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By Robert Gammon, STAFF WRITER, Oakland Tribune
April 18, 2002
April 18, 2002—SAN FRANCISCO -- Profit. Natural beauty. Environmental awareness. Cultural and intellectual diversity. A longstanding tradition of sports excellence.
Those are the primary reasons for bringing the Olympic Games to the Bay Area, said an Olympics organizing group Wednesday as it unveiled its international strategy for luring the world's premier sporting event to Northern California in 2012.
To help hammer home that message, dubbed "San Francisco 2012: The Bridge to the Future," the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC) also introduced the latest addition to its cause -- five-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson.
"Simply and honestly, if I could choose one place for the Olympic Games, it would be the San Francisco Bay Area," Johnson said Wednesday at a press conference in San Francisco.
Johnson, the hero of the 1996 Atlanta Games and world record holder in the 200- and 400-meter dashes, said one reason he joined the effort to bring the Olympics to the Bay Area is, "I'm used to being a part of winning teams."
But even with Johnson's international star power, BASOC's bid for the Games faces a tough road. The Bay Area must beat out three other U.S. cities before it can compete worldwide for the 2012 Olympics. The other U.S. cities are Washington, Houston and New York -- which could become the sentimental favorite in the wake of Sept. 11. The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) is scheduled to announce its choice in November.
If the Bay Area clears that hurdle, it will face stiff international competition, including such likely candidates as Rome, Paris and Rio de Janeiro. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is expected to make its final selection in 2005. BASOC officials believe the prospect of turning a profit could greatly help the Bay Area's chances.
According to a bid addendum sent earlier this month to the U.S. Olympic Committee, BASOC is projecting a $409 million surplus for the 2012 Olympics. BASOC's total budget for the Games is $2.426 billion.
Bob Stiles, BASOC's bid director, said the Bay Area, unlike Atlanta, which broke even in 1996, will be able to save money because more than 80 percent of the proposed sports venues already exist.
Stanford Stadium on the Stanford University campus would be the main venue, hosting opening and closing ceremonies and track and field -- the most popular events at the Games.
In the East Bay, Network Associates Coliseum would be the primary soccer facility, while the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena would be the primary basketball venue. Weightlifting would be at Oakland's Kaiser Auditorium.
Soccer also would be played at Memorial Stadium on the University of California, Berkeley, campus. UC Berkeley also would host indoor and beach volleyball.
BASOC expects to spend about $400 million less than Atlanta on constructing new sports venues, Stiles said. The biggest proposed line item for BASOC is $172.5 million on upgrades for Stanford Stadium, according to the bid addendum. Los Angeles in 1984 was the last city to turn a profit, and it also spent much less on new facilities, Stiles said.
Of the $409 million surplus, 5 percent would go to the IOC, Stiles said. The remaining would be split about 60-40 between the BASOC and the USOC, he added. BASOC will spend its planned $230 million share on an endowment, Legacy 2012, to help future Olympians.
About $170 million of the endowment would help elite athletes train.
"We don't want to see anybody retire because they don't have enough money to compete," said Anne Cribbs, president and CEO of BASOC and a gold medal swimmer in the 1960 Games. Stiles added that about $30 million would be earmarked to assist paralympians.
In its bid, BASOC also is highlighting the Bay Area's natural beauty and San Francisco's popularity worldwide. In addition, the group points to the region's cultural diversity and the intellectual centers both at the area's major universities and in Silicon Valley as further reasons to bring the Games here.
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