Statement from Chicago Games, Inc. Regarding Bid for Gay Games VII in 2006
Fri. December 12, 2003 12:00 AM by ChicagoPride.com News Staff
Chicago, IL -
Last night, Chicago Games, Inc., hosted a Town Hall Meeting to present a Draft Budget for a Gay Games in Chicago in 2006 and to solicit input from members of the community about the advisability of re-bidding to host the Gay Games in 2006. Approximately 50 people attended the meeting from many different segments of the community. Dozens had also emailed us in advance to provide their opinions, almost all of which were very supportive of the decision to re-bid.
During the meeting, viewpoints were expressed on both sides of the question "Should Chicago Re-Bid for the 2006 Gay Games." A significant majority agreed that the Draft Chicago 2006 Budget and Staff Plan represented a viable draft plan for implementing an event in the summer of 2006 for 12,000 athletic and cultural participants. However, despite majority agreement that Chicago "could" host the Gay Games in 2006, concerns were expressed by meeting attendees about whether Chicago "should" host the 2006 Gay Games, or should wait to bid on a future Gay Games.
Specifically, questions were raised around two important themes. First, will Chicago's reputation be enhanced or harmed by hosting an event that had originally been awarded to another city (Montreal). Would we be seen as placing ourselves in the middle of the battle between the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) and Montreal 2006?
Second, will those who support the Gay Games movement, including the majority of past Gay Games attendees, participate in the Gay Games (regardless of location), attend both events, or will they choose Montreal over the Gay Games? Will this affect the international flavor of a Gay Games in Chicago, again to the detriment of our city's reputation?
In our view, these two questions are important ones that need to be addressed before moving forward. Chicago Games, Inc., and the other members of the former Chicago 2006 bidding team, believe that these concerns are based, in large part, upon a skewed perception of world-wide GLBT opinion that has been created by Montreal Tourism's ability to flood the media with press releases that tell just one side of the story. Indeed, "the FGG lost the PR battle with Montreal," was the most common statement made last night by those concerned about these issues. While this perception is a challenge, we are not ready to abandon our efforts because of a PR campaign that is attempting to create a version of reality with which we do not agree.
We believe that should Chicago host the Gay Games in 2006, the event will be successful. In addition to the millions of dollars that would come to our community during the Gay Games by those visiting our city, we believe that it will enhance local GLBT tourism for many years, placing Chicago squarely on the worldwide GLBT destination map. We believe that two and one half years from now, two successful events can co-exist on the North American continent - Montreal's Rendezvous 2006 and the Gay Games.
We support the new direction of the Federation of Gay Games; that the Gay Games must be a sports and cultural event that focuses less on extraneous events such as dance parties and conferences and more on the spirit of competition led by the FGG's values - Inclusion, Participation and the pursuit of Personal Best. A Gay Games organized under these guidelines would inspire the world's GLBT athletes, serve the worldwide common good, and be financially viable, and we believe that Chicago is best positioned to help the Gay Games movement take that important step forward.
When we were asked by the FGG to consider a re-bid, we told them that we would only proceed if we felt we could secure City of Chicago support, could present a viable budget and that our community would rally around the Gay Games. Up until last night, we felt all three of these elements were in place. We still believe that our community would really around a Gay Games in Chicago in 2006, but we need to better assess the depth of this support and we need to ensure that questions about Chicago's reputation are answered to our satisfaction, if not to the satisfaction of those who expressed grave misgivings at our meeting last night.
Therefore, we have decided to ask the FGG to extend our December 15 "Intent to Re-Bid" deadline to give us further time for community consultations. We do not believe that such an extension will affect our ability to prepare a re-bid by the February 1 deadline as much of the budget, venue and sports scheduling work was completed in time for the December 11 public meeting. We will also ask the FGG to assist us in distributing more balanced information that supports their viewpoints regarding the situation with Montreal. e are fully aware that the FGG may reject our extension request and for very valid reasons on their part. If that happens, Chicago Games, Inc., will then have to make a hard decision - issue a Letter of Intent aware that some in the community will feel their concerns were not given proper due and hope that we can convince those individuals that we believe we've made a wise decision, or notify the FGG that we will not be rebidding for the 2006 Gay Games despite believing the concerns could, ultimately, be addressed adequately. Whatever decision is made, we will make our best judgment based upon four years of experience with the FGG, our local sports and cultural organizations, and as individuals who love Chicago and its diverse viewpoints and only seek the best for all of us.
