Daley: U.S. Cities Should Give Up on Olympics
Mayor Daley doesn't think the Olympics are a good bet anymore.
It didn’t take very long for Mayor Daley to start tossing sour Olympic grapes.
Just three weeks after Chicago’s Olympic bid failed in miserable fashion, the man who led the charge for the 2016 Games says it may be foolish for any U.S. city to pursue the event.
Daley told Crains’ editorial board that American cities have a built-in financing disadvantage because they must compete against the national governments of other countries. Rio had the backing of Brazil’s central bank, for instance.
“You don't want to be a poor loser,” Daley said. “(But) what you have to do is evaluate whether the U.S. (cities) can bid against Japan and Spain and Russia. How do you bid against $150 million [in preparation funds]?"
Chicago spent about $70 million on its bid preparation and all of it was raised by private funds. Daley, and others, said that pursuing the Summer Games might be fool’s gold for American cities.
"You have to rethink whether the U.S. should ever bid," Daley said.
Read the whole story at Crains'.
Posted Saturday, Oct 24, 2009 - 8:35 AM CST
