Getting the Games: The Winner...is...Ah-tlanta!
There are dozens of versions of how Atlanta won the competition to host the 1996 Centennial Olympic games. This is one of them. In the mid-eighties Atlanta was one of a dozen similar US cities. Not a giant metropolis but a regional center, it was best known for the “murdered children” tragedy that had recently traumatized the city and for an not altogether admirable tendency toward small town boosterism and sloganeering. Forward Atlanta! The City Too Busy to Hate, The Next Great International City... The town showed its international qualifications primarily in marketing. Atlanta, after all, was the headquarters of the ultimate marketing machine, Coca-Cola, Inc., the purveyor of carbonated sugar water to the entire planet. But even with Atlanta’s talent for salesmanship, if anyone had had suggested in 1986 that Atlanta would ten years later be the home of the Centennial Olympic Games, the person would have been regarded as ”a bit ‘theched from d’heat” or “too dumb to get out of the rain,” as Southerners are fond of saying.
Part One: Come Share Our Dream--Latest Atlanta Slogan
As good a place to begin as any is in the winter of 1987 with the dreams, or hallucinations as some called them, of Billy Payne, a former University of Georgia football player who had become dissatisfied real estate lawyer.
Born Again.
Frederick Allen, the author of the Atlanta Rising, an amazingly good history of the city post W.W.II, describes Billy’s moment on his the road to the Olympics. “On a Sunday morning in February 1987, Payne experienced what he later described as an “extraordinary sensation.” He and his wife had just led a successful fundraising campaign for a new sanctuary of their church.... He felt a glow of accomplishment that had eluded him in his law practice.... Sitting at his desk, he scribbled the phrase “1996 Olympics” on a scrap of paper. Payne has insisted that his vision was not some form of religious experience, yet it is difficult to explain what possessed him to make the leap from raising money for [his church] to stalking the Olympics for Atlanta.”
As Billy Payne and a close friend, Peter Candler set out on Billy’s “Impossible Dream,” they met only discouragement. After all, why try to be the U. S. bid city, when it was a foregone conclusion that Athens would be selected by the IOC to host the Centennial Games? Rankin Smith, insurance magnate and owner of the Falcons, didn’t even respond to Payne’s letter asking for advise. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was disdainful. Payne was an embarrassment, treated as “a screwball with a hare-brained scheme.” Attempts to meet with the mayor were futile. The Atlanta and Georgia Chambers of Commerce were unsupportive. When he was finally able to meet with the Don Keough, president of Coca-Cola, a long-time Olympic sponsor, Billy was gently rebuffed. Wouldn’t it be great to have the Olympics in Coke’s backyard, Payne asked. To which Keough replied, “Billy, the whole world is our back yard.”
By the summer of 1987 things were desperate. The United States Olympic Committee was already in the process of selecting a city to represent the United States. Several other cities had been at work for several years preparing their bids. Payne, however, had been unable to solicit any funding from Atlanta’s institutions. What was agonizing to Billy was that he was sure Atlanta could mount a successful campaign for only $50,000. (Here, several typical traits of certain Atlantans are shown: a conservative unwillingness to give money for things that aren’t self financing, a conviction that short rations weeds out the unfit, and, finally, an amazing entrepreneurial conviction among some, bred of the first two attitudes, that things can be done on the cheap because that’s the only way available.) And, with a Southern politician’s skill, Payne believed he saw some weaknesses in Athen’s assumed invincibility. But no funds were forthcoming from Atlanta’s power structure. Profoundly frustrated and discouraged, Payne met with his few supporters and talked of giving up. But then he discovered the traditional form of financing for Atlanta start-ups -- friends. His supporters pledged the needed $50,000 from personal funds. Perhaps it was having this essential sign of sincerity, or perhaps it was what his few supporters did with the money, but Billy Payne’s luck began to change.
Billy and the Girl Scouts
Payne’s entirely volunteer organization had one strength, it knew party-giving backwards and forwards. And this would prove over the years ahead to be one of Atlanta’s unfailingly effective secret weapons. Included among Billy’s earliest volunteers were three women --- Ginger Watkins and Linda Stephenson, who had just put on “The Festival of Trees,” an annual fund raising event for a local children’s hospital, and Cindy Fowler, a professional caterer cum party planner, who ran a company called “Presenting Atlanta.” Fredrick Allen describes what happened this way: “Purely by coincidence, the U. S. Olympic Committee scheduled one of its meetings in Atlanta [in the autumn of 1987. Payne’s group rented the High Museum [of Art] for the evening, wined and dined the USOC visitors in the atrium, and put on a show featuring students from Northside High School’s program for the performing arts. George Steinbrenner, the New York Yankee’s principal owner and long-standing USOC member called it the ‘finest event like this I have seen.’”
Nothing succeeds like success, and over the next two years the Atlanta Organizing Committee never deviated from its formula of good parties and the use of artfully displayed children. As the deadline approached in the spring of 1988 for the choice of the U. S. bid city, Payne was able to bring on board Atlanta’s mayor, former Ambassador Andrew Young. A true Atlantan, Mayor Young found Payne’s increasingly refined idea of an entirely “self-financing” Olympics that would cost the city nothing brilliant. Of course, the support of the mayor was a necessary ingredient in the presentation of any city’s bid. But no one except perhaps Billy Payne -- and the Mayor himself -- realized what an incredible asset Andrew Young would be, -- college sprinter, minister, civil rights leader, U. N. Ambassador, world traveler for Atlanta economic development, and, as would become apparent, super salesman.
