Rogge Says the Games Will Go On

Hours after bombs exploded in Afghanistan as part of the U.S. response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said Sunday that the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics will go on as scheduled next February.

Expressing confidence in the Games’ security plan, and asserting that “everything humanly possible will be done” to ensure safety, Rogge declared that the Olympics--which run from Feb. 8-24--will go forward. “We are committed to having the Games,” he said.

Security is always “the No. 1 priority,” Rogge said, and “there will be lots of security” at and around the Games, he said. Fans will walk through airport-style metal detectors and there will be “restrictions” on backpacks, purses and coolers.

However, he said, for the most part security will be “quite discrete,” and authorities are adamant that the Games not resemble a military camp. “You don’t want to make it as stringent as one soldier with a rifle behind every athlete,” Rogge said.

Rogge’s comments came in a wide-ranging interview with The Times conducted as the first stop of a whirlwind U.S. tour this week, mostly to meet with Olympic sponsors and broadcasters--four days, eight cities, 16 CEOs. Rogge, a Belgian elected IOC president in July, succeeding Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain, said, “I think it’s normal that I present myself ... listen to their proposals and advice.”

U.S. television rights to the Games after 2008 will be up for negotiation after the Salt Lake Olympics, and Rogge said the IOC intends to hold an auction among the major U.S. networks. NBC holds the rights to the Games through 2008. After that, Rogge said, bidding will be “open to all interested parties,” adding, “and the parties are interested.”

He also said the IOC is “concerned but not anxious” about delay-plagued preparations for the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. While there “have been delays” in the construction of some venues there and those delays may affect the ability to hold test events in the months leading up to the Athens Olympics, he said, “All I describe is not dramatic. I think definitely by Games time everything will come into the fold.”

A recent trip to Beijing, site of the 2008 Summer Olympics, left him “much impressed,” Rogge said. He predicted there will be “no shortage” of money, manpower and expertise leading up to those Games.

The Salt Lake Games will be the last Olympics in the United States for at least 10 years. Eight U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, are already vying for the 2012 Summer Games, as are a host of cities worldwide, and Rogge said Sunday he believes the U.S. has a “very realistic” chance of winning the 2012 derby.

He has said often that he is interested in taking the Games around the world--perhaps to South America and Africa, where they have not been staged. He said Sunday, “The IOC, in my opinion, always goes for quality first. When quality is equal, the IOC goes for geographical rotation.”

Last month, during a meeting of the IOC’s policy-making Executive Board, held just days after the Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the board authorized Rogge to make urgent decisions on the Salt Lake Olympics--including the ability to cancel the Games.

He said then that he didn’t believe that would be necessary. Asked Sunday if the fluidity of world events and the possibility of more military action might prompt a postponement--like the Ryder Cup golf tournament, which has been postponed for a year--Rogge said no.

First, he said, “We don’t think that would be needed.” He went on to say: “Secondarily, it would be a logistical nightmare to postpone the Games, I tell you.”

The security plan for the Salt Lake Games, budgeted at more than $200 million, needs no extensive revision, Rogge said. After the attacks, the U.S. Secret Service recommended a series of supplemental counter-terrorism measures that would add 15% to 20% to that budget. Salt Lake Olympic Committee President Mitt Romney said last week after meeting with key congressional officials he is optimistic the funds will be forthcoming.