Olympic bid gets final approval.

The city's Olympic bid was finalized last week including several sports and water venues throughout the city.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Daniel L. Doctoroff last week revealed An adjusted and final "Olympic X" venue plan for the City's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

The amended venue plan consists of three venue clusters that add efficiency and convenience to the original plan and will be the basis for New York's bid book submission due to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on November 15, 2004.

New York is among the cities vying to host the Olympic Games in 2012. Joining New York are London, Madrid, Moscow and Paris. The IOC will select a Host City for the 2012 Games on July 6, 2005, in Singapore.

In addition, the Mayor announced plans to finalize the design and commence construction of the Flushing Pool located within Flushing Meadow Corona Park, high-lighting how New York's Olympic bid can be used to expedite the completion of recreational and infrastructure projects citywide.

NYC2012's final plan includes three venue clusters, recognizing the important feedback they received from the review of a questionnaire by the IOC in May after New York was named a Candidate City. The improved plan takes advantage of the planned Frank Gehry-designed Atlantic Yards Arena in Brooklyn, and a velodrome and multi-use sports facility near Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx. The aquatics venue was moved to the Williamsburg waterfront to allow for swimming and diving to be held in separate arenas within the same complex to meet a new requirement by FINA, the international governing body for aquatics. Lastly, the amended plan includes the Olympic Village redesigned by the architectural firm Morphosis which adds four times the number of low-rise apartments. The Olympic Village is located in the center of the X, directly across the East River from the United Nations.

Construction of the Flushing Pool

The city hired a team consisting of Bovis Construction and Gary Handel & Associates, and Hom and Goldman Architects to finalize facility design and construct the Flushing Pool. Parks & Recreation's designs for the new Flushing Pool include approximately 1,500 pool-side seats and 400 seats at the skating rink. The 50-meter, Olympic-size pool will be the first of its size built in New York City in over 30 years. If New York City should be fortunate enough to host the Olympic Games in 2012, the facility is designed so that it can temporarily accommodate 5,000 spectators. Construction on the pool is slated to begin early next year and should be completed by 2007. $40 million has been allocated for Fiscal Years '05 and '06 for the project by the Mayor and Borough President.