The U.S. Olympic Committee is currently undecided as to whether it will endorse a bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Several factors factor into this decision, committee spokesman Darryl Seibel said.
Given the political discord that ultimately doomed New York City's bid for the 2012 games, Seibel said one of the most important criteria will be ensuring that all of the public and private leaders of the candidate city are on the same page.
"We want to make sure that the U.S. city we take forward as our candidate has a chance to be competitive," he said.
Seibel outlined the three-phase process through which the committee will decide whether to back a bid:
- Phase 1: The committee is currently "evaluating and assessing" the current conditions involved in Olympic bidding, such as the requirement for the host government to underwrite any possible debt incurred by the International Olympic Committee. The U.S. committee will make a decision as early as next month.
- Phase 2: If the committee decides to endorse a bid, it will immediately begin meeting with both public and private leaders of cities interested in the 2016 games. In these closed discussions, Seibel said, the committee would lay out the expectations for a potential host city.
- Phase 3: After the Torino, Italy, winter games in February, the committee will make a final decision as to whether it wants to pursue a 2016 bid. However, no decision will be made as to which city will represent the United States until at least 2007.
The International Olympic Committee will announce the host city in 2009.
-- Jason Schwartz
