COLORADO SPRINGS — There are reasons International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge won’t comment directly on Denver’s potential to host a Winter Olympics.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to make comments about specific cities because most of the cities, we don’t know exactly the capacity they have to stage major organizations,” Rogge said today while attending the fifth biennial International Athletes Forum. “I don’t know what the sports infrastructure is of Denver, and the region around Denver.”
When the U.S. Olympic Committee declined this year to bid for the 2020 Summer Games, speculation immediately turned to the 2022 Winter Games, especially with groups in Denver and Reno-Tahoe expressing interest.
“Before making any judgment, I would need to know what kind of infrastructure you have,” Rogge said. “Second factor, but also a very important factor, is the Games are organized by people, not by structures. We don’t know which people would want to organize Games in many cities. You need to have the infrastructure, the desire and the people. If there is a good match, then we can comment on the cities.”
Rogge, an orthopedic surgeon from Belgium who became IOC president in 2001, knows a little about Denver, although he clearly hasn’t been following the results of the Denver Broncos.
“I know it’s a major city close to beautiful mountains (with) very good professional basketball and football teams,” Rogge said.
The USOC has consistently said it will not discuss Olympic bids until revenue-sharing negotiations with the IOC are successfully concluded. Both sides are encouraged by progress in the talks.
“They are moving forward,” Rogge said. “They are moving in a good atmosphere. We are not there yet, there are still a number of issues to be solved. But I think there is a good will on both sides, and both sides want to succeed. That’s the good basis for a good negotiation.”
Relations between the USOC and the IOC reached a nadir in October 2009 when Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2018 Summer Games. President Barack Obama traveled to Copenhagen to help make the case for Chicago, but his hometown was eliminated on the first ballot.
Since that rebuke, Scott Blackmun replaced Stephanie Streeter as USOC chief executive and the USOC streamlined its organizational structure, based on recommendations by a commission led by former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Blackmun and chairman Larry Probst have spent a lot of time since the 2009 snub building relationships with IOC members.
“The USOC fulfills a very important role in the Olympic movement,” Rogge said. “We are very happy with the new governance of the executive board and the general assembly that’s the work of Paul Tagliabue. The USOC is also engaging very much with developing countries, which is good, we applaud that.
“At the same time you keep your traditional strengths and your core business, which is preparing the American athletes for major competitions. You had 36 gold, 38 silver and 36 bronze in Beijing, which is remarkable.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
