Olympic Committee pares 2012 bids cities list

AP Sports WriterSALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The U.S. Olympic Committee trimmed the list of American cities bidding for the 2012 Summer Olympics to four, picking Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington.

Dropped from contention Friday were Dallas, Los Angeles, Tampa, Fla., and Cincinnati.

The USOC will choose an American candidate from among the four finalists in November 2002. The International Olympic Committee will vote on the host city in 2005.

New York, battered by last month's terrorist attacks, was considered a sentimental front-runner.

The four survivors were approved unanimously by a 12-member review panel that met this week, said Charles H. Moore, chairman of the bid evaluation task force.

Moore said it was a close contest.

"This has been an inspiring journey," Moore said. "Each city is better from the process and so is the USOC."

New York's bid was helped by the city's international reputation and by state lawmakers' approval this week of a measure providing a $250 million guarantee if the games end up losing money.

Houston, which has a similar financial guarantee, is expected to benefit from having many venues in a compact area.

The strength of San Francisco's bid rests on the city's waterfront and scenic vistas. Organizers plan to use the Golden Gate Bridge as a signature emblem, the way Sydney's Opera House was used during the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Washington, with its experience in being the host to world diplomats, is another strong contender. Its bid relies on venues stretching from Baltimore to the Northern Virginia suburbs.

Cities surviving Friday's first cut can still be dropped from contention if they can't post guarantees of $100 million to $250 million by Nov. 30.

Whichever American city is nominated probably will be part of a crowded field of contenders.

Potential bidders include Rome; Paris; London; Moscow; Madrid, Spain; Budapest, Hungary; Istanbul, Turkey; an undetermined German city; Toronto; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and possibly an African candidate.