Seattle has dropped out, leaving Dallas, Cincinnati, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Tampa, Fla., and Washington-Baltimore. Final bids are due at USOC headquarters by Dec. 15, 2000. Mr. Luce has targeted March as the month for the board to have made its venue decisions. Mr. Luce's goal of making Fair Park the centerpiece of the bid has Mr. Gossage concerned about what role venues outside of Dallas County can expect to play. Mr. Gossage said he wants a major event at the speedway, which seats 160,000.
Every community needs something of substance.
The Cotton Bowl's dome project has been on hold while Olympic plans crystalize. No existing facility in the region meets Olympic requirements for track and field events and opening and closing ceremonies. Mr. Kirk said he regards the Olympic Village to house athletes as the greatest venue-related challenge. Despite all the decisions and legwork ahead, the Olympic Games are unique in their emotional resonance, said Dallas 2012 spokesman Kevin Sullivan, on loan from the Dallas Mavericks since December. He said that nothing in his previous experience matched the impact of exposure to Olympic athletes.