Chicago 2016 Bid Losing Steam?

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 23, 2009 5:20PM

If Mayor Daley seems like he's in a fouler mood than usual this week, it's because the Chicago 2016 bid has hit some turbulence. The Olympics-related business site GameBids released its latest bid index rating yesterday (the first update since November) and it doesn't bode well for Chicago. Not only has Chicago dropped to last place among the four finalists, it's the only city's whose index went down in value. The rankings:

1. Tokyo: 61.41 (up 0.19)
2. Rio: 59.95 (up 0.22)
3. Madrid: 58.73 (up 0.10)
4. Chicago: 58.37 (down 0.41)

Per BidGames:

While hundreds of factors are combined to determine a city’s BidIndex, Chicago’s recent decline could be blamed in part on record-high estimates for sponsorships, especially during the current economic crisis when sports sponsorships are on the decline. This combined with the fact that Chicago is the only candidate without 100% public government guarantees, might make the city a tough choice for the cautious.

Additionally, the recent reshuffling of United States Olympic Committee leadership might leave an IOC member or two feeling alienated in a campaign where personal relationships are extremely powerful. It’s likely that ballots will be won or lost on margins of just one or two votes.

With the IOC paying the city its final visit at the end of next week, and facing several protests as well as a terrible new slogan and that tempest in a pothole, we wouldn't be surprised if the Chicago 2016 crew is sweating a little bit right now. [via CBS 2]