Now that the IOC has awarded NBC the rights to four more Olympics -- 2014
through 2020 -- for the princely sum mentioned above ($4.38 Billion), there is the matter of where the 2018 Winter Games and 2020 Summer Games will be.
Next month, the IOC will pick the 2018 Winter host from candidates Munich, Germany; Pyeongchang, South Korea; and Annecy France.
Countries have until Sept. 1 -- less than three months from now -- to submit a bid city application for the 2020 Summer Games. So far, Rome is the only official applicant, with Tokyo expressing strong interest.
USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun told me Tuesday by telephone from Switzerland the first matter of business between the USOC and IOC is resolving the longstanding dispute over the shares of U.S. television rights (12.75 percent) and the IOC's global sponsorship program (20 percent) that the U.S. currently receives. There is tremendous pressure on the USOC to take a smaller cut.
But Blackmun did not rule out a 2020 bid and said he had talked informally to people in a few cities, including Chicago 2016 bid chief Patrick Ryan, about such a possibility.
The thinking is that the IOC would throw a bone to NBC and give them a US based games (since the amount of money NBC would make on that would be higher).
So will Chicago throw it's hat in the ring again? We can't imagine this happening. Would Rahm really want to put his new political capital on the line so soon after taking office? It seems like our city has bigger issues and to be embarrassed again internationally seems unlikely.
Then again, the main advocate for the games - private resident Mr. Rich Daley - has some extra time on his hands these days. Maybe this could become his new pet project?
Doubtful.
(Hat tip: SoloMotorRow!)
