2012 Olympics Bid: Big Apple's Bid Could End in Tears
Michael Bloomberg has threatened to withdraw New York from the 2012 race if he can't build a stadium on Manhattan's far West Side.
A controversial advertisement is being aired on television here. It begins with a quote by the mayor Michael Bloomberg claiming New York needs to save at least $900m (£485m) on its public services. Then it asks why, therefore, he is backing a plan to commit $600m of public money towards a stadium to help stage the 2012 Olympics.
For visitors from Britain, well versed in the sagas surrounding Wembley and Picketts Lock, it brings a wry smile of recognition. But the negative perception it leaves of New York's Olympic bid could be fatal in a contest where the Big Apple is already perceived as off the pace in a race in which Paris and London are forging ahead.
A local row is the last thing a city already considered a big outsider needs only five days before it is due to deliver its 600-page bid document to the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne.
The plan calls for a $1.4bn stadium to be built above a rail yard behind Penn Station on Manhattan's far West Side. The proposed stadium would house the New York Jets and be the anchor for the city's 2012 bid. The NFL club would spend $800m and the city and state would add $300m each.
"From the very beginning, NYC2012 has been a gold-plated bid in a gold-plated process," said Brian Hatch, who runs NewYorkGames.org, which opposes the bid. "It's completely contrary to the International Olympic Committee's desire to see a less costly approach to getting the games; 2012 is going to be a record-breaking year."
NYC2012 officials have said, and Bloomberg has supported them, that the stadium is the centrepiece of the Olympic bid, dismissing speculation that it could be built in Queens instead.
Though the state's chief economic development agency approved a plan last Thursday to construct the stadium, a series of legal and financial challenges still must be faced.
Bloomberg has repeatedly said that the city must have a firm plan in place by next month if New York is to have any chance of winning. He has even promised to begin building the stadium by July 6 - the date the IOC meets in Singapore to decide which city will be awarded the games.
Bloomberg has said he will withdraw New York from the race if permission is not given for the stadium in the next few weeks, although most believe this is a hollow threat.
"I have to be able to look the IOC in the eye and say this stadium is going to be built," he said.
The project is going through final environmental reviews, and public hearings will also be held. The city council must also sanction the plan.
Opponents to the plan, including the New York Association for Better Choices - a coalition of elected officials, community leaders, residents and businesses - have objections beyond the cost. They claim the stadium would create unnecessary traffic and parking problems and that the land could be better used for other needs.
But Bloomberg has claimed that it is ridiculous that a city the size of New York does not have a multipurpose arena capable of holding more than 30,000 spectators. "When people stop and think about what it means for New York City to have that stadium, they'll come around," he said.
New York's bid has deliberately kept a much lower profile than London's or Paris's, despite the fact that the city is trying to raise $35m from private donors - a price, second only to the $48m London bid, that does not include the planning undertaken by city and state agencies on the controversial stadium project.
There was little sign that New York was bidding for the Olympics during the build-up last week to the city's annual marathon, a race which attracted 37,000 entries from more than 100 countries.
Officials are planning to project a higher profile when international lobbying is allowed after the bid documents are received. The hope must be that by the time they go international the stadium row will have been resolved.
The Big Apple Olympics
Five plus points
Games could help heal the scars of 9/11
A chance to showcase the world's best city
American television would be in favour
Diversity of population
Would appeal to sponsors
Five minus points
Doubts over stadium
The increased security risk
American jingoism
Memory of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the worst in modern history
The city's infamous traffic problems
For visitors from Britain, well versed in the sagas surrounding Wembley and Picketts Lock, it brings a wry smile of recognition. But the negative perception it leaves of New York's Olympic bid could be fatal in a contest where the Big Apple is already perceived as off the pace in a race in which Paris and London are forging ahead.
A local row is the last thing a city already considered a big outsider needs only five days before it is due to deliver its 600-page bid document to the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne.
The plan calls for a $1.4bn stadium to be built above a rail yard behind Penn Station on Manhattan's far West Side. The proposed stadium would house the New York Jets and be the anchor for the city's 2012 bid. The NFL club would spend $800m and the city and state would add $300m each.
"From the very beginning, NYC2012 has been a gold-plated bid in a gold-plated process," said Brian Hatch, who runs NewYorkGames.org, which opposes the bid. "It's completely contrary to the International Olympic Committee's desire to see a less costly approach to getting the games; 2012 is going to be a record-breaking year."
NYC2012 officials have said, and Bloomberg has supported them, that the stadium is the centrepiece of the Olympic bid, dismissing speculation that it could be built in Queens instead.
Though the state's chief economic development agency approved a plan last Thursday to construct the stadium, a series of legal and financial challenges still must be faced.
Bloomberg has repeatedly said that the city must have a firm plan in place by next month if New York is to have any chance of winning. He has even promised to begin building the stadium by July 6 - the date the IOC meets in Singapore to decide which city will be awarded the games.
Bloomberg has said he will withdraw New York from the race if permission is not given for the stadium in the next few weeks, although most believe this is a hollow threat.
"I have to be able to look the IOC in the eye and say this stadium is going to be built," he said.
The project is going through final environmental reviews, and public hearings will also be held. The city council must also sanction the plan.
Opponents to the plan, including the New York Association for Better Choices - a coalition of elected officials, community leaders, residents and businesses - have objections beyond the cost. They claim the stadium would create unnecessary traffic and parking problems and that the land could be better used for other needs.
But Bloomberg has claimed that it is ridiculous that a city the size of New York does not have a multipurpose arena capable of holding more than 30,000 spectators. "When people stop and think about what it means for New York City to have that stadium, they'll come around," he said.
New York's bid has deliberately kept a much lower profile than London's or Paris's, despite the fact that the city is trying to raise $35m from private donors - a price, second only to the $48m London bid, that does not include the planning undertaken by city and state agencies on the controversial stadium project.
There was little sign that New York was bidding for the Olympics during the build-up last week to the city's annual marathon, a race which attracted 37,000 entries from more than 100 countries.
Officials are planning to project a higher profile when international lobbying is allowed after the bid documents are received. The hope must be that by the time they go international the stadium row will have been resolved.
The Big Apple Olympics
Five plus points
Games could help heal the scars of 9/11
A chance to showcase the world's best city
American television would be in favour
Diversity of population
Would appeal to sponsors
Five minus points
Doubts over stadium
The increased security risk
American jingoism
Memory of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the worst in modern history
The city's infamous traffic problems
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