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San Jose Mercury
Editorial
July 14, 2002—A TEAM from the U.S. Olympic Committee arrives today in the Bay Area. It's the last stop on a tour of four cities hoping to be the U.S. choice to host the 2012 Games.
Sometimes in competition, it pays to perform last.
After stops in New York, Washington and Houston, the committee members have got to ask themselves:
Why would athletes want to compete in the sweltering heat and humidity of the eastern seaboard or in air-conditioned indoor stadiums in Texas, when they could compete here under near-perfection conditions: moderate temperatures and little chance of rain?
Why would foreign visitors want to spend two weeks in those other hot and crowded cities when they could be in the Bay Area, with its breathtaking scenery, cool evenings and truly international feel?
How could TV crews pass up the chance to capture backdrops from Monterey Bay to the Napa Valley, including Stanford, Berkeley, Silicon Valley and the Golden Gate? What better way to showcase the beauty and brains of America?
It's no contest.
Of course, the USOC has to consider other factors that will contribute to a successful U.S. bid and successful Olympic Games. But in all areas, the competition pales. The Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee has a solid financial plan, with widespread private backing. It has a workable transportation plan, including a BART extension to San Jose. Securing the Olympic bid would provide extra incentive to complete that project.
What's more, most of the needed facilities are already built, and the new ones -- including an Olympic Village at Moffett Field and a renovated Stanford Stadium -- will enhance the community long after the torch has been carried out of town.
The USOC team is used to hearing this kind of boasting from the locals, eager for the prestige and influx of dollars the Games would bring. The folks in Washington and Houston are convinced their bids are the best. New York still faces some major financial hurdles but considers itself the sentimental favorite.
The committee's job will be to sort the hype from the hard facts. Fortunately, when their deliberations begin, memories of the Bay Area will be fresh in their minds.
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