
