Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
EDDIE PELLS
Associated Press
DENVER - The U.S. Olympic Committee is expected to announce plans Tuesday to move forward in the process to have Chicago or Los Angeles bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
Tuesday's announcement will mark the next major step for the two remaining U.S. candidates. In November, San Francisco withdrew because of concerns about a stadium.
Chicago and Los Angeles each have preliminary plans in place and have offered the USOC some assurances about financing and logistics.
USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel declined to say what the USOC has decided. Given the work the cities have done since the process began early last year, it would be a surprise if the USOC did not proceed.
Since July, the USOC has been working with the bid groups to revise their plans. The committee made an early decision not to commit to a bid until late 2006 or early 2007.
The USOC has gotten more involved in the bid process in the wake of New York's failed bid for the 2012 Olympics. Lack of coordination between the city and the committee was widely viewed as a reason for the bid's failure, and USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth is determined not to have that happen again.
If the USOC proceeds, as expected, the candidates will have until early spring to give a detailed presentation of their plan. The USOC would choose its candidate in April, and the International Olympic Committee will choose the host in 2009.
Madrid, New Delhi, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Tokyo are among the international cities that also have expressed interest in the 2016 Games.