By Dustin Brown
New York City’s bid to host the 2012 Olympics was submitted to the United States Olympic Committee earlier this month, confirming plans to place the Olympic Village on the Queens West site, while detailing major renovations proposed for the Astoria Pool and Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
The 600-page, three-volume bid book provides the most detailed account released thus far of the city’s Olympic proposal, which has been revealed in pieces over the past two years as organizers presented their evolving plans for public comment.
The bid was composed by NYC 2012, a non-profit organization formally designated by Mayor Giuliani in late 1998 to pursue New York City’s bid to host the Games.
Dubbing New York “the world’s second home,” the bid pitches the city as a microcosm of the globe where athletes from all countries would feel equally welcome. Of the 199 nations represented by the Olympics, it says, 186 have students presently attending the New York City public schools.
The submission of the bid book starts New York down the long road toward selection as the host city for the 2012 Games, a pronouncement the International Olympic Committee will not make until September 2005. Before then the United States Olympic Committee must narrow down the field and select the U.S. candidate city by October 2002, before officially nominating it to the IOC in March 2003.
New York is competing against Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tampa, Cincinnati and Washington, D.C. to be the United States’ Olympics contender. Officials from the USOC are scheduled to visit the city from July 31 to Aug. 2 to evaluate the Olympic bid.
The bid revealed that NYC 2012 expects the Legislature to establish a $250 million Olympic Trust Fund with tax revenue, which would serve as an emergency fund in the event the financing fell short.
The sale of nearly 10 million tickets at an average price of $72 would bring in more than $750 million, while worldwide television rights would be sold for $764 million. Total revenue is estimated at $2.35 billion in 2000 dollars, which is also the estimate for total expenditures, 35 percent of which would be spent on capital improvements.
The proposal places all Olympic activities along an X formed by two major transit routes: high-speed ferries traveling along the East and Harlem Rivers, and rail lines cutting east to west across northern Jersey, Manhattan and Queens.
The Olympic Village would sit in the center of the Olympic X, giving athletes easy access to each of the venues by traveling along the rail and water axes. NYC 2012 has proposed placing the village along the southern parcel of Queens West, a public-private development project on the Hunter’s Point waterfront, and building additional apartment buildings on adjacent property along Newtown Creek.
Although representatives of Queens West had previously told the TimesLedger they planned to have their buildings occupied by 2012 — and thus unavailable for use as the Olympic Village — a letter included in the bid book from the chief executive officer of the state agency leading the project indicates the buildings may be available after all.
In 2005 “the proposed use would be reviewed for continued compatibility with the Queens West plan,” wrote Kevin Corbett, CEO of the Empire Development Corporation, in a letter dated merely one week before the bid was due.
Construction costs for the Olympic Village were estimated at $1.45 billion.
In addition to the Olympic Village, Queens would house four major athletic venues for the Games, the construction and renovation of which would cost a total of $300 million.
The most ambitious project is slated for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, where new waterways would accommodate canoeing and rowing events. A Regatta Center would be built for $164 million by combining Meadow Lake and Willow Lake — both of which were created for the 1939 World’s Fair — while a $23 million Whitewater Center would be built by reconfiguring the Fountain of the Planets and reflecting pool built for the 1964 World’s Fair.
Swimming and diving events would be held at Astoria Pool, a 65-year-old facility located along Shore Boulevard in Astoria. Currently four times the size of an Olympic pool, the space would be reconstructed to hold three distinct pools and 15,000 seats. Construction would take three years and cost $45 million.
Badminton and track cycling would be held at the Queensbridge Athletic Center, a $63 million facility slated for construction next to the Terra Cotta building on Vernon Boulevard, directly south of the Queensboro Bridge. The property is owned by Silvercup Studios, a television and film production studio which is currently battling the New York Power Authority to eventually remove two generators installed next to the Terra Cotta site.
The National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the venue for the U.S. Open, would host all men’s and women’s tennis events and receive a modest $3 million for minor renovations.
Although the bid boasts widespread support from across the city and state, NYC 2012 faces criticism from Borough President Claire Shulman, who has repeatedly voiced skepticism about the combined lakes at Flushing Meadows and the use of Queens West as the Olympic Village.
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154
