Cincinnati's official bid for the 2012 Olympic Games is due Friday.

CINCINNATI'S BID

Plans for transformed riverfront would include Olympic Stadium, left. (Complete details)

        While the city has experienced rioting and demonstrations over racial issues in the past seven weeks, relatively few changes were made to the Olympic bid document since a draft bid was submitted to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) in December.

        That's because the bid is intended to explain how the city will host the games, not address social problems the city is struggling to overcome, said Nick Vehr, president of Cincinnati 2012.

        Those problems will be examined July 23-26, when USOC officials make a visit to Cincinnati.

Vehr

        Mr. Vehr said the current strife won't necessarily knock Cincinnati out of the running. Next spring, the USOC will pick one of eight American cities to compete internationally for the Olympics.

        “If we ignore it and act as if nothing happened in April, than shame on us and we don't deserve to be a city going after the Olympics,” Mr. Vehr said.

        “But if we look at it as a historic moment in our city and work to ensure it never happens again — a path I believe we're on — then it could be helpful because it will show we care about all of our people.”

        The draft bid, which cost nearly $4 million to produce, contains 806 pages in three glossy volumes. It details every aspect of being host for the Games, from venues and transportation to finances and the environment.

COPIES OF BID

Cincinnati 2012 will give 10 copies of its Olympic bid to the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County for permanent display at 2 p.m. today. The document is a statement about the infrastructure, government, spirit and will of the region to host the Games, which would be spread over a 100-mile radius.    Nick Vehr, president of Cincinnati 2012, will deliver 10 copies of the document to the main branch of the public library on Vine Street.

        Bob Condon, a member of the USOC task force for the 2012 Games, said about eight committee members will travel to each U.S. bid city this summer. He said the agenda will largely be left to the organizing city, but he expects plenty of time will be spent on the racial unrest in Cincinnati.

        “All aspects of the bid are important,” Mr. Condon said. “But, backing up one step on this issue, it's something the International Olympic Committee has stressed and stressed as vitally important.”

        After initially withdrawing its request for money from the city and Hamilton County, Cincinnati 2012 has asked city council for a $250,000 contribution. The organization has raised $5.3 million of the $7.5 million it needs.

        Although City Council has twice passed resolutions endorsing the bid, it has yet to put financial support behind the effort.

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