New York gets chance to modify Olympic bid
Vote on site for 2012 Games comes next month
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LONDON - With New York’s Olympic stadium rejected, the IOC says the city’s bid officials are free to submit an alternative plan before the vote next month that will decide the site of the 2012 games.
New York has been considering its options following Monday’s rejection of the proposed $2 billion stadium on Manhattan’s West Side, the centerpiece of its Olympic bid.
NY2012 bid officials sought clarification from the International Olympic Committee, and received a response Thursday. Citing an “exceptional circumstance,” the IOC said New York can modify the plan — but must go to the IOC executive board for approval before the vote in Singapore on July 6.
New York is competing against Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow in the highest-profile Olympic bid race in history.
The IOC said the bid file closed on Feb. 24 when the IOC evaluation commission completed its visit to New York. The city couldn’t provide guarantees for the stadium at the time, and the IOC said New York had until the Singapore session to do so.
“As we now understand the situation, New York is not able to provide such guarantees,” IOC communications director Giselle Davies said in a letter to bid leader Dan Doctoroff.
“In such an exceptional circumstance as this, a bid city has the right to address the issue in front of the executive board.”
The board, chaired by IOC president Jacques Rogge, next meets in Singapore July 3-5 before the vote by the full IOC assembly. However, the board members can also make decisions by teleconference.
The executive board has the power to remove a bid city from the race if it determines the candidate doesn’t meet the technical requirements.
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“New York sought a clarification of how things are, and we tried to help them with that,” Davies said in a phone interview. ‘This should not be seen as a response to a formal approach. It was simply a clarification.”
The stadium, which would be the venue for track and field events and the opening and closing ceremonies, is crucial to New York’s chances. The state’s Public Authorities Control Board rejected a proposal Monday to spend $300 million in critical state money for the stadium, severely damaging the city’s Olympic bid.
With time running out, New York is expected to decide within the next few days what to do next.
“We’re exploring every option,” Doctoroff said Thursday, declining further comment.
NY2012 executive director Jay Kriegel also gave little away.
“We’re just continuing to make every effort to work this out to continue the bid in a strong way that can be successful in Singapore,” he said. “We’re analyzing all the factors right now. We’re trying to move as fast as possible.”
It’s unclear what those options might be.
A last-minute deal salvaging the West Side site hasn’t been ruled out, and using another stadium in the New York area is another possibility. The legal and financial issues also involve the New York Jets, the planned future tenants of the Olympic stadium.
But if New York can’t come up with a viable stadium plan to present in Singapore, the city could also pull out of the race.
NY2012 leaders have been consulting with the U.S. Olympic Committee, which fears that a withdrawal could harm the chances of future American bids.
“We’re in the process of fact-finding and gathering additional information,” USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said earlier this week. “We look forward to having an opportunity to speak with our colleagues at NYC2012 and learn more about their plans moving forward.”
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