Pan Ams Debt and Guadalajara 2018 Bid; Medellin YOG Guarantees

(ATR) Ivar Sisniega tells Around the Rings unpaid debt from the 2011 Pan American Games will not jeopardize Guadalajara’s bid for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

"The government is paying off all the bills, and they expect to finish paying them all off by the end of this year," says the former sports director for Guadalajara 2011, now an advisor to the 2018 YOG bid.

"All the suppliers know that and understand that. It must be in the vicinity of $20 million."

Sisniega’s statement comes less than two weeks after new Jalisco state governor Aristotle Jorge Sandoval Diaz was quoted by Mexican media saying he will not back government guarantees for the YOG as long as the Pam Am bills remain.

"I don’t think it should have an impact," Sisniega tells ATR.

"It’s an internal matter, and it’s being dealt with. It’s not going to be a problem at all with the suppliers or anybody else. It’s something the government has considered in the budget and is simply paying off, so that should not be a problem."

In a letter to Around the Rings, Pan American Sports OrganizationPresident Mario Vazquez Rana calls the debt "a fact that has upset mevery much" and that he is requesting clarification "as soon aspossible". Vazquez Rana notes that PASO does not have any directresponsibility for the finances of the Guadalajara Pan Am Games.

Sisniega insists that the controversy will not impact government guarantees for the YOG, which are due to the IOC by Oct. 15. The other five bids for the 2018 YOG come from Buenos Aires, Argentina; Glasgow, Scotland; Medellin, Colombia; Rotterdam, Netherlands and Poznan, Poland.

"Federal government, state government and city government all have those on their desks, and we’ve heard that they will not have a problem in providing those guarantees," Sisniega tells ATR.

"We did it before in 2014, and we’re pretty sure that they will have them again for 2018."

Guadalajara, as he says, bid for the 2014 YOG too but dropped out weeks before the host vote at the 2010 IOC Session in Vancouver to concentrate on preparations for the Pan Ams, which faced construction issues at the time.

After the 2011 Games were widely hailed as a success, however, the Mexican Olympic Committee chose Guadalajara over Monterrey as its bid city of choice back in February, saying the city "could practically host the Games next month" with little to no capital investment.

"It’s a bid that has all the facilities in place," says Sisniega.

"It has good plans for a very compact village in a very well-located area of Guadalajara, and I think the people of Guadalajara proved that they certainly know how to welcome visitors from around the world, so I think it’s a solid bid. I think Guadalajara will have a good chance."

In his letter to ATR, Vazquez Rana, who left the IOC this year, says as PASO president he has no preference for a specific city for the 2018 YOG, his neutrality forced by three candidates coming from the PanAm region.

"If the authorities of Guadalajara and the Mexico Olympic Committee decide to continue with the bid to host the event, I am certain they will be able to compete under equal conditions with the other cities that wish to host these Games," the PASO chief writes.

President of Colombia Gives YOG Guarantees

Medellin's bid for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games is getting all the necessary guarantees from Colombia's federal government.

President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón handed over his signed guarantees to Medellin 2018 CEOJuan Camilo Quintero Medina at the country's annualNational Exports Congress.

"Mr. Quintero was asked by the President to address the Congress and there, in front of more than 1,000 participants, President Santos provided the written guarantees," says a statement from the bid.

"This spontaneous act of the President was applauded by those attending the Congress, who then energetically expressed their support for Medellín 2018."

The government guarantees are due to IOC headquarters in Lausanne by Oct. 15 as part of the formal candidature files required from each of the six bids.

Written by Matthew Grayson

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