Olympic-size surprise forSeptember 21, 2006
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Downtown is the best possible showcase for an Olympic stadium, but it's more important to share the wealth, Mayor Daley said Wednesday.
With that, Daley revised his Olympic dream to benefit his native South Side: It now hinges on construction of a collapsible, 95,000-seat stadium in Washington Park near the Midway Plaisance and the Museum of Science and Industry, enduring legacies of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.
"The best possible site would be downtown. Let's be realistic. But, if you're going to really have a long legacy for the city, you have to move it out into communities," Daley told a news conference Wednesday in Washington Park.
Referring to the surprise turn in the search for a stadium site, the mayor said, "It was around the lakefront dealing with . . . McCormick Place [Lakeside Center]. What are they going to do with that when they mothball it? Northerly Island. There was a concept of bringing it there. But, how do you really help the community? If you keep everything there, does it seem like it's only downtown? How do you share that? . . . You have to really move certain things around."
The temporary stadium in Washington Park would house track and field and opening and closing ceremonies for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Private financing
When the Olympic torch is extinguished, the 85,000 above-ground seats would be dismantled. An "amphitheater stadium" -- lushly landscaped with 10,000 seats below grade -- would remain for concerts, cultural events and to position Chicago to host premier track and field events.
Designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Washington Park would further benefit from two Astroturf fields for hockey and football, upgraded softball fields, bike paths and revitalized lagoons. Lighting and security would be improved and underground parking built. Neighborhood streets and L stops would be overhauled. There's even a possibility of dramatic new mass transit connections.
"Washington Park is . . . at the west end of the Midway. It connects with Jackson Park. It's one of the great jewels of the park system at the turn of the century. Our goal is to return it to its original luster . . . and to make this park come alive for the community," said insurance magnate and longtime Daley friend Pat Ryan, chairman of Chicago's Olympic Committee. "We look at this as a combination urban legacy to improve the Mid-South Side and to create a sports legacy."
Ryan insisted that the stadium would be privately financed but refused to reveal a specific price tag or pinpoint a location for the Olympic Village.
San Francisco and Los Angeles also are vying for the right to host the 2016 Summer Games.
Potential jobs
Originally, the mayor's plan called for building a temporary stadium between Soldier Field and McCormick Place.
The surprise shift stems from two major factors: Daley's long-standing desire for a location that serves as a catalyst for neighborhood development, and the U.S. Olympic Committee's more recent concern about tight lakefront space.
When the USOC raised questions about congestion, Daley had the opening he needed to make a renewed push for the South Side -- and to undercut the downtown-centric development claims of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., a possible mayoral challenger.
South Side aldermen were downright ecstatic about the stadium because of jobs it would create during construction, the business it would generate during the Olympics and the enduring benefits it would leave behind. In exchange, they were willing to endure an 18-month construction timetable that would mean putting parts of the park off-limits to the public for two years.
"If you have a facility you can use in perpetuity, that's a net gain," said Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), whose ward includes part of the park.
"I don't think it's political. I think it's wise," said Ald. Dorothy Tillman (3rd).
Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th), whose ward includes the stadium site, said it's "like we've come full circle" from the Columbian Exposition.
"In 1893, we built the rail system. My neighborhood was one of the prized areas. The Midway Plaisance and 63rd Street where the L went to Stony Island. Now, here we are again with an opportunity to bring an international, phenomenal type of event to this community. We're just ecstatic about the opportunity. Boy, would this be a shot in the arm for development and community employment," Troutman said.
'Rather overwhelming'
In fact, jobs for neighborhood residents "isn't a hope -- it's going to be a demand,'' said Cecilia Butler, president of the Washington Park Advisory Council, a citizens group.
She noted that Washington is "an Olmsted park,'' and, "We'll have to negotiate with those values in mind.''
"The idea of a 94,000-seat stadium erected in the park is rather overwhelming.'' she said.
USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth has demanded that an 80,000-to-100,000-seat stadium be either built or "totally committed" to by next March 31.
Contributing: Andrew Herrmann
Click here to read more of Congressman Jackson's Issues and Positions.
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