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City would have strong chance if Vancouver loses 2010, insiders say
Jim Byers, SPORTS REPORTER
Toronto Star
July 13, 2002—Toronto could be back on the Olympic bid merry-go-round in less than a year. And this time the city would have an excellent chance of winning the 2012 Summer Olympics if they bid, says former International Olympic Committee vice-president Dick Pound.
Pound said San Francisco, which could be the American selection for the U.S. 2012 bid, would be tough to beat, but Toronto would have a trump card. "You'd get all the advantages of America without the disadvantages of being in the U.S.A.," he said.
If Vancouver wins the 2010 Winter Olympics next year, Toronto won't get back into the game for years to come. But if the 2010 Games are in Europe — Salzburg, Austria, appears the strongest competition for Vancouver — it would clearly be North America's turn for 2012.
With the 2004 Games in Athens and 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, it would be hard even for the Euro-centric IOC to approve both that 2010 and 2012 Games in Europe, leaving North America with nothing until at least 2014.
"That would be very unusual, both in terms of continental drift and economics," Pound said.
Pound, a Montreal lawyer who said all along Beijing had a big advantage in the 2008 race, said Toronto had perhaps the best technical bid, but China won because the Games had never been there.
Others also thought highly of Toronto.
"Toronto was a good candidate and the figures showed that," IOC president Jacques Rogge said in an exclusive interview with The Star. "Potentially, they'd be very strong again."
The IOC votes on the issue in 2005.
Canadian Olympic Committee rules forbid Toronto officials from outwardly pursuing the Games before Vancouver's bid is resolved, but they're making an effort to stay in the minds of the IOC.
James Villeneuve, the main international lobbyist for TO-Bid 2008, continues to jet around the globe as vice-president of Labatt. Bid chief John Bitove Jr. also has made a point of keeping IOC member phone numbers.
Bitove says he's been true to his word to Vancouver officials that he won't be out there pumping hands. But having been the head guy in the 2008 bid and being a player in the city's failed 1996 bid, he's well known in international sporting circles. So is Villeneuve.
"In fairness to Vancouver we have to wait and see what happens to them before anyone here even talks about 2012," Bitove said this week, adding that Vancouver had a "great shot" at winning.
Vancouver is seen as even money against Salzburg for the 2010 vote, which takes place next year.
If the vote goes to Europe, Toronto will jump back into the fray. Likely it would be a fight between Canada and the U.S., a fight Toronto lost back in 1996.
A U.S. Olympic Committee evaluation group is currently in Houston checking out the Texas bid for 2012. They'll be in San Francisco tomorrow and Monday, and they've already visited New York and Washington, D.C. The USOC will vote on a city in November.
"I think that (Canada-U.S.A.) is a fight we ought to welcome," Pound said.
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