USOC has a lot riding on Chicago 2016 win

By NANCY ARMOUR (AP)

COPENHAGEN — They shelved long-awaited plans for a TV network after only a month, and made nice with International Olympic Committee members who think they’re hogging the piggy bank.

They even smoothed things over with the disgruntled staffers in their own organization.

U.S. Olympic Committee leaders are on their best behavior as the host city vote for the 2016 Summer Games approaches Friday.

If Chicago wins, a lot of the USOC’s problems become more manageable. If Chicago loses, well, it’s going to be a bumpy next few months, with tricky financial issues and questions of direction likely coming to the forefront.

“What having the games in your country does, it enables you to go down a path where you can just create further opportunity for programs, for legacy building, for building international relationships, for the United States to demonstrate our commitment to the Olympic movement,” said Stephanie Streeter, the USOC’s acting CEO.

The USOC’s relationship with the Euro-centric IOC (almost half of the 106 members are European) is always a delicate thing.

The IOC needs the United States — its biggest chunk of revenue comes from NBC’s $2.2 billion broadcasting deal for 2010 and 2012 — and resents that it does. There also is lingering anger over the Salt Lake City bid scandal and, until recently, the USOC’s history of acting more like a patrician than a partner.

Add in the USOC’s propensity for dysfunction — it went through six presidents and CEOs from 2000 to 2003 — and it’s hardly a surprise the two bodies have had personality clashes recently.

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Job hunt – USOC to begin search for new CEO

By NANCY ARMOUR (AP)

CHICAGO — The U.S. Olympic Committee will begin interviewing search firms to assist in the hiring of a new chief executive officer next month, and hopes to be talking with prospective candidates by the end of the year.

Larry Probst, chairman of the USOC, said Thursday the board hopes to move “rapidly and productively.” Stephanie Streeter has been acting CEO since March, when Jim Scherr was dumped in a messy departure widely criticized in Olympic circles.

It’s been a rocky start for Streeter and Probst, who took over as chairman almost a year ago. But problems are being set aside one by one, allowing the new leaders to focus on big-picture objectives.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. Olympic Committee has a plan for the future that doesn’t include upheaval, infighting or missteps.

Internal disputes and tension with the International Olympic Committee have dogged the USOC since the Beijing Games. But the federation has temporarily tabled problems that threatened to harm Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Games, and is making progress on improving relationships with disgruntled national governing bodies.

That’s allowed them to also refocus on other big-picture objectives — things like wooing new sponsors and preparing athletes. At a news conference Thursday, chairman Larry Probst said the new leadership is preparing the USOC for its long-term future, one of the main reasons given for the unexpected decision to make Stephanie Streeter the new CEO earlier this year.

“We have been consumed with resolving some issues and focusing on some shorter-term objectives like the bid, like the Vancouver Games,” Probst said at the Vancouver Olympics media summit. “Yes, there is some work and some thought going on within the USOC about the long-term strategic vision, what do we need to look like, what do we need to be doing 10, 15 years from now.”

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USOC thinking about asking Uncle Sam for a handout

By Philip Hersh

For years, the U.S. Olympic Committee has noted, with a mix of pride and pragmatism, that its Olympic teams succeed without any direct funding from the government, making it unique in the Olympic world.

That era could be ending.

International pressure on the USOC to reduce the revenue sharing percentages it gets from global Olympic sponsorship (20%) and U.S. broadcast rights (12.75%) has led the USOC leadership to consider asking for government funding in the future.

“Potential government funding is one of the things we will examine as part of a longer term strategic plan,”  USOC Chairman Larry Probst said today. ”Please don’t interpret that to mean we will seek government funding. What I am saying is that is something that will be evaluated.”

The USOC funds its teams through the revenue-sharing money, its own domestic sponsorships and donations from the public. The USOC budget for the 2005-08 Olympic quadrennium was about $600 million, about half from the revenue-sharing money.

