MOSCOW, 16 March 2005 — The chiefs of Moscow’s Olympics bid committee expressed confidence yesterday that existing sport venues were already capable of hosting world-class events, as representatives from the International Olympic Committee continued to evaluate the Russian capital’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.
“We are capable of hosting the Games right now,” Moscow Deputy Mayor Valery Shantsev, who also heads the city’s Olympic Bid Committee said. “A slight renovation of some venues is all we need.”
“I’m confident that all the arenas that we visited today impressed the members of the IOC panel,” he added.
His statement came during the second day of the IOC evaluation commission’s four-day visit to Moscow, the last stop of their tour of five cities vying to host the 2012 Games.
“We plan to build and renovate all the venues that would be necessary for staging the Games no later than in 2010,” Shantsev added.
“That will give all the federations a chance to hold a series of pre-Olympic tournaments here during 2010-2011.”
The IOC panel started its inspection at Moscow’s equestrian center Bitsa, where the sporting manager of Moscow’s bid committee Dmitry Svatkovsky, Sydney Olympic pentathlon champion, gave a riding demonstration, clearing several barriers on horseback.
The 13-strong commission then proceeded by metro to the Luzhniki sports complex, where they inspected five-star, 83,000-seater venue, and to the ice palace, where the world figure skating championships are currently being held.
Moscow’s 2012 bid committee also presented the sites for proposed construction of the Olympic Village, Media Village and the Olympic broadcasting center on the banks of the Moskva River in the northwest of the city.
Later in the day, the IOC evaluation commission split into three groups, which also inspected venues at Moscow’s Krylatskoye and Tushino regions along with a planned sailing center at Klyazma reservoir in the neighboring suburbs of Moscow.
