Gov. Schwarzenegger, LA mayor toss support behind 2016 Olympic bid

LOS ANGELES (AP) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa tossed their support behind Los Angeles' bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics on Friday, boasting that the city's climate,

Friday, January 19th 2007, 3:55 pm

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa tossed their support behind Los Angeles' bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics on Friday, boasting that the city's climate, glamour and existing venues are unmatched.

Los Angeles is competing with Chicago to be the U.S. Olympic Committee's candidate city for the 2016 Games.

"We're here as one team -- the city, the county and the state," Villaraigosa said. "We've got the beaches, the glitz and the glamour, and now we even have David Beckham."

Beckham has signed a five-year deal to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy beginning this summer.

Schwarzenegger, still using crutches after breaking a bone in a holiday skiing accident, pointed out that Los Angeles would re-use most of the facilities from the 1984 Summer Games.

"It's a city that knows how to put on a great show and balance the books," he said. "We don't have to worry about building new venues and worry about financing."

The rally took place under a sunny, cloudless blue sky in front of the Los Angeles Coliseum, site of the 1932 and '84 Olympics. At the end, the torch above the peristyle entrance was ignited.

The next important milestone is Monday, when Los Angeles and Chicago will submit their bid books, which are three volumes of extensively detailed descriptions of their plans. About five weeks after that, a USOC evaluation team will conduct two-day technical evaluations in each city.

On April 14, the evaluation team will present its findings to the USOC board of directors, cities will make their final presentations and the candidate city will be chosen. The candidate city must be submitted to the International Olympic Committee on Sept. 15. The host will be chosen in 2009.

Los Angeles is considered an early favorite by some because the city has all but one of the main venues in place. A refurbished Coliseum would be used for opening and closing ceremonies and for track and field.

Some believe Chicago has an advantage, because it will keep the venues close together, as opposed to the Los Angeles sprawl. Another perceived Chicago advantage is it never has hosted an Olympics.

San Francisco's bid was derailed in November when the 49ers suddenly announced they would not build a new football stadium in the city.

Other cities that have expressed interest in hosting the 2016 Games are Madrid, New Delhi, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Tokyo.