Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: Adele is big winner, Houston honored at Grammys

Paris solid frontrunner to get 2012 Olympics

City gets higher praise than NYC, London in IOC report; vote July 6

French 2012 bid activitiesAFP - Getty Images
French athletes run on a track installed temporarily on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday to promote Paris's 2012 Olympic bid effort.

LONDON - Paris remains the city to beat in the race for the 2012 Olympics, while New York’s chances took a hit when a powerful state board rejected funding for a proposed stadium.

With a month to go before the vote, the French capital solidified its front-runner status Monday, receiving a glowing review in an International Olympic Committee report evaluating the five cities bidding to host those games.

London and Madrid also earned high praise in the 123-page report.

But reviews for New York were mixed, with the IOC citing a number of concerns, including uncertainty over a proposed Olympic stadium. The city’s bid suffered a setback when a powerful state board rejected critical public funding for a $2 billion stadium.

Moscow, already a longshot, took criticism for its lack of detailed plans.

The report didn’t rank the cities — the most competitive and glamorous field in Olympic bid history — but will serve as a guide for the 117 eligible voting IOC members when they cast secret ballots in Singapore on July 6.

Paris has been considered the favorite since the start of the campaign nearly two years ago, and Monday’s report only reinforced that status.

The report’s summary praised the “very high quality” of the Paris and London bid files. Madrid and New York were cited for “high quality” presentations.

Slide show: The Week in Sports Pictures
QUALLS GIPSON
  Oct. 3 - 9
Images from the baseball playoffs, NFL, college football, and more.
New York won positive words for its legacy plans, promotion of Olympic sports in America and strong potential for local sponsorship and licensing revenues. But the IOC noted that “no guarantees were provided” for the planned $2 billion West Side stadium, as well as an international broadcasting center.

“The IOC report has made crystal clear that we’re in a great position to win ... so long as the stadium is approved,” New York bid leader Dan Doctoroff said.

The stadium, which is crucial to the bid’s success, was put into further doubt when the state Public Authorities Control Board failed Monday to get the unanimous vote required to secure $300 million in state money.

The state board could reconsider the issue again later. But without the support of member Sheldon Silver — the state assembly speaker who came out against the plan less than an hour before vote was taken — the state funding cannot move forward.

“This plan is at best, premature,” Silver said, indicating he was willing to continue talking about the issue.


advertisement
Slide show
  Big Apple’s Olympic bid
Organizers of New York City’s bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics have already planned where they’d put venues. See illustrations of what they have in mind.