Bidding for the Games - 2020 Updates from Madrid, Baku, Rome; Reno/Tahoe 2022

Madrid 2020: Bid Budget "Not an Obstacle"

Victor Sanchez, CEO of Madrid 2020, tells Around the Ringsa smaller budget than what the city had for its 2016 campaign should not hamper the bid.

Speaking to ATR, Sanchez says Madrid has "all the necessary resources of the bid so this is not an obstacle."

Bid president Alejandro Blanco said earlier in the week that Madrid 2020 anticipates having around $20 million less to work with than in 2009.

However, Sanchez says much of that money isn’t needed this time around. He cites two reasons.

"We just started now, one year later than in the previous bid. This saves a lot of money," he tells ATR.

"There’s a big work being done by the previous bid we can use. We don’t need to create things that have been created in the past and this can save money. This is why the budget will be lowered.

"We are not restarting from zero. We have the experience of 2012 and 2016."

Sanchez also downplayed any impact a change in Spain’s government might have on the Games.

The ruling Socialist party lost to the Popular Party on Nov. 20 promising an austerity government in hopes of culling massive government debt.

"The only thing we can say is the motion to bid for 2020 at the municipality of Madrid has been presented by the two main parties of Spain," Sanchez explains.

"As both of them are together in this bid, we think and we know we will have the support of the majority of parties.

Even with well-known economic problems in Spain, Sanchez is confident Madrid has "security" with its latest bid.

"We have 78 percent of the sport infrastructure already built and more than 90 percent of the general infrastructure in place.In this time of economic difficulties, not only in our country but other parts of the world, we think that this is a secure offer," he tells ATR.

Sanchez says the next big steps for the bid are completing the IOC application due to Lausanne by Feb. 15 and the unveiling of a website and logo. He says he expects both to be unveiled "mid-January."

Consultants Visit Baku

The team of consultants for Baku 2020 paid a visit to the bid city this week.

More than a dozen consultants inspected the city and plotted the bid’s course of action.

Baku 2020 CEO Konul Nurullayeva was quoted by Azeri media as saying: "I am confident that, with their enormous experience and expertise, together we can develop an extremely high-quality bid.

"In Baku, we are investing billions of dollars to build a world-class sporting infrastructure. Thanks to our strong and stable economy, in the past three years, we have alreadystarted construction on a new Olympic Stadium, as well as an Olympic complex – and several new sports arenas are under also construction."

Among the consultants was Bob Elphinston, former president of the basketball federation FIBA and a leading member of the successful Sydney 2000 bid.

"I think that together we can put together an extremely credible bid for Baku," Elphinston said.

"Azerbaijan has a very young population – more than 50% are under the age of 30. Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Baku in 2020 has the potential to extend the Olympic ideals to millions of new hearts and minds."

Reno/Tahoe 2022

U.S. states California and Nevada have a memorandum of understanding to bid together for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Nevada Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki on Wednesday announced the deal, which urges the U.S. Olympic Committee to support the cities of Lake Tahoe and Reno.

"It's transformed from really this hope and dream and inspiration to something that's become very tangible," Krolicki was quoted by the Associated Press.

"It's now a scaled-up business and scaling up, and (there are) things that we need to do."

Despite the deal, the USOC maintains there will be no bid.

Patrick Sandusky, USOC Chief Communications Officer, tells ATR the USOC is not considering any bid for any Olympics, its official stance since Chicago’s failed 2016 bid.

He adds that the USOC is "appreciative of any city that’s supportive of the Olympic Movement" but would not speculate on any potential bid for 2022 or beyond.

Rome International Communications Chief

Rome 2020 has a new international communications director.

Pino Buongiorno comes to the bid after serving as a long-time journalist, including stints as an editor and U.S. correspondent for Italian magazine Panorama, according to a LinkedIn profile with his name.

Media Watch

A post on NBC Chicago’s website says the Tokyo bid serves as a "sad reminder" for the Windy City. Tokyo edged out Chicago in the first round of the 2016 bid race before falling to Madrid and eventual winner Rio de Janeiro.

Two reports examine Tokyo'sand Qatar’s chances of hosting the 2020 Olympics.

Written by Edward Hula III.

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