Chicago 2016 bid group tests international waters

Work the hotel lobby. Meet and greet. And, especially, listen and learn.

That was the essence of Chicago’s first foray into international Olympic circles since being picked as the U.S. candidate for the 2016 Summer Games.

“It’s been very constructive to be here,” Patrick Ryan, chairman of the Chicago committee, said Thursday. “We made some new relationships and learned a lot about the whole process.”

Ryan led an eight-person Chicago delegation at the SportAccord conference in Beijing, one of the largest gatherings of sports industry leaders in the world. More than 1,000 delegates were on hand at the Shangri-La Hotel, including senior International Olympic Committee members, sports federation leaders, television executives and corporate sponsor CEOs.

The trip came less than two weeks after Chicago was picked -- over Los Angeles -- by the U.S. Olympic Committee as America’s 2016 candidate. It’s the start of a long process that will culminate with the IOC selection of the host city in 2009.

The Chicago team also included executive director Mike Conley, a former Olympic triple jump champion, and operations chief Doug Arnot. In addition, the USOC sent a top-level delegation that included Chairman Peter Ueberroth and international affairs experts Bob Ctvrtlik and Robert Fasulo.

“People are very aware that Chicago will be presented as an applicant city,” Ryan said. “It was quite well-known among the general population. But, clearly, people have to get to know the Chicago team and learn a lot more about Chicago. Being here clearly demonstrates our desire to bring amateur sport to Chicago.”

The Chicago bid follows New York’s humbling fourth-place finish in the voting for the 2012 Summer Games, which were awarded to London. This time, a U.S. candidate shapes up as a strong contender -- if not favorite -- in a field that should include Madrid; Rio de Janeiro; Rome; Tokyo; and Prague, Czech Republic.

“People don’t have in-depth knowledge of our bid, but they are aware of the tough bid competition we went through in the U.S.,” Ryan said.

U.S. IOC member Anita DeFrantz said some delegates asked her why the USOC didn’t pick Los Angeles or why New York didn’t run again, but that Chicago’s candidacy had received mostly positive reactions so far.

“I think there’s an interest, there’s an openness,” she said. “It’s different. It’s new.”

One of the focal points of the Beijing conference was the race for the 2014 Winter Games. The three finalists -- Sochi, Russia; Pyeongchang, South Korea; and Salzburg, Austria -- lobbied furiously at the last major meeting before the IOC vote in Guatemala City on July 4.

“We realized we should keep a low profile and not intrude on the 2014 bidding,” Ryan said, relaxing in his hotel room during a break between meetings.

Ryan paid particular attention to Wednesday’s public presentations by the 2014 bid cities. Each had 15 minutes to pitch its case to a packed assembly with speeches and videos, a sort of dress rehearsal for the final presentations to the full IOC session in Guatemala.

“It was interesting to see the important emphasis on government participants and the varied approaches to legacy,” Ryan said. “It was interesting to see the range of people on the podium.

“We also saw the importance of technology,” he added, referring to the technical glitches that delayed some of the presentations.

Ryan doesn’t expect to be at the Guatemala meeting. The IOC restricts appearances and activities by bid hopefuls until the deadline for submission of formal applications on Sept. 15.

By the time of the 2016 Olympics, 20 years will have passed since the last Summer Games in the United States (Atlanta 1996). Geography also favors North America after Summer Games in Australia (Sydney 2000), Europe (Athens 2004), Asia (Beijing 2008) and Europe (London 2012).

Luciano Barra, a longtime international sports administrator from Italy who has been involved in numerous bids and helped run the 2006 Turin Winter Games, views Chicago as the early favorite.

“It’s the first time we see a candidature from the U.S. which is presented in a way that is not just a private business,” he said. “This is the first time we see something close to what is expected.”

But political issues invariably come into play, too. The Bush administration’s unpopularity abroad did not help New York’s cause for 2012.

“The international status of the U.S. government and its policies will always be a factor,” Ryan said. “We’ll have a change of administration. Even if people are critical of the U.S. government administration and its policies, I believe Americans are respected and well-liked as a people. I don’t get any anti-Americanism.”

Chicago has a key ally in Ueberroth, who organized the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

“I’ve watched Chicago in these very early steps and they’re doing it just right,” he said. “They’re meeting with people and trying to learn -- win or lose -- how they can submit a bid that is responsive to the international movement.

“The whole process works very well for a city if they do it right. In this case, they’re humble, they’re walking the halls, they’re meeting a lot of people. I think the leadership has understood.”