For the first time since BidIndex was introduced, New York does not lead among the four U.S. 2012 Olympic Bid contenders. After a near-flawless USOC evaluation last week, Washington’s BidIndex shot up 2.21 to a leading 67.97. New York was also paid a visit but was questioned about risks associated with the huge construction plans needed to get ready for the Games. That was enough to set back New York’s BidIndex by 1.65 to 66.11.
In recent months the IOC has had to deal with construction delays and setbacks in Athens as they prepare for the 2004 Games, and they’ll likely have these concerns in mind when they vote for the 2012 host city. The USOC will be choosing a candidate that will have the best chance of getting IOC votes when the election occurs in 2005.
San Francisco sits just .02 behind New York at 66.09 and Houston scored a trailing 63.22. The USOC evaluation committee will be paying visits to these cities in mid-July.
BidIndex is a model that when applied to an Olympic Bid, produces a number that can be used to rate a bid relative to others – and possibly gauge it’s ultimate success. The USOC will determine the winner on November 2, 2002.
