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Walworth County eyes Olympic revenue

If the Olympics come to Chicago, Olympic athletes likely will descend on UW-Whitewater as a place to live and train.

"They're going to want to come in and use our venues for training, residence halls for housing and dining services to feed the athletes," UW-Whitewater Athletics Director Paul Plinske said. "They're going to create a home away from home, and college campuses are the ideal for that."

Plinske has been in meetings with Chicago 2016 representatives. At one of the meetings, he said, one of the representatives told him there's a good chance at least one or two countries would want to use the UW-Whitewater facilities for training up to six weeks before of the games.

It's important for Olympic athletes to get acclimated with the region surrounding the games, he said, because temperature, altitude and humidity play a role in some sports.

"The other thing is that there is some credibility in going to a site and getting away from all of the activity and being isolated from others so that there could be full concentration in what needs to happen," Plinske said.

In addition to housing athletes at UW-Whitewater, Walworth County could benefit from up to $1.5 million in direct tourist revenue if Chicago is chosen as the host for the 2016 summer Olympics, said Fred Burkhardt, executive vice president for the non-profit Walworth County Economic Development Alliance.

Burkhardt said he is disappointed Walworth County was unable to win its bid to host the cycling and equestrian events. Those could have brought in about $12 million in revenue, he said.

Instead, Madison would host road cycling and mountain biking, and Tempel Farms in Old Mill Creek, Ill., would host the equestrian games.

"But the bottom line is: If you can't get what you want for yourself, get it as close to you as you can," Burkhardt said. "We're happy Wisconsin has a good venue, a good sport that will bring some serious (revenue) draw."

Mica Matsoff, spokesperson for Chicago 2016, said hosting the games would send significant economic ripples through the hospitality and tourism industry between Chicago and Madison.

"There are people who will need a place to stay outside Chicago; other people will be looking for places to experience," Matsoff said.

The opportunity would raise the Midwest's international profile, she said.

"This process continues for the years leading up to the games and years after the games," Matsoff said. "There are numerous opportunities for neighbor cities to host spectators and to offer training."

Site selection for the 2016 Olympics host is scheduled for Oct. 2.

Other candidate cities are Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

Burkhardt said Walworth County would market UW-Whitewater athletic facilities as a training location if Chicago is selected.

"The UW-Whitewater facilities are excellent, and we're well within the range," he said.

If UW-Whitewater were to host a team or two, the university probably would offer internships and jobs to prepare grounds and prepare meals for athletes, Plinske said.

And it might mean improvements to facilities and security on the UW-W campus, he said.