Romney Gives Pointers on Olympic Bid

Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts - who had been president and CEO of the organizing committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah - recently gave New York construction leaders a few tips on how to win the favor of the International Olympic Committee as the city angles for the 2012 summer games. The IOC plans to announce the winner among the five major candidates - London, Paris, Moscow, Madrid, and New York - in July in Singapore.

At a forum hosted last Friday by the New York Building Congress and New York Construction, Romney told the audience "there's got to be some sizzle" in the bid that tells the IOC New York will be a "fun" venue for the 17-day event. "It's really key to the IOC for the athletes to have a great experience," he added.

Romney warned that the IOC is wary of bids from the United States because of previous promises to construct facilities that later faced delays, legal challenges, and other problems. He cited many such problems in the construction of Atlanta's Olympic stadium for the 1996 summer games, including a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice over compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and conflicts with citizen opponents.

By contrast, he said, Salt Lake City had raised significant funding prior to winning its bid, and had already built key facilities, such as a speed skating oval and ski jump. "If you build it, they're more likely to come," Romney said.

Using similar arguments, N.Y.C. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been pushing to break ground on a proposed 75,000-seat stadium on Manhattan's West Side that would anchor the Olympic bid and also be home to the New York Jets football team. Romney backed that strategy. "I'd get the stadium built," he said. "Let people know New York is serious. They're going to want to see that the commitments are in place. If the major issues are put to bed before July, New York has the edge."

Romney added that if New York failed to win the bid this time around, it would be the leading candidate for the 2016 games. And asked what else Salt Lake City had done to win that New York should try, Romney quipped that some Utah boosters had "tried bribery. I wouldn't do that."

Daniel Doctoroff, who is N.Y.C. deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding, and who is founder of NYC2012, the local organizing committee, also spoke briefly at the event.