mar.21.2009

The United States Olympic Committee is heading for a showdown with the International Olympic Committee next week over its longstanding revenue-sharing deal, a dispute that will unfold as Chicago tries to persuade the I.O.C. to let it host the 2016 Summer Games.

An official at the I.O.C. suggested Wednesday that the current money-sharing contract could be scrapped if the U.S.O.C. did not agree to a smaller percentage of money when officials meet next week in Denver. The official, Denis Oswald, an I.O.C. executive board member and part of a three-person team formed to negotiate with the U.S.O.C., told The Associated Press that the U.S.O.C. must agree to a newly calculated division of television rights fees and top-level sponsorship money.
“If there is no agreement, then we would possibly terminate the contract and completely renegotiate another one,” Oswald said of the current open-ended agreement that gives the U.S.O.C. 12.75 percent of television rights fees and 20 percent of the global sponsorship revenue.

“It is not possible to have a contract that has no end,” he said. “We feel, and our American lawyers agree, that if we give sufficient notice, we can terminate it. We cannot be bound for life.”

U.S.O.C. officials were busy Wednesday as the organization laid off 54 staff members (13 percent of the organization’s workforce) and made others cuts to reduce its 2009 operating budget. Still, the spokesman Darryl Seibel said the U.S.O.C. was willing to negotiate.

“As has been the case for more than two years, we remain ready and willing to sit down and discuss how to resolve this in a manner that is productive for all members of the Olympic family,” Seibel said. “Rhetoric is not going to get it done.”

In his final speech as chairman of the organization last fall, Peter Ueberroth vowed to keep the distribution of funds exactly the way it stands. The United States, he said, pumps more money into the I.O.C. than any other Olympic committee because its television package is the biggest and many American companies are global sponsors. Ueberroth, an honorary president of the U.S.O.C., remains deeply engaged in the revenue negotiations.

The discussion with the I.O.C. promises to be heated. The 204 other national Olympic committees receive the same percentage of money from top-level sponsors as the U.S.O.C. does, but they share it. Some I.O.C. members, national Olympic committees and international sports federations have complained about that imbalance, saying the U.S.O.C. receives much more than its fair share. One I.O.C. member called the United States’ slice of the revenue immoral.

The debate comes at a delicate time for the U.S.O.C., with Chicago trying to land the Games by impressing the I.O.C. The vote on the 2016 Summer Games is set for this fall. An I.O.C. evaluation commission will visit Chicago in early April to check the city’s bid.

The commission will visit each city vying for the 2016 Games, including Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro. Chicago is the first stop. The I.O.C. will determine a winner in a vote scheduled for Oct. 2.

Officials from the Chicago bid said Wednesday that the revenue-sharing flap would not hinder their chances.

“We see this as an issue between the I.O.C. and the U.S.O.C., and we are confident that they will reach a resolution,” Patrick Sandusky, a spokesman for the bid, said. “We are staying focused on showcasing to the I.O.C. that Chicago would be the best possible host for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games