Olympic Bid is Top Topic at USOC Vancouver Press Conference

(ATR) Questions about Chicago 2016 dominated a press conference by the U.S. Olympic Committee leadership where the upcoming Vancouver Olympics were supposed to be the main subject.

Rather than expounding on Team USA's skiing and skating prospects in Vancouver, USOC chairman Larry Probst and Acting CEO Stephanie Streeter found themselves in the hot seat over Chicago 2016 and support of the bid by President Barack Obama.

The pair, who rose to power in the past year - Probst in October and Streeter in March - tried to defuse concerns about the effect three controversial issues have had on the bid: the now-postponed U.S. Olympic Network, the USOC's revenue-sharing deal with the IOC and the shake-up in which Streeter replaced Jim Scherr.

"I think we've done a good job of resolving all of those issues," Probst said Thursday. "We essentially took the revenue-sharing issue off the table when we spoke to IOC leadership in March at Sportaccord in Denver. There hasn't been a lot of noise or chatter about that since that time."

Probst met with IOC president Jacques Rogge in Berlin last month where they discussed IOC's displeasure with the network announcement. "We've publicly acknowledged that the timing wasn't as good as it could have been," Probst said.

He said he still thinks the network is a good idea, but postponing its development "has appeased the international Olympic community and all the various constituencies. I think we have removed those roadblocks for the Chicago bid process and I think we're OK."

Responding to questions about the lack of familiar faces at the top of the USOC, Probst emphasized that Bob Ctvrtlik and Robert Fasulo continue to lead the USOC's international efforts.

"I think we have been really thoughtful about who we have sent to a particular event and what type of interaction has taken place," Probst said.

He said he's made "a bunch of trips internationally" starting with a trip to Lausanne early this year. Probst said he met with "many, many IOC members" in Berlin and is "contemplating a trip to South America next week and possibly one to a certain part of Europe the following week."

He'll also arrive in Copenhagen early for the IOC session. "There's been plenty of face time from my standpoint," Probst said.

It is still unknown if Obama will be in Copenhagen in person. Probst and Streeter grew impatient when asked repeatedly if Obama would be there, and what the ramifications wouldbe if he did not attend the IOC Session.

"I don't know how many ways I can answer this," Probst said. "I think it's significant and extremely important. We're all hoping he can join us there to enhance the Chicago 2016 bid."

Added Streeter, when asked later to address the same issue, "We've made it clear that we would love for him to be there to augment the great bid that 2016 and the city have put together and that's the end of the story."

Building New Relationships

Streeter has not been involved in most of the international hobnobbing. She has been occupied with mollifying the national governing bodies in the U.S. after some expressed outrage over Scherr's removal as CEO.

"First, I think change is hard," she said, adding that the NGBs were not involvedin "some of the discussion around that change."

She called the critics "a vocal minority," but was chided by a journalist who said two top critics were triathlon head Skip Gilbert, the chair of the NGB Council, and Steve Penny, the gymnastics chief.

"Any time you have 45 people (NGB heads) who are involved in things as passionate as sport, you're going to have a difference of opinion," Streeter said. "I think we're working together to get on the same page. If it sounds like I'm dismissing them, that's not the intent at all. I've reached out numerous times to both of them."

In her keynote address to the U.S. Olympic Assembly on Wednesday, Streeter was conciliatory and seemed almost apologetic about the furor that greeted her assumption of the CEO's job.

"I don't have all the answers-but I'm beginning to understand better the vital role we play in empowering you to serve the Olympic Movement and strengthen sport," she said.

"This is my commitment to you. I am going to spend time learning more about what's most important to you by immersing myself in what you do and empowering my team to deliver more of what you need.

"I will be open and available to discuss what's important to you. I will hold our team at the USOC accountable to perform at the highest levels in the service of the Olympic Movement-and in service to you. I will ensure that you and your work are highly respected at the USOC. That is my commitment to you. I am making it today because I recognize and very much respect what you do. I do believe together we can do great things for the Olympic Movement."

Written by Karen Rosen.