The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Site Evaluation Team is scheduled to make their next site visit to Houston on July 12-13, 2002. In October of 2001, Houston was designated by the USOC, along with New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., to move forward into the next phase of the U.S. bid process to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Initially, there were eight U.S. cities bidding to gain the nomination from the USOC as the 2012 U. S. Candidate City (Washington, D.C., Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Tampa). Houston 2012’s bid, a 679-page document, was submitted to the USOC in December 2000. In addition, a 222-page bid supplement was provided to the USOC in April 2002.

This supplement included a bid for the Paralympic Games (to be held 10 days after the Olympic Games), a much expanded and updated budget, and an outline of Houston’s international strategies for the next phase of the bid process. “The USOC gave us the opportunity to refine our proposal, and we made sure that this supplement included everything possible to ensure our bid demonstrates all of Houston’s strengths as a potential host city for the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Susan Bandy, president of Houston 2012 Foundation. According to Ms. Bandy, “One of the most exciting aspects of our bid supplement was the creation of our Celebration Corridor.”

The 2012 Celebration Corridor will encompass the Main Street Corridor from downtown to Reliant Park, with Celebration Pods in downtown, the Museum District and at Houston’s proposed Olympic Park (Reliant Park). People from around the world can celebrate at these sites by viewing the Games on a big screen overlooking Buffalo Bayou, attending an outdoor concert at Jones Plaza, or enjoying ethnic dance and music in the museum district.

The USOC site visits this summer will be short - the site evaluation team will be in each city for a day and a half. Their visit to Houston will include visits to the completed Reliant Center and the almost completed Reliant Stadium, as well as viewing the progress on the expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center, the convention center hotel, and the new downtown arena.
“This is an exciting time for Houston 2012 and the City of Houston. We are proud of our experience, our state-of-the-art venues and our convenient, comfortable and secure Olympic and Paralympic game plan,” said George DeMontrond, III, Chair, Houston 2012 Foundation. According to DeMontrond, “ This site visit once again allows us the opportunity to show the USOC just how much Houston has to offer.”