Phoenix Hopeful on Olympic Festival

PHOENIX —  Local fund-raisers are reporting initial success in what they see as a key first step in an effort to land the 1994 or 1995 U.S. Olympic Festival for the Phoenix area.

The Maricopa County Sports Authority’s chairman, Lamar Whitmer, said a third of the $45,000 in needed funds has been raised in the first two weeks of a drive to help meet the cost of being host to the Feb. 6-12 U.S. Olympic Committee House of Delegates meeting.

The sports authority beat Nashville, St. Louis, Tampa and Houston in bidding for the convention, which is expected to draw 480 delegates to Phoenix, along with committee, top athletes and lots of reporters.

That will give Phoenix “an opportunity to showcase the community and its facilities and set the stage for future Olympic events,” Whitmer said recently in speaking of the fund-raising drive.