Chicago 2016 Fallout? U.S. Won't Bid On 2020 Games

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Feb 22, 2010 3:40PM

The fallout from Chicago 2016's first-round failure continues as the USOC announced this weekend that they won't be making another run at the Summer Olympics in 2020. New USOC head Scott Blackmun has been shaking hands and kissing IOC babies in Vancouver during the Winter Olympics in an effort to repair the tarnished image of the USOC that many say cost Chicago any shot at the 2016 Games, which included an attempt to launch their own TV network and fights with the IOC over revenue sharing. Blackmun said over the weekend:

"The cold and hard reality is Chicago spent approximately $80 million on its bid," Blackmun said. "It's going to be difficult to get U.S. cities to continue to invest to that level unless they think they have a realistic chance of winning. The [International Olympic Committee] sent us a message, loud and clear, that they don't want the Games to be in the United States...Unless we get some signs from the IOC, I think it's highly unlikely we would mount a bid on our own initiative."

With the deadline for submitting a city for the 2018 Winter Olympics having passed, this means the next possible year the U.S. could host any Olympics would be the 2022 Winter Olympics, making it 20 years between Games on American soil.