APPLICANT FILE SUMMARY  

Ten Highlights from Chicago 2016’s Applicant File

Our Applicant File is the first detailed look at Chicago 2016’s plan for the Games that the bid has been allowed to release to the public. This document consists of responses to 25 questions, with one page allotted for each answer. An appendix includes detailed maps of the Games plan as well as charts on venues, accommodation, transportation infrastructure, travel times and meteorology. The items below provide a summary of the main points in the Applicant File.

1. Principal motivation for hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games
2. A bold concept for Games
3. Compact Games plan in the heart of the city
4. A spectacular Olympic experience
5. A state-of-the-art Olympic Stadium that will serve as a model for future Host Cities
6. A plan driven by sustainability, responsibility and technical excellence
7. A Games legacy that positions Chicago as the center of Olympic sport
8. A national marketing program for the Games to ensure their financial success
9. The city’s extensive transportation infrastructure provides a good foundation for the Games plan
10. Enthusiastic, unified support at all levels of government

1. Principal motivation for hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In its bid for the Games, Chicago is motivated to achieve a series of sustainable goals aligned with the Olympic Movement’s aim of building lasting global harmony. The five key components of Chicago 2016’s Games concept are to deliver an extraordinary experience for athletes and spectators, inspire our youth through sport, reignite the Olympic Movement in the United States, promote harmony throughout the world and transform Chicago’s urban landscape.
2. A bold concept for Games. Chicago’s concept for the Olympic and Paralympic Games will create an unforgettable Olympic experience for the athletes and each specific client group within the Olympic Family at the Games. The plan envisions the Games interwoven into the sustainable landscape of Chicago’s century-old lakefront park system in a walking district that features the city’s most impressive cultural institutions, sports facilities and entertainment attractions. Chicago’s lakefront already draws more than 25 million people to its annual sport and cultural festivals and is known as one of America’s greatest urban celebration centers.
3. Compact Games plan in the heart of the city. No other plan in history has envisioned a more centrally located, compact Olympic Games. The site of the Olympic Village — the center point of the Games — will be near 19 sports venues, and 91 percent of the athletes will be within 15 minutes of their competition venues. The Village’s proximity to the lakefront and Chicago’s downtown area will allow athletes to experience the city’s world-class cultural institutions, dining, shopping and hospitality with ease. The Olympic Stadium will be within a 15-minute drive of downtown. As most of the venues are close to Chicago’s extensive mass-transit system, spectators will be able to travel to events easily. The International Broadcast Center (IBC) and the Main Press Center (MPC) will be located in McCormick Place, allowing the media to be close to the Village, competition venues and the downtown area and celebration centers.
4. A spectacular Olympic experience. Chicago’s passion for athletic competition and its tradition of staging cultural events and celebrations will combine to make the atmosphere outside the sports venues as electric as the events within. Chicago’s plan for the Games makes the downtown area and lakefront the focus of activity while fully integrating the city’s cultural and entertainment attractions. During the Games athletes, the Olympic Family and spectators will get to experience the parts of Chicago that currently draw tens of millions of tourists to the city each year. What’s more, Grant Park will serve as a celebration center and Olympic live site, set up to enrich the experience. The best that the city has to offer will be within easy reach of athletes, the Olympic Family spectators, creating a truly unique Games experience.
5. A state-of-the-art Olympic Stadium that will serve as a model for future Host Cities. Chicago’s Olympic Stadium represents a unique opportunity for the Olympic Movement. At the time of the Games, it will be a dramatic purpose-built athletics stadium that meets or exceeds the ideal standards of the IAAF and key Olympic and Paralympic constituencies. Post-Games, the scaled-down reconfigured stadium will be the centerpiece for the revitalization of the Washington Park area. The accessible, community-based venue will be used for sports, concerts and other civic events and can be expanded to host major international athletic events.
6. A plan driven by sustainability, responsibility and technical excellence. In selecting venues, Chicago 2016’s design puts a premium on existing facilities and builds temporary structures wherever possible. Indeed, 81 percent of the venues—22 of 27—are either existing or temporary. Chicago already has some of the world’s premier sports venues, and the plan designates McCormick Place, a multiuse convention center boasting more than 743,000 m2 of contiguous space, to host 11 Olympic and 8 Paralympic sports. This approach minimizes construction and emphasizes fiscal responsibility. The area around the site of the Olympic Village, for example, will be developed regardless of whether Chicago hosts the Games, acting as a catalyst for the transformation of the city’s near South Side. Post-Games it will be converted to residential housing.
7. A Games legacy that positions Chicago as the center of Olympic sport. Chicago is already the cultural and economic capital of the Midwest region, and hosting the Olympic Games would put the city in a position to be a new center for the Olympic Movement and sport in the United States. The construction of five new permanent venues will serve as the foundation for this effort. Chicago 2016 has also laid the groundwork for future programs to promote Olympic and Paralympic sport through the launch of World Sport Chicago (WSC), an organization established to deliver long-term legacy programs. The new Olympic Aquatics Center at Douglas Park will become a regional and national competition venue and also provide more of the city’s communities with access to swimming facilities.
8. A national marketing program for the Games to ensure their financial success. In addition to television and marketing revenues coming from the IOC, Chicago’s domestic marketing program will generate $2.5 billion. Chicago is already home to 29 Fortune 500 companies, and it ranks as the fourth-largest city economy in the world. The city and region represent a largely untapped economic resource for the Olympic Movement. Chicago 2016’s Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) will enter into a marketing joint venture with the USOC, and this venture will optimize the OCOG’s share of revenue for the purpose of staging the Games.
9. The city’s extensive transportation infrastructure provides a good foundation for the Games plan. The existing capacity of the mass-transit system is sufficient to accommodate the Games, but upgrades are needed to enhance the quality of experience. Almost all of the venue locations and noncompetition sites are well served by the existing mass-transit system (including bus, subway and rail) and the area’s network of roadways and highways. Dedicated Olympic lanes will further reduce travel times, and buses and shuttles will operate within the downtown area to transport athletes and spectators. The Chicago metropolitan area currently spends more than $2 billion annually to maintain and improve its transportation network. From now until 2016, $27 billion is allocated for highway and transit projects in the area. An infusion of federal funds is also anticipated over this period. Currently, $8 billion in improvement projects are being studied and, if approved, will enhance the transportation system significantly.
10. Enthusiastic, unified support at all levels of government. Chicago 2016, through its close partnerships with the City of Chicago and the USOC, has secured the support of national, regional, state and local government. Such unqualified enthusiasm for the Games is unique and demonstrates that the bid is truly a national endeavor. As the process moves forward, this endorsement of the bid and its mission will help ensure the efficient and effective implementation of steps needed to stage a successful Games should Chicago gain the privilege of being a Host City.