US Olympic Committee team says DC 2012 bid strong
( 2001-06-14 10:11 ) (7 )

A US Olympic Committee panel on Wednesday said the Washington D.C. area made a strong showing this week in its bid to become the US candidate to host the 2012 Olympic games.

But it remained to be seen whether the US capital and neighboring Baltimore, who submitted a joint bid, could bring home the gold for their region as a site evaluation team headed on to Dallas, the second of eight cities bidding this year.

"You raised the bar. That's important because this is our first city and every other city will be judged against what we saw, what you did and how you managed yourselves," team leader Charles Moore told a news briefing wrapping up the visit.

His panel will choose several finalists from the group, which includes Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Tampa, by the end of the year. One will go on to vie with other world cities to host the 2012 Olympics.

In the past few years both Washington and Baltimore have started to enjoy urban renaissances and to polish images tarnished by reputations for drug addiction epidemics, high crime rates and shoddy municipal services.

New, business-like mayors in each city have helped reverse middle-class flight and bring a new buzz to the streets.

Washington's real estate market is sizzling as it promotes itself as a budding new high-tech center, while Baltimore is still basking in the 2000-2001 Superbowl victory of its Ravens football team in the city's first superbowl game in 30 years.

The past was little mentioned on Wednesday as both city leaders kept their eyes on the prize. Sponsors estimate it will cost $2.5 billion to host and will generate about $2.7 billion in revenues.

"We can put on the best games that this country ever held," Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley told the conference, as Washington's Anthony Williams noted his city's role as permanent host to international delegations and visitors.

Moore said his panel would weigh many factors in evaluating each city, including government and public support for the bid, general and sports infrastructure, sports event experience, international appeal, security, and transportation options.

He praised the cities' leadership, organization and commitment and said the approach of hosting events at several different regional "hubs" -- such as sailing in the Maryland coastal capital Annapolis and swimming at northern Virginia's George Mason University -- had potential.

"There's certainly nothing wrong with hubs," Moore said, noting with other panel members that a centralized approach such as at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney had provided its own set of issues to resolve.

Panel member Evie Dennis noted the area's efficient public transportation system, but cautioned that it remained unclear how it would handle more than one million additional users during the games.

The Washington area is also plagued by some of the country's worst traffic congestion, second only to Los Angeles, according to some studies.

"We had some solid questions, especially after Atlanta and Sydney," Dennis said, referring to widespread transit problems during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.