Chicago 2016 chair Patrick Ryan spoke at a briefing in Chicago where the most detailed plans to-date were released for the stadium and the Olympic Village.The stadium to be built on the south side of Chicago in Washington Park would be the first temporary stadium used for the Olympics. After the Games, the 80,000-seat arena would be dismantled, the park land restored. The athletics track and a small amphitheater would remain. Ryan says one major builder asked to estimate the cost of construction has promised to build the stadium for $366 million, a figure that includes the demolition and restoration of the park. The plans are contained in the bid book submitted last week to the U.S. Olympic Committee, which is considering Chicago and Los Angeles for the 2016 nomination. A decision is expected on April 14. When pressed as to whether the political approvals needed for the stadium could be guaranteed to avoid the debacle that struck down the New York City 2012 bid, Ryan said: "We are leaving nothing to the imagination."In the hour-long briefing, Ryan and Doug Arnot, director of planning for the bid, called the temporary stadium an "innovative and responsible solution" that will not become a white elephant following the Games."We are closing the loop on risk," says Ryan.Initial plans for the Olympic Village also were presented to the media. The $1.1 billion complex of low- and mid-rise buildings would cover a 37-acre site, just south of the McCormick Center along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The biggest legacy project from the Chicago proposal -- the village -- would become private housing following the Games. Ryan says he has received indications of interest from six developers who would like to handle the project. Ryan says interest is so high that the project may move ahead even if Chicago fails to win the U.S. nomination. The Chicago bid would be clustered around the center of the city, with a number of venues on the lakefront. Ryan says 90 pecent of the athletes in the village would be within 15 minutes of their venues. Ryan, a successful insurance executive, says he is confident that with national sponsorships and robust ticket sales, a Chicago Olympics could produce a surplus of "hundreds of millions of dollars", even with a construction budget that includes the stadium and some small projects. He would not reveal the construction budget or other financial details of the bid.The Chicago plans will receive more scrutiny by a panel of experts from the USOC in the coming weeks. That will be followed by a visit to the city from March 5 to 7 by an evaluation commission that has yet to be named. Your best source of news about the race for the 2016 Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only.(Copyright 1992 2007, all rights reserved. The information in this report may not be published, excerpted, or otherwise distributed in print or broadcast without the express prior consent of Around the Rings.)
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