Suburbs snubbed in Chicago's Olympic bid

The Northwest suburbs were virtually shutout of the official 2016 Olympic bid released by Chicago Friday, with two sites picked in the collar counties to host games.

Under the initial $3.3 billion Chicago plan, a shooting range near Aurora would be significantly improved and an equestrian site would be built in Wadsworth at Tempel Farm, where Lipizzan shows draw crowds regularly.

The plan, which details where dozens of games would be held and tens of thousands of athletes would be housed, bypasses numerous suburban facilities, including the Allstate Arena in Rosemont and the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates to name a few.

Chicago 2016 officials aimed to keep most of the Olympic Games downtown in the city to make the bid more appealing to the international committee that will select a host city on Oct. 2. Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro are also competing for the games.

Spokeswoman Mica Matsoff said the committee wants a compact site to make the international event easier for athletes and attendees to navigate.

"It is really a compact city-centered plan with the best interests of athletes in mind," said Matsoff.

The suburbs would still benefit from the multibillion dollar venture, she said, adding that suburban arenas and convention centers might be used for practices.

In addition, hotels and other businesses in the collar counties would likely see business spike.

Yet, the most direct benefits would likely come along with proximity to key elements of the games. That is why Aurora Mayor Thomas Weisner is excited to have the marksmanship games in his backyard.

"I'm not sure a lot of suburban areas made the cut, so I'm very pleased about it," Weisner said.

The games would take place at an existing private shooting club, which would be significantly upgraded with Olympic-related funding, according to the plan. It would have room for nearly 10,000 people.

The Olympic bid proposal says the improvements would cost about $25 million in all and would be done in 2015 and just before the Olympics start in 2016.

At Tempel Farms in northern Lake County, the bid package says a whole new facility would be built for about $16 million to accommodate the Olympics equestrian challenges and seat 18,000 people.

Sears Centre director Jeff Bowen said he is disappointed his new facility didn't land an Olympic game in the bid package. But he remains hopeful that will change.

The 11,800-seat facility off the Northwest Tollway deserves the assignment, he said.

"We certainly hope they will use our venue, but we have very little control over that," Bowmen said.