Olympic Bosses Make Secret Inquiry To London For 2016

Benedict Moore Bridger of the London Evening Standard reports that London has been secretly asked if it would be able to take over the 2016 Olympics because Rio is so far behind.

From Bridger's report:

A source told the Standard: “At a comparable planning stage in 2004 Athens had done 40 per cent of preparations on infrastructure, stadiums and so on. London had done 60 per cent. Brazil has done 10 per cent — and they have just two years left. So the IOC is thinking, ‘What’s our plan B?’

For golf, can we just pencil in Sunningdale now?

Meanwhile, in Olympic television deal news, check out this quote from I.O.C. President Thomas Bach after signing up with NBC through 2032. It's as if he heard about the USGA deal with Fox Sports. From Richard Sandomir of the New York Times:

“This kind of deal is not only about money,” Mr. Bach said. “You can make a dollar more but have your product destroyed.”

Sandomir also analyzes the IOC and NBC's logic behind such a long-term deal. Warning, many mentions of monetizing platforms and evolving revenue models.

Update on 2014-05-10 13:50 by Geoff

**The IOC was emphatic that the report is not true:

"Not a shred of truth in it," International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said in an email to The Associated Press. "Simply a non-starter — totally without foundation and totally unfeasible."