USOC 2016 Evaluation Commission chair Bob Ctvrtlik. (ATR)

(ATR) The chair of a U.S. Olympic Committee inspection team says the leaders of the Los Angeles bid for the 2016 Games are “passionate”, but acknowledges that the city’s attempt to host a third Olympic Games may take some persuading on the international level.

Bob Ctvrtlik, chair of the USOC Evaluation Commission for 2016 and IOC member in the U.S., spoke to the press following a two-day visit to Los Angeles.

“They were prepared well and most important for us, they were passionate,” says Ctvrtlik.

But he says “across the board” research undertaken by the USOC in past year shows that IOC members are aware that this would be the third time for the Games in Los Angeles, while other expected candidates, such as Rio de Janeiro and Madrid are looking for their first Olympics.

“It does come up,” says Ctvrtlik. “It’s a factor, a factor that has to be overcome,” he says.

Still, Ctvrtlik and USOC chief executive Jim Scherr said that they are confident after what they’ve heard from Los Angeles the city has the potential to snag the 60 or so votes needed to secure the 2016 Games.

“When all is said and done, the bid they will put forward will be a bid that the members of the international Olympic committee would find favorable,” said Scherr.

The 16 delegates on the commission spent the morning on a tour of the three main venue clusters for the LA 2016 plan: in Long Beach for aquatics and rowing, the Home Depot Center for cycling and football and the Los Angeles Convention Center/Staples Center in downtown LA.

The commission rode a light rail train from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles, a mass transit option that has come online after the 1984 Olympics.

Los Angeles proposes to construct a few temporary venues, but for the most part will use existing facilties. Only one permanent venue is planned for construction, a shooting range.

The USOC commission will see far fewer existing venues when it visits Chicago next week, the other city under consideration for the U.S. nomination for 2016.

“It’s easy to envision how they will perform in an Olympic Games,” says Ctvrtlik about the LA plan for 2016.

As far as Chicago, which still needs a stadium, Olympic Village and other specialized venues, Ctvrtlik admits “potentially there could be more risk”.

But while Los Angeles might have it easy demonstrating it has the facilities to host the Games, the legacy of a 2016 Olympics is a muddled concept.

“It’s not about bricks and mortar, its not about the venues, it’s about the vision they’ll put forward. It’s about the living legacy they want to instill and leave behind,” says Ctvrtlik.

Pressed to identify exactly what is meant by a “li

Wheelchair racer Ann Cody represents Paralympians on the USOC evaluation commission. She heads to the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday’s venue tour with bid chair Barry Sanders. (ATR)

“Whether or not that would be a convincing argument to the 115 IOC members, that’s just something we’ll have to follow up as an evaluation committee,” says Ctvrtlik.

“We are in this to host a games that will leave a legacy to the athletes of the world, leave a legacy for the Olympic movement, but more importantly leave a legacy for another generation of citizens of Los Angeles,” said Scherr, unable to clearly spell-out exactly what LA would deliver.

Even on the possibility of Los Angeles generating a surplus that could be plowed back into the Olympic Movement, Scherr was guarded, noting that it’s “too early to speculate on surplus”. He says both cities are being urged to plan for an “adequate contingen

Los Angeles 2016 bid leaders David Simon, Barry Sanders and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.(ATR)

With its use of existing venues, Los Angeles must also deal with the realities of where they are located: some, such as basketball in Anaheim, 50 miles from the Olympic Village.

“There are some spreads in distances, but those things are being addressed and the athlete’s needs would be accommodated,” Scherr said.

Ctvrtlik says while he detects the passion in the bid team for Los Angeles, the USOC will take its own pulse of public opinion in the next week to see how the populace feels about the Olympics returning to Los Angeles. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa insists that public support for the bid is near the 90% mark.

Newspaper interest in the bid seems slight in Los Angeles. The USOC visit was buried in a brief article on an inside page of the sports section of the Los Angeles Times, while Chicago newspapers gave the LA visit front-page coverage from reporters sent to California. Two Chicago TV stations also dispatched reporters and cameras to Los Angeles. Whether Los Angeles media head east next week to cover the Chicago leg of the USOC tour might be an interesting test of sentiment for the LA bid.

Asked about Chicago 2016’s fund raising dinner Thursday night that attracted 1,600 people and raised more than $9 million dollars, Ctvrtlik said that the USOC was aware of the financial capacity of the Chicago.

“Obviously it’s a good demonstration for a one day event,” he noted.

Ctvrtlik and his colleagues on the USOC commission will be in Chicago March 6 and 7.

The USOC Board of Directors will make a decision between Los Angeles and Chicago April 14.

Your best source of news about the race for the 2016 Olympics is www.aroundtheirings.com, for subscribers only.