USOC Report - No 2020 Bid, Board Meets

Still No Hope for U.S. 2020 Bid

With the Sep. 1 IOC application deadline looming, CEO Scott Blackmun stressed that the USOC still needs to resolve the contentious revenue-sharing issue with the International Olympic Committee before considering another bid. The two parties have exchanged correspondence since meeting in Lausanne earlier this month and will have more discussions during the IOC Session in Durban.

Blackmun says the USOC has had conversations "with a handful of different cities that approached us" about what a potential bid process would entail. He described the conversations as "general and broadbrush" and "all predicated on the idea that those discussions are premature now."

Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, Dallas and Tulsa, Okla., have been mentioned as possible bidders. Los Angeles has hosted the Olympics twice, in 1932 and 1984; New York was eliminated in the second round in 2012; Minneapolis lost out to Atlanta as the U.S. candidate city in 1996 and Dallas bid for the U.S. rights in 2012. Tulsa has never bid.

Chicago made a humiliating first-round exit in the 2016 campaign two years ago. Blackmun said he had one conversation with bid leader Pat Ryan some time ago, but "nothing recently and nothing with" current mayor Rahm Emanuel or mayors of any other city.

"First and foremost we want to resolve our revenue-sharing questions with the IOC," Blackmun said. "If we're able to do that, we'll put a possible bid under consideration. We have not done that yet."

USOC Financially Sound

USOC Chair Larry Probst pronounced the USOC in "good shape financially," following a report from CFO Walt Glover to the board of directors in Stanford, Calif. Probst said revenue was ahead of forecast and spending was below budget for the year to date.

He added that the major gift program was ahead of plan, but the direct mail program was below expectations, leading the board to talk about some remedial action.

Blackmun said the USOC netted approximately $8 million for its direct mail campaign, but will probably not hit that number this year based on current projections. "If we do fall short, it will not be by more than a million," he said.

Website Revamping

The board agreed to fund an improvement of the USOC website, www.teamusa.org, with a launch probably in December.

Blackmun said the amount that the USOC will invest has not been determined, but it would be less than $1 million.

"The primary change is to make itmore user-friendly," he said.

A better interface will make it easier for U.S. Olympic fans to make a donation or find out about their favorite athlete or sport. The USOC is looking to make NGB websites more navigable as well.

Visit from Olympian

As part of the discussion of Team USA preparations for the 2011 Pan American Games and 2012 Olympics, swimmer Natalie Coughlin and her coach conducted a Q&A session with the board for 20-25 minutes. Coughlin was the most decorated female U.S. Olympian at the 2008 Beijing Games with six medals.

"It was not only interesting, but inspiring for board members to have an opportunity to interact with a world-class athlete," Probst said.

New Chef de Mission

Four-time basketball gold medalist Teresa Edwards was approved as chef de mission for the London team. She replaces gold-medal gymnast Peter Vidmar, who resigned in May amid controversy over his public opposition to gay marriage.

Probst said he did not think the USOC did anything differently in its vetting process, but took its time and had multiple people interview Edwards.

Blackmun added that as a sports organization, the USOC did not want to get into a position of "putting a lot of filters on our choices." He said the decision by Vidmar to step down was entirely his own.

CEO Talk

Although USA Track and Field continues to search for a new CEO, Blackmun said the delay does not appear to have had an adverse effect on the athletes. USATF President Stephanie Hightower has been rumored as a potential replacement for Doug Logan, who was fired by the board. Those rumors have prompted comparisons to the situation in which Stephanie Streeter took over as Acting CEO of the USOC.

This week, Streeter was appointed the new CEO of glass tableware maker Libbey Inc., in Toledo, Ohio. She will take over on Aug. 1.

Streeter was president and chief executive officer of Banta Corp., from 2002-2007. She was Acting CEO of the USOC from March 2009 until Blackmun came on board in January 2010.

Her tenure at the USOC was unpopular and Probst commented Tuesday that communication between the USOC and the NGB community is frequent, productive and "much happier these days than they might have been 18-24 months ago. I compliment Scott and his staff with making terrific progress on that front."

Written by Karen Rosen.