It has raised $4.4 million in an aggressive public donation campaign that began Memorial Day. But three major sponsors — General Motors, Bank of America and Home Depot — have decided not to renew deals that ended in 2008.

In the frequently acrimonious discussions between the USOC and the International Olympic Committee on the revenue-sharing issue, several IOC members have suggested it is time for the USOC to give up its lone wolf stance on government funding. With government money, the USOC critics say, it could take a smaller share of the other revenues, making more available to the rest of the National Olympic Committees.

Probst said there has been no pressure from the IOC to ask for government funding, and the USOC has not put out feelers in Washington to gauge reaction to such a request.

“I have heard comments from certain IOC members along the lines of, `You know, what’s the matter with you guys?’ ” Probst said. ”I think the perception might be that if there is a lot of government funding, there would be more for everyone in the Olympic movement.”

The revenue-sharing controversy was having a potentially negative effect on Chicago’s 2016 Summer Games bid until both sides agreed in March to put off discussions until the Oct. 2 vote for the 2016 host.

“I think the issue is off the table as far as the voting members are concerned,” Probst said.

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Top USOC official: Chicago may NOT be in the lead

Bob Roberts Reporting
WBBM Newsradio 780

CHICAGO (WBBM) – The chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee said Wednesday that she does not believe Chicago is in the lead in its bid for the 2016 Olympics.  But Stephanie Streeter believes it can finish first.

“What you want to do is be in the lead on the last day, after the vote is taken, not necessarily going into the competition,” she said, in an exclusive interview with WBBM.

Streeter said she believes Chicago is peaking at the right time.  She called the Chicago bid “spectacular,” said Wednesday’s unanimous Chicago City Council vote to make financial guarantees erased one potential obstacle, and said the unanimity speaks far louder than the recent Chicago Tribune poll that showed Chicagoans nearly evenly split over support for the bid.

There is one thing Streeter said she wishes she could do over again. It is  the way the USOC handled the announcement of a U.S. Olympic Television Network, not a mistake on the part of the Chicago 2016 bid committee.

“If I had it to do over again, I would think seriously about that partnership with the IOC and probably would have tried to wait in order to announce that at the proper time,” she said.

Streeter also said that while it would be a significant show of support for President Obama to go to Copenhagen for the Oct. 2 IOC vote — joining the chiefs of state from Brazil, Spain and Japan, the other finalists — it will not necessarily be fatal if he does not.

She said she expected Mr. Obama to make a decision on going “at the last minute.”  So far, the White House has announced only that senior Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, another former Chicagoan, will represent the Obama administration.

Streeter said the USOC renewed its plea earlier this week to the President to commit himself to a Copenhagen trip for the IOC vote.

She also said that she is not worried about leadership inexperience at the top of the USOC.  Streeter is new in her job, as is USOC Chairman Larry Probst, but she said many of the senior executives that have had close contact with the IOC in the past year are seasoned veterans.

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Chicago bid spurs truce in U.S. Olympic family feud

By Philip Hersh

In the interest of avoiding any negative publicity that could affect Chicago’s Olympic bid, the leaders of the U.S. Olympic sports federations — called National Governing Bodies in Olympic world parlance — have declared an informal truce in their Olympic family feud with the new USOC leadership

“Chicago 2016 is the most important objective for everyone in the (U.S. Olympic) movement, and that is the one thing that brings complete consensus at this time,” said Steve Penny, president and CEO of USA Gymnastics.

Penny also is a member of the NGB Council, meeting this week in Chicago as part of the annual U.S. Olympic Assembly.  He has been outspoken in expressing reservations over the USOC board’s decision to dump CEO Jim Scherr and replace her on an acting basis with board member Stephanie Streeter.

Other NGB leaders also have been very critical of the leadership change, which occurred in March.  Many wondered why it could not have waited until after the Oct. 2 vote for the 2016 host city, since the switch only added to a long-held worldwide impression that years of USOC leadership instability were back.

