The New York City 2012 Olympic bid was one of the five short-listed bids for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

, ultimately won by

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's Olympic bid was managed by a private non-profit organization, NYC 2012, founded by

Daniel L. Doctoroff Daniel Louis Doctoroff (born July 11, 1958) is an American businessman and former government official. He is the chief executive officer of Sidewalk Labs, a startup company developing technology focused on city life. Previously, he was the CEO an ...

, then the managing director of Oak Hill Capital Partners, a

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including lev ...

. Doctoroff thought of bringing the Olympic Games to New York after witnessing New York's international sports fans at a

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

match in

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted spo ...

. He then built a team to help craft a plan for staging the Games. Seven years later, Doctoroff resigned as President of NYC2012 to join the administration of Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...

, but he continued to lead New York's Olympic Bid as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding. Two of the biggest projects proposed as part of the bid were the revival of the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

waterfront, including the construction of an Olympic Village across the river from the

United Nations Headquarters zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg , im ...

and an aquatics center in Brooklyn, and the construction of

West Side Stadium West Side Stadium (also known as the New York Sports and Convention Center) was a proposed football and Olympic stadium to be built on a platform over the rail yards on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The stadium would have been ...

, which was supposed to have led to the comprehensive redevelopment of the Far West Side of Manhattan. Other projects that were part of the bid included a rowing course in Queens, a

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

in the South Bronx, a marina along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, an equestrian center on Staten Island, and the refurbishment of the historic

369th Regiment Armory The 369th Regiment Armory is a historic National Guard Armory building located at 2366 Fifth Avenue, between West 142nd and 143rd Streets, in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It was built for the 369th Regiment, also known as the "Harlem Hell Fi ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

Venues

Olympic venues would have been spread around the city, had it been selected for the Olympics.

Olympic Village

The Village would have been located on the

Waterfront of Queens across from the

. During the Olympics and Paralympics, it would have housed more than 16,000 athletes and coaches. Costing an estimate of $1.5 billion, the Village would include plazas and shops, restaurants, acres of green landscape, training centers and fields, a private dining hall, religious centers, and ferry and train service. Post-Olympic plans would provide world-class residential housing for up to 18,000 New York residents. The area would have designed by Morphosis Architects as the heart and crossroad of New York's Olympic X Plan.

Olympic Square (Manhattan)

(Opening/Closing Ceremony, Athletics, Football-Finals match) * International Broadcasting Center/Main Press Center *

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, commonly known as the Javits Center, is a large convention center on Eleventh Avenue between 34th Street and 38th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by architect James I ...

along with its expansion (Wrestling, Judo, Taekwondo, Fencing, Weightlifting, Table Tennis) *

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

(Basketball Preliminaries/Finals, Boxing Finals) *

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

(Triathlon)

Olympic Park (Queens)

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

(moved due to refusal of West Side Stadium) * Flushing-Meadows Corona Regatta Center (Canoe/Kayak and Rowing) *

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a stadium complex within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. It has been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year in August ...

(Tennis) * Fountain of the planets at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (

Canoe Slalom Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of t ...

) * Water Polo Center(Water Polo) * Archery Stadium near the backdrop of the Unisphere * Breezy Point Marina (Sailing, Marathon Start)

Olympic Riverfront (Bronx)

(Boxing Preliminaries, One Gymnastics Event) *

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

(Baseball) * Robert K. Kraft Field at Columbia University (Field Hockey Tournament) * Pelham Bay Shooting and Pentathlon Center * Queensbridge Athletic Center (Badminton, Cycling)

Elsewhere in the metropolitan area

Brooklyn *

Barclays Center Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...

(Gymnastics, Basketball Preliminaries/Finals) * Williamsburg Waterfront Center (Aquatics, Beach Volleyball) Staten Island * Temporary BMX Stadium * Greenbelt Equestrian Center (also the Olympic Horse Village) *

Fresh Kills Park Freshkills Park is a public park being built atop a former landfill on Staten Island. At about , it will be the largest park developed in New York City since the 19th century. Its construction began in October 2008 and is slated to continue in p ...

(Mountain Biking) * Fort Wadsworth (Road Cycling) *

Richmond County Bank Ballpark The Staten Island University Hospital, Community Park (SIUH Community Park) is a baseball stadium located on the north-eastern tip of Staten Island. The ballpark is the home of the Staten Island FerryHawks, a member of the Atlantic League of ...

(Softball) Long Island *

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...

(Handball) New Jersey *

Meadowlands Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on ...

(Indoor Volleyball) *

(Football Preliminaries)

Elsewhere in the United States (football preliminaries)

Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Foo ...

(Boston) *

Yale Bowl The Yale Bowl Stadium is a college football stadium in the northeast United States, located in New Haven, Connecticut, on the border of West Haven, about 1½ miles (2½ km) west of the main campus of Yale University. The home of the American f ...

(New Haven) *

Lincoln Financial Field Lincoln Financial Field is an American football stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It serves as the home stadium of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) and the Temple Owls football team of Temple University. ...

(Philadelphia) *

FedExField FedExField (originally Jack Kent Cooke Stadium) is an American football stadium located in Summerfield, Maryland, east of Washington, D.C. The stadium is the home of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 u ...

