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An Olympic selection committee will be welcomed by commissioners and others at a reception Saturday at Saddlebrook Resort.
By JAMES THORNER
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 1, 2001
WESLEY CHAPEL -- Pasco County commissioners will greet the United States Olympic Site Evaluation Committee during a reception at Saddlebrook Resort on Saturday.
Tampa 2012, the local group trying to land the 2012 Summer Games in Central Florida, has named Pasco its tennis venue, provided the county acts on a request to build a tennis stadium in Wesley Chapel.
Commissioner Pat Mulieri said Saddlebrook owner Tom Dempsey, who is active in Tampa 2012, personally requested her attendance at a reception for the Olympic selection committee that begins at 11:45 a.m.
Commissioner Ted Schrader also announced his plans to attend the hourlong meeting in Wesley Chapel, part of a two-day visit by the selection committee to the Tampa Bay region.
On Tuesday, commissioners passed an emergency ordinance that will act as a proclamation welcoming the evaluation committee to Pasco.
In a letter to the commissioners, Tampa 2012 urged Pasco to either issue a proclamation or hand the committee a "key to the county."
"It shows that your community is behind this," said Tampa 2012 spokeswoman Terry Parnell. "It shows "Yes, we want to do this."'
Central Florida is competing against seven other metropolitan areas to be the U.S. city bidding for the 2012 games, including San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Houston. A decision is expected by October 2002.
Tampa 2012 also supports the push, instigated by Dempsey, to build a $6-million tennis stadium within 10 minutes of Saddlebrook.
Commissioners have warmed to the idea of spending nearly $6-million in hotel tax money the county has stockpiled since 1991.
They await further discussions with Dempsey, who has promised to cover any operating losses from the stadium.
Tampa 2012 has upped the ante by promising to invest a further $20-million to enlarge the stadium for the Olympics.
Dempsey has asked to lobby for the stadium at the next meeting of the county's Tourist Development Council in August.
"It's an interesting idea," Mulieri said of what's been tentatively named the Pasco National Tennis Center.
"But I still want to see what kind of management contract we can negotiate with Saddlebrook."