Streeter alluded to the dissatisfaction in her Wednesday keynote speech to the Olympic Assembly, saying, “Changes were made that the board believed would strengthen the organization, some of which were greeted enthusiastically, some of which were not.”

Streeter also scored points for acknowledging a major criticism of the way the USOC board has operated since it was reorganized after the 2003 leadership turmoil that led to Congressional castigation of the USOC’s management.  NGB Council chair Skip Gilbert, the executive director of USA Triathlon, had complained loudly that the federations, who are directly involved in the training of Olympic athletes, were being ignored by the new USOC management.

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USOC Meeting in Chicago

U.S. hopes to win the 2016 Olympics – as well as medals at the Vancouver Winter Games – will be on full display in Chicago this week for the major annual meeting of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley will make an appearance at the opening reception for the U.S. Olympic Assembly Tuesday night, where the main topic will no doubt be Chicago 2016′s chances to win the IOC vote on Oct. 2.

Chicago 2016 Chairman Pat Ryan and USOC Acting Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Streeter will open the Olympic Assembly with the keynote address on Wednesday.

The fifth annual assembly, which concludes Thursday, brings together the USOC and organizations associated with the U.S. Olympic Movement to foster communication, collaboration and the development of new initiatives supporting U.S. athletes.

Olympic Assembly Highlights

The annual Olympic Assembly is expected to draw hundreds of individuals connected with the Olympic Movement in the U.S.

On Wednesday, the panel discussion, “The Chicago 2016 Campaign – Long Term Impact & Legacy” will feature Robert Fasulo, USOC Chief of International Relations; Senior Advisor of International Relations for Chicago 2016 Mike Kontos; Executive Director of World Sport Chicago Scott Myers; and Chairman of World Sport Chicago Bill Scherr.

“Olympic Family: Seeing and Shaping the Future” will be led by futurist and trend forecaster Gerald Celente and will encourage guests to discuss their role in shaping the future of the Olympic Movement.

Wednesday’s lunch will include a Vancouver sport update from 2010 U.S. Olympic Chef de Mission Mike Plant. Five-time Olympic speedskating gold medalist Bonnie Blair will join Plant in a Q & A with Vancouver hopefuls Ralph Green, Paralympic alpine skiing; Catherine Raney-Norman, speedskating; Angela Ruggiero, women’s ice hockey; and skier Marco Sullivan.

The winner of the Jack Kelly Fair Play Award also will be announced.

Meetings of the NGB Council, MultiSport organizations council and Athletes’ Advisory Council will also be held.

On Thursday, the USOC Board of Directors meets following meetings of the compensation and audit committees.

Media Summit Preview

About 75 Olympic and Paralympic athletes will discuss their Vancouver aspirations during the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit Thursday through Saturday.

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Chicago 2016 Reaches Joint Marketing Agreement With USOC

Chicago 2016 has reached a joint marketing agreement with the USOC that complies with IOC standards. Terms of the agreement were not available, but the approval of it is critical to Chicago 2016′s chances of being selected to host the ’16 Olympics.

The joint marketing programme agreement, which all potential host cities must complete, determines how a host city will share domestic-marketing revenues with its national organizing committee. The USOC in ’05 failed to complete a satisfactory agreement with N.Y. until the night before the IOC’s vote to select the ’12 Olympic city. Many pointed to the late-night negotiations over the joint marketing agreement as one of the primary factors in N.Y.’s fourth-place finish among IOC voters.

Chicago 2016′s ability to structure a satisfactory joint marketing agreement guarantees U.S. organizers will not be locked in contentious negotiations ahead of the IOC selection of a ’16 host city October 2.

It also removes one of the criticisms facing Chicago 2016 in the IOC’s evaluation report, which was released today. Chicago still faces other hurdles, including the criticism that it doesn’t have a full government guarantee to cover financial shortfalls (Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Journal).