We welcome any and all input. Email us at volunteer@chicagogamesinc.org.
Board of Directors
Chicago Games, Inc.
ChicagoGamesInc.org
During the meeting, viewpoints were expressed on both sides of the question "Should Chicago Re-Bid for the 2006 Gay Games." A significant majority agreed that the Draft Chicago 2006 Budget and Staff Plan represented a viable draft plan for implementing an event in the summer of 2006 for 12,000 athletic and cultural participants. However, despite majority agreement that Chicago "could" host the Gay Games in 2006, concerns were expressed by meeting attendees about whether Chicago "should" host the 2006 Gay Games, or should wait to bid on a future Gay Games.
Specifically, questions were raised around two important themes. First, will Chicago's reputation be enhanced or harmed by hosting an event that had originally been awarded to another city (Montreal). Would we be seen as placing ourselves in the middle of the battle between the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) and Montreal 2006?
Second, will those who support the Gay Games movement, including the majority of past Gay Games attendees, participate in the Gay Games (regardless of location), attend both events, or will they choose Montreal over the Gay Games? Will this affect the international flavor of a Gay Games in Chicago, again to the detriment of our city's reputation?
In our view, these two questions are important ones that need to be addressed before moving forward. Chicago Games, Inc., and the other members of the former Chicago 2006 bidding team, believe that these concerns are based, in large part, upon a skewed perception of world-wide GLBT opinion that has been created by Montreal Tourism's ability to flood the media with press releases that tell just one side of the story. Indeed, "the FGG lost the PR battle with Montreal," was the most common statement made last night by those concerned about these issues. While this perception is a challenge, we are not ready to abandon our efforts because of a PR campaign that is attempting to create a version of reality with which we do not agree.
We believe that should Chicago host the Gay Games in 2006, the event will be successful. In addition to the millions of dollars that would come to our community during the Gay Games by those visiting our city, we believe that it will enhance local GLBT tourism for many years, placing Chicago squarely on the worldwide GLBT destination map. We believe that two and one half years from now, two successful events can co-exist on the North American continent - Montreal's Rendezvous 2006 and the Gay Games.
We support the new direction of the Federation of Gay Games; that the Gay Games must be a sports and cultural event that focuses less on extraneous events such as dance parties and conferences and more on the spirit of competition led by the FGG's values - Inclusion, Participation and the pursuit of Personal Best. A Gay Games organized under these guidelines would inspire the world's GLBT athletes, serve the worldwide common good, and be financially viable, and we believe that Chicago is best positioned to help the Gay Games movement take that important step forward.
When we were asked by the FGG to consider a re-bid, we told them that we would only proceed if we felt we could secure City of Chicago support, could present a viable budget and that our community would rally around the Gay Games. Up until last night, we felt all three of these elements were in place. We still believe that our community would really around a Gay Games in Chicago in 2006, but we need to better assess the depth of this support and we need to ensure that questions about Chicago's reputation are answered to our satisfaction, if not to the satisfaction of those who expressed grave misgivings at our meeting last night.
Therefore, we have decided to ask the FGG to extend our December 15 "Intent to Re-Bid" deadline to give us further time for community consultations. We do not believe that such an extension will affect our ability to prepare a re-bid by the February 1 deadline as much of the budget, venue and sports scheduling work was completed in time for the December 11 public meeting. We will also ask the FGG to assist us in distributing more balanced information that supports their viewpoints regarding the situation with Montreal. e are fully aware that the FGG may reject our extension request and for very valid reasons on their part. If that happens, Chicago Games, Inc., will then have to make a hard decision - issue a Letter of Intent aware that some in the community will feel their concerns were not given proper due and hope that we can convince those individuals that we believe we've made a wise decision, or notify the FGG that we will not be rebidding for the 2006 Gay Games despite believing the concerns could, ultimately, be addressed adequately. Whatever decision is made, we will make our best judgment based upon four years of experience with the FGG, our local sports and cultural organizations, and as individuals who love Chicago and its diverse viewpoints and only seek the best for all of us.
We welcome any and all input. Email us at volunteer@chicagogamesinc.org.
Board of Directors
Chicago Games, Inc.
ChicagoGamesInc.org