(Washington, DC)

West Side Stadium

An Olympic Stadium on the West Side of Manhattan had been part of NYC2012's plan since 2000, when the organization's blueprint for the Games was formally unveiled to the public. Host to Opening and Closing Ceremonies and Athletics competitions, the

would have sat adjacent to the Jacob Javits Convention Center, host to six Olympic sports, Olympic Square Park, and a new 40+ story office tower that would have housed Olympic broadcasters in 2012. The Stadium's construction was scheduled to proceed regardless of whether New York was awarded the 2012 Olympic Games. The project was to be paid for by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

($800 million), New York City ($300 million for infrastructure), and New York State ($300 million for the retractable roof). According to the project's promoters, the building's retractable roof, unnecessary for football, would make the stadium a flexible, multi-purpose facility. It would provide a long-term boost to New York's economy and would jump-start the development of Manhattan's Far West Side. Local civic groups concerned with congestion and a changing neighborhood had long opposed its construction, and it historically had low citywide approval ratings. The project managed to stay largely out of the media and public spotlight until early 2004 when

Cablevision Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its e ...

released its first round of advertising against the Stadium. As the owner of Madison Square Garden, which is located just a few blocks from the site of the proposed Olympic Stadium, Cablevision saw the new facility as a potential threat to the Garden's share of concert, convention, and other major event business. Political opponents of New York mayor

, notably the contenders for the Democratic mayoral nomination, used the Stadium issue as a symbol that he was a billionaire who was out of touch with the needs of average New Yorkers. Cablevision spent over $30 million on negative advertising and political lobbying and even generated a competing proposal for development of the Stadium site. However, the Stadium was strongly supported by Bloomberg, who insisted that there was no alternate site for the Olympic Stadium and the project needed to be approved before the International Olympic Committee selected the Host City on July 6, 2005. Finally, on June 6, 2005, the Public Authorities Control Board rejected New York State's $300 million contribution for the project, eliminating the possibility that an Olympic Stadium on that site would be fully approved before the IOC's vote. The City, working with NYC2012, quickly developed a backup plan, which called for a new ballpark for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

in the parking lot of

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

– later named

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...

– to be completed for the 2009 baseball season; it was announced on June 12, 2005. The plan would've been to use the stadium for the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

while the Mets would play at

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

for that year's baseball season.

Post-bid development

Despite the bid's failure the greatest legacy of the NYC2012 bid has been large-scale development of areas of

that underwent

rezoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

in order to move forward with the NYC2012 bid.

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

's Hudson Yards and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

's waterfront in Williamsburg and Greenpoint both underwent rezoning revisions which were in part due to the region's planned roles as Olympic venues, including the controversial West Side Stadium. (The

7 Subway Extension The 7 Subway Extension is a subway extension of the New York City Subway's IRT Flushing Line, which is served by the local and express services. The extension stretches southwest from its previous terminus at Times Square, at Seventh Ave ...

, which was originally planned for the 2012 Olympic bid, was revised to serve the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project.) The development of the once industrial Queens West neighborhood on the

may also have origins in the bid, as it was initially slated for development as the planned site of the Olympic Village. Following the Games, the site was to be bought by private developers and converted into condominiums.

Potential 2024 bid

Upon the USOC reaching a new revenue sharing agreement with the IOC in May 2012, New York had been mentioned as a potential candidate for the

2024 Summer Olympics ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summe ...

, but then-Mayor

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Y ...

decided not to peruse a bid.A New York City Olympic Games Considered

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

became the US candidate following the withdrawal of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

's bid. Los Angeles later secured the right to host the

2028 Summer Olympics The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...

while

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

(which competed with New York in the 2012 race) secured the

Citi Field & NYC FC Stadium

After the Olympic bid failed, the construction of

in Queens, now designated as the new home of the

, went on as scheduled; the Mets played their first game in the stadium in April 2009. Adjacent to Citi Field, a new 25,000 seat soccer-specific stadium will be built in

Willets Point Willets Point, also known locally as the Iron Triangle, is an industrial neighborhood within Corona, in the New York City borough of Queens. Located east of Citi Field near the Flushing River, it is known for its automobile shops and junkyard ...

and the surrounding area will be redeveloped. The new stadium will open in 2027.

Flushing Meadows Natatorium

Despite the bid's failure, construction of an aquatics center at

Flushing Meadow Park Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushing ...

went ahead. The Flushing Meadows Natatorium opened in 2008.

Barclays Center

The opening of the

(which was the proposed venue for gymnastics) ushered in the return of professional sports franchises to

for the first time since the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

left in 1957. The Barclays Center is the home of the NBA's

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

Hudson Yards

Despite the failure to approve the

, the site of the West Side Rail Yards still saw development. The Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project saw the construction of multiple buildings and mixed-use developments which has led to the creation of a new neighborhood. The new buildings feature office space and residential space. A shopping mall has also been opened. Renovations were made to the

Javits Center The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, commonly known as the Javits Center, is a large convention center on Eleventh Avenue between 34th Street and 38th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by architect James ...

(which would have hosted multiple Olympic events) and the 7 Train was extended to its current terminal at 34th Street. The

High Line The High Line is a elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Opera ...

originates at the Hudson Yards and is an elevated urban park built on former train tracks.

References

External links

Last official site of NYC 2012 from Web Archive

NYC 2012 logo-unveiling film designed and produced by Trollback + Company

* {{United States bids for the Olympic Games Olympic Games in New York (state) 2012 Summer Olympics bids Sports competitions in New York City *