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USOC in race against time to shore up Chicago 2016

LAURA WALDEN & KEIR RADNEDGE / Sports Features Communications

TAMPA/LONDON, Aug 17: Suddenly, it appears, directors of the United States Olympic Committee have realised the awful truth . . . that they will be handed all the blame if Chicago is beaten in the 2016 Games bid race.

That would then raise serious questions about both long-term and short-term strategy within the USOC.

The long-term issue concerns the US share of Games revenues while short-term concerns will focus on the unnecessarily premature proposals to launch an Olympic television network.

Both are provocative issues among IOC members and other national Olympic committees which may consider the only way to protest will be to vote for Madrid, Rio de Janeiro or Tokyo rather than Chicago on October 2 in Copenhagen.

Advocates of the USOC’s ‘super-share’ of Olympics revenue claim this is deserved reward for bringing in the major TV revenues, from NBC, and a number of significant sponsors. Opponents say the US status as the wealthiest nation on earth means it should accept parity for the sake, if nothing else, of ‘fairplay.’

The TV network plan is confusion itself. NBC owns not only US rights to action from the Games but rights to many high profile events that are Olympic. What would be left for the USOC network because NBC would, no doubt, contest the USOC’s right to challenge it on its own high-cost territory.

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USOC delays launch of its TV network

New venture was seen as detrimental to Chicago’s Olympic bid

IOC President Jacques Rogue presents USOC Chairman Larry Probst with an invitation to the 21st Winter Olympic Games (February 2009)

BERLIN – The United States Olympic Committee has managed to defuse another dispute with the International Olympic Committee, one that threatened to blow up on Chicago’s 2016 Summer Olympic bid.

After its chairman, Larry Probst, met here Saturday morning with IOC President Jacques Rogge, the USOC announced Sunday it will hold off indefinitely on the planned 2010 launch of the U.S. Olympic Network, its television venture.

By conceding to the IOC’s demand that it delay implementation of the network until a variety of issues can be resolved, Probst has allowed the Chicago bid to stop being on the defensive as it was forced to explain the USOC’s actions to the voters who will choose the 2016 host Oct. 2.

Speaking with a handful of U.S. reporters in Berlin as the statement was being released Sunday, Probst said, “The USOC wants to do everything it can to help support the Chicago bid. If this meeting with President Rogge and the decision we have made is going to be beneficial to the bid, I think that is terrific.”

Chicago 2016 chairman Patrick Ryan applauded the action in a composed public statement while undoubtedly doing verbal cartwheels in private.

Probst also may have aided the bid by admitting the USOC mishandled the July 8 announcement of its network plans, which came one day after the IOC had sent the USOC a strongly-worded cease-and-desist letter.

“In hindsight, it probably could have been handled more effectively and more thoughtfully,” Probst said. “But as a result of conversations I’ve had with President Rogge, I think we’re on a good track.”

Probst also admitted the USOC “underestimated the intensity of the (negative) reaction we got from multiple constituencies.”

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Hopes Dashed for Baseball and Softball in 2016 Lineup

Today the IOC Executive Board announced their decision to allow Golf and Rugby to move on for a full IOC vote in October to be included as Olympic Sports for the 2016 Games.  The sports of Baseball, Softball, Karate, Roller Sports and Squash were eliminated from further consideration.

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USOC Statement on Golf, Rugby Recommendation By IOC Executive Board

Stephanie Streeter, Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Olympic Committee

The U.S. Olympic Committee would like to offer its congratulations to the sports of Golf and Rugby which were recommended by the IOC’s Executive Board to go before the IOC’s full membership vote in October for inclusion into the 2016 Olympic Games. We also would like to reach out to our Olympic Family sports of Baseball, Softball, Karate, Roller Sports and Squash to praise the quality efforts each put forth in this process. They are great sports and I would hope each one of them would keep up their efforts to gain status as an Olympic sport. “

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Read more about these developments -

Baseball is better off without the Olympics

Women’s boxing among events added for 2012 Games

Golf, rugby backed by IOC board for 2016 Games

Finch: Softball’s fight isn’t over

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