USOC Open To Possibility Of Moving To Chicago
For almost thirty years, the home base of the US Olympic Committee had been Colorado Springs, Colorado. Recently, however, USOC has confirmed that it has been having dialogs with several cities regarding the possibility of moving some – if not all – of the offices and facilities to a new area. Of all the cities, Chicago is quite possibly the first to be seen by the public as an option. There is an exciting prospect to this as agreements may yield some positive results for Chicago; having the US Olympic Committee headquarters built in their territory means generating interest that would in turn lead to an increased chance of winning the 2016 Summer Olympics bid.
It has also been confirmed that the chief of World Business Chicago Paul O'Connor and the real estate consultant James Didion (who is also known to have a close history with current USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth) have gone to the downtown Chicago area back in September, trying to find suitable real estates that fit the parameters of either three thousand square foot showroom spaces or one hundred thousand square feet of office space. Based on that, many speculate that the USOC is planning to relocate an estimated number of four hundred and fifty workers to their new office space.
It was only near the beginning of October that the US Olympic Committee publicly confirmed their optioning of transferring from Colorado Springs to another part of America. Their Colorado property, thirty-four acres worth of former US Air Force base, plays host to the current USOC head quarters, training facilities, and the offices forty-five bodies that are in charge of a number of Olympic sports. The USOC spokesman has said that either the headquarters, the administrative offices, or both could be moved.
It is not known if the US Olympic Committee will indeed move offices or headquarters within the next several months; after all, that had announced a similar consideration back in 2003. Nevertheless, the USOC spokesman was willing to say that like any other business, they are simply seeking to “evaluate (USOC's) space needs and (USOC's) ability to meet them.”
While the body has not openly confirmed Chicago as a possible new home, many of its supporters believe that it would be a good choice for the US Olympic Committee's new headquarters. Apart from the Olympic bid – which is a short-term interest for both parties involved – there is also the fact that Chicago would be convenient for sports officials who have to travels all over the globe, as Chicago has easily-accessible international airports.
