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By SHANNAH FIELDS
Register Sports Writer
June 21, 2002—It's official: Napa supports the Bay Area bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
When Napa Mayor Ed Henderson stood up and purchased the first "Bridge to the Future" pin at the weekly Kiwanis Club of Napa meeting on Thursday, it was a sound gesture of the community's support to bring the Games to the Bay Area and even the Napa Valley. The Valley, and more specifically Domaine Chandon, would be the site of the mountain biking events if the Bay Area is selected.
"I simply believe it's a wonderful opportunity for the Bay Area and it shows we're a bonafide member of the Bay Area," Henderson said. "It unifies the Bay Area and it's the right thing to do."
Anne Cribbs, CEO of the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC), hopes to see more of that support as she visits other communities around the Bay Area. Cribbs spoke to the Kiwanis Club on Thursday to describe the committee's vision for bringing the Olympics to San Francisco, as well as the impact it would have on the Napa Valley.
"We heard from professional cyclists that Domaine Chandon had a beautiful course and we proposed to hold the event there," Cribbs said.
Hosting the event would also be financially beneficial to the Valley. Already recognized as one of the top vacation spots in the world by travel magazines, the mountain biking competition could bring in more than 20,000 visitors and athletes.
"The Napa Valley not only has an outstanding facility, but it's a world-renowned vacation spot," said Tony Winnicker, Director of Communications for BASOC. "All over the world, people know about Napa."
While Winnicker and Cribbs do not have to sell the beauty of the Valley or the advantages of the Bay Area to the residents, they must make it appealing to the United States Olympic Committee. Competing against New York, Baltimore/Washington D.C. and Houston, BASOC is in a race to win the national bid.
A non-profit organization founded in 1987, BASOC was formed to enrich the lives of Bay Area families and children through athletic activities. Its latest endeavor, to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to the Bay Area, would create a lasting legacy.
"We want to create Olympic memories in the Bay Area," Cribbs told the Kiwanis Club. "It would allow the Bay Area to experience first-hand the excitement, the culture and the way we want the world to be."
According to Cribbs, the Bay Area is an ideal location for the Games. The Olympic Village would be at Moffett Field and 92 percent of the competition sites would be within a 32-mile radius of the Village. Opening and closing ceremonies, swimming, track and field, softball, badminton and archery would be at Stanford University. The other events would be at various locations around the Bay, including Pacific Bell Park, 3Com Park, UC Berkeley, Santa Clara University and the Oakland Coliseum.
Utilizing the symbol of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, BASOC is pushing the theme, "Bridge to the Future." In true Olympic spirit, the Golden Gate Bridge represents the bridge between countries around the world.
"Our vision brings 10,000 athletes, 15,000 members of the press, three million spectators and a TV audience of 1.5 billion people to the Bay Area," she said.
While the Bay Area already has 80 percent of the facilities necessary to host the Games, according to Cribbs, area residents and, indeed the USOC, wonder what such an event would do to the already massive traffic problem. Cribbs and other BASOC members, including mayors, elected officials and volunteers are addressing the problem.
"There is no parking at the venues, so it forces people to use public transportation," she said. "All of the sites are within half a mile of a stop. "
The issue has brought leaders of the Bay Area communities together not only for the Games, but to solve a problem that continues to worsen.
"Getting all the mayors together as a catalyst is like getting your house together to host the world," Winnicker said. "There is nothing else like it to leverage all that enthusiasm."
The next step in the Bay Area's Olympic bid is a visit by the USOC on July 14-15. Following the visit, the USOC will reduce the number of candidate cities to two. In November of 2002, the United States Candidate City for the 2012 Olympics will be selected.
"All things being equal, we should win," Cribbs said with confidence. "Where would you want to win a marathon?"
And for Henderson, Napa's mayor, and the rest of the Napa Valley, there is no better place than Domaine Chandon to hold Olympic mountain biking.
"I bet our hotels will fill faster than any of the other Bay Area hotels," Henderson said with Olympic-sized confidence.
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Shannah Fields can be reached at 256-2222 or sfields@napanews.com
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