Chicago's loss could be Colorado's gain, as the Durango Herald reported yesterday:
Colorado's Olympic dreams might rest on Chicago's success or failure Friday, when the 2016 host city will be chosen.
When the International Olympic Committee will vote Friday in Denmark on the location of the 2016 Summer Games, Coloradans will be there, cheering on Chicago but also preparing their own bid for 2018.
Officially, American Olympic boosters are focused only on Chicago. But a spokesman for Gov. Bill Ritter confirmed Wednesday that Denver is working on a bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said he could say little about Denver's bid, because U.S. officials want the spotlight on Chicago.
"Chicago is on the international stage, and from our perspective, nothing should distract from that," Dreyer said, adding that he might be able to say more after Friday's vote...
Well folks, the 2016 Summer Games vote came in today, and despite President Obama's personal appeal on behalf of his adopted hometown...no sale. They try to spread the Olympic Games out around the world, so Chicago losing the Summer Games in 2016 could well make Denver's bid for the 2018 Winter Games more competitive.
Of course, some say that the International Olympic Committee will never look at Colorado again after what Gov. Dick Lamm did to them in 1972--it's our hope that time might heal that particular wound, we're a very different state now. What do you think? A poll follows.
UPDATE: No sooner than we clicked "save" on this post, we got a press release from Gov. Bill Ritter and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper--full text after the jump, says Hizzoner, "We plan to work closely with the U.S. Olympic Committee, Gov. Bill Ritter and our community to explore what opportunities might exist to once again showcase our world-class city on an international stage."
UPDATE #2: The timing may not be good for a 2018 bid? Updates the AP:
The Colorado Springs-based U.S. Olympic Committee will not make a bid for the 2018 Winter Games, a spokesperson said Friday, shortly after Chicago failed to nab the 2016 Summer Olympics.
This indicates Denver will have to wait for its chance to host an Olympics.
The USOC said it will not submit a bid for the 2018 games because the deadline is just two weeks away, allowing too little time to prepare a viable entry.
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said Friday he's disappointed the 2016 Summer Games won't be in Chicago but said the state is still "extremely" interested in hosting a future Olympics.
So 2022, okay by us. As one commenter put it, "hopefully FasTracks will be done by then." |
