By JACQUELINE LEE
The UNITY News

The eyes of the world will soon be trained on Beijing for the Olympics, but Chicago residents are competing for a different prize: the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

City officials aim to bring the games here and say they believe that being green will bring some green to Chicago. So, they say, they would make use of what they have rather than spend money on new buildings that might end up as “white elephants.”

The vision for a Chicago Summer Olympics also includes a plan that would reflect the way residents live – by bringing the action to the city’s core.

“We have put the games in the heart of the city because this is how Chicago celebrates on a daily basis,” said Patrick Sandusky, vice president of communications for Chicago 2016, the privately funded nonprofit group bidding on the city’s behalf. “This reflects the Chicago that happens every day.”

The city plans to stand out by being the most “centrally located, compact Olympic Games” in the history of the Olympics, said Peter Scales, a city planner for Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development.

Scales and other city officials are working alongside Chicago 2016.

The bidding committee estimates the city would make about $2.5 billion in sponsorships and merchandise sales. Ticket sales alone would generate about $705 million.

Venue construction – the main expense of hosting the Olympics – is expected to cost about $2 billion, which includes the $1.1 billion Olympic Village to house athletes.

The city’s decision to build less is in response to the International Olympic Committee’s concerns and the greening trend in American cities.

“Green building is a trend not only in building, but the IOC is taking special note of bold development practices,” Scales said. “The greenest thing you can do is use a facility that exists. To build a new ‘green’ house is great, but if you can reuse a house and retrofit it, it’s even more of a positive impact on the environment.”

The city proposes 27 venues, stretching across the city from Navy Pier to the city’s South side, Scales said.

Of these buildings, 22 would be either existing facilities or temporary structures.

“Chicago already has a series of world-class sports facilities,” Sandusky said. “We looked at temporary venues because we don’t want to leave any white elephants behind for the city of Chicago.”

The bid is due Feb. 12. but construction would not begin until Oct. 2, 2009, after it is known if Chicago is chosen as the host city, Scales said.

The city would build the five venues in areas that need an economic boost.

“The Olympics is not a cure-all or anything, but it’s a way to jumpstart development in certain neighborhoods,” Scales said. “It may be cheaper to utilize facilities that are in existence, and it will minimize disruption to the existing community.”

For example, the Olympic Village – which would be built in the city’s near South side – would be converted to residential housing after the games.

“The Olympics Village would be a long-term benefit to that community,” Sandusky said. “It’s a part of the city that has needed an injection of energy for years.”

topic: Chicagoland
tags: Olympics

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 pm and is filed under Chicagoland, Print. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.