Corporate HQs could boost Chicago Oly bid

BEIJING, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games could be boosted by the presence of many potential corporate sponsors in the city, an Olympics official says.

U.S. Olympic Committee Chairman Peter Ueberroth told the Chicago Tribune in Beijing that the local boosterism of companies such as longtime Olympics sponsor McDonalds Corp., based in suburban Oak Brook, Ill., will likely play a role in the decision on where to award the 2016 Games.

"I think it identifies for the rest of the world, which is where the (International Olympics Committee) voters are, that Chicago is really a business center," he told the newspaper, adding that when the city was selected among five contenders as the U.S. candidate, officials found that "Chicago was in a league of its own."

The city is competing with Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro to be the host site for the 2016 Summer Games, with an IOC decision to be made in October 2009.