Mayor Daley’s quest to bring the Summer Olympic Games to Chicago has moved one step forward. On his visit this week to Beijing, the mayor toured the city and studied their preparations for the 2008 Olympics. The mayor also formed a committee whose task is to evaluate the economic pros and cons of hosting the event in Chicago.
Cost is the obvious stumbling block. But the mayor feels that Chicago has a stronger infrastructure than Beijing, so costs would not be nearly as high. The challenge for the major is garnering support from local business leaders, city planners, and corporations who may not be willing to embark on the project with the city. The mayor and his committee also need to have a clear plan about how newly-built facilities, athletes’ housing and a new Olympic stadium (because supposedly Soldier Field is too small) will be used when the Olympics end.
As a lifelong Chicagoan, I appreciate the mayor’s efforts to bring the Olympics to Chicago. I have always believed that Chicago was large enough and sophisticated enough to handle an event of this magnitude. We have a solid public transportation system, plenty of hotel space and many venues for the various sporting events. But Daley and his committee do have their work cut out for them and they have strong competition from four American cities – Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Los Angeles – as well as Tokyo, which has already put in its bid to host the Olympics.
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