At the last minute corporate supporters began to appear as it began to seem as if Atlanta might have a chance to be chosen. Bell South paid for a promotional film which Billy Payne put to good use. Now, with the mayor’s support, Atlanta could press its case against the leading city, Minneapolis-St. Paul. Better and more hotels -- after all, Atlanta’s biggest local business was the “hospitality industry -- . a huge airport, and highways leading everywhere. Plus, Atlanta had a song, “Georgia on My Mind” which it had 10 strolling violinists play for USOC members, as they sipped champagne, at the final AOC party before the vote. When the results were announced, Billy and the Girl Scouts were launched into the international arena. When a northern sophisticate commented that now Atlanta was truly out of its league since the IOC selection process was the biggest party circuit in the world, requiring real skill to maneuver without embarrassing mishaps, an Atlantan was heard to imitate Br’er Rabbit “Ohh, Mister Bear, puhlease, don’ throw me into that ther briar patch.”
Part II: Athens Didn’t Stand a Chance
Against the Odds
Atlanta debuted with betting odds of worse than 20 to 1 in London’s betting shops. Athens was at 2 to 1. What Atlanta had going against her was:
Being in the United States -- The Los Angeles Olympics, while a success, was hated by some traditionalists on the IOC for being too large and too commercial. The U. S. had had more than its share of Olympic Games. And, the U. S. had almost destroyed the Olympic Games when it had boycotted the Moscow Olympics.
Being in the South -- many people, even on the IOC, had no idea where Atlanta was. The city was forever being confused with Atlantic City. One IOC delegate told a Georgia Tech support person at a screening meeting in Puerto Rico that he fondly remembered the casinos in Atlanta but thought they were not right for the Olympics. When delegates knew where Atlanta was, they frequently viewed the South as an impoverished, backward, oppressive region. And then there was the weather in Georgia during July and August.
Being associated with Jimmy Carter and Ted Turner -- being linked with the primary villain of the Moscow boycott didn’t win Atlanta any points and, worse, its most colorful citizen, Ted Turner, was busy promoting his own “Goodwill Games” in direct competition with the Olympics.
Being last out of the gate -- Atlanta started late. Most of the other five cities had been preparing their bids for four or more years. Not being Athens -- As one Greek put it: “Athens has given the world the Parthenon, Socrates, Sophocles, Plato, and democracy. What has Atlanta given it? Hotels with the elevators on the outside and Coca-Cola.”
Against this impressive list of negatives, Atlanta had some positives. First of all, the city was in the right time zone for maximum TV viewing and hence maximum revenues from advertising. The AOC could, therefore, promise to finance more elaborate games than some of her other competitors. She also, in comparison, was the most accessible (roads and airport) and had by far the most hotel accommodations. She had a world renowned status as the home of the civil rights movement and as having transcended the violence of the ‘60’s and ‘70’ in a unique way among larger American cities. Taken together, these advantages put Atlanta in the running despite a late start.
Money was now less of a problem as the Woodruff Foundation contributed $1 million and Chamber of Commerce at last signaled its blessing. But contrary to rumor Atlanta did not buy the Olympics. Altogether, the AOC spent some $7.3 million while some other bid cities spent twice as much.
But even if the numbers -- of rooms, plane landings, and dollars put Atlanta in the running, Billy Payne and the AOC knew in the end that the choice would mainly be political. There were 88 IOC delegates, headed by the imperious and influential Jaun Antonio Samaranch, who was rumored to strongly favor Athens. Over the next year, the IOC would stage three preliminary “beauty contests” around the world, in Puerto Rico, in Budapest, and in Manila, leading up to the final show in Tokyo, where the site for the Olympics would be selected by series of elimination votes conducted by the IOC members. In addition, the IOC members expected to be individually courted, visited, and entertained in the biding cities, which they would visit on tours of inspection. What would matter was how these individuals felt about Atlanta and the people they met.
Early on, Payne made a crucial decision to limit his key group to roughly its original size. He could do this because the AOC was planning to do the Olympics itself, i.e. not seek government support. Other cities, Athens most noticeably, flooded the various IOC meetings with hundreds of politically necessary delegates who made a great deal of noise, milled around and failed to leave a good impression. Keeping their numbers small, the Atlantans carefully targeted individual delegates and allowed Payne, Young and a few others handle all of the contacts with the IOC members. The Atlanta hospitality machine went into high gear and never slowed down. As some 78 of the 88 voting members visited Atlanta one by one, they were entertained by the city’s social elite in their homes and given a warm personal reception. During the day, they were driven by motorcade or helicoptered to Georgia Tech, proposed home of the Olympic village, where they were greeted by well rehearsed throngs of cheering staff and students.
On the international front, Payne discovered what he had only suspected; among third world delegates there was no special attachment to Athens. But there were many personal attachments to Andy Young. Some Commonwealth countries indicated a clear preference for Atlanta if England and Australia were eliminated. All mention of Carter and Turner were avoided. And the courting ritual went on. Charm, good parties, and Southern style politics were all being deployed with a military efficiency that belied various stereotypes of the South. Then, at the Puerto Rico IOC meeting Atlanta deployed its secret weapon.
Athens Showed Us the Past, Atlanta Showed Us the Future
Since about 1985 Atlanta had been developing a small multimedia industry. Centered around Georgia Tech, a group of professors and researchers had taken the work pioneered at MIT in surrogate travel and, working first with Georgia Power, given it a typically Atlantan practical twist. Why not use the new laser disk technology to make interactive marketing presentations to sell Georgia real estate to industries seeking to relocate plants? John Myers of the College of Architecture proposed to Georgia Power that it could improve its economic development operations by employing new technology. A Tech assistant professor set up a small company, based on an skilled Polish émigré electrical engineer who was also an instructor in the College of Architecture. Ultimately, Tolek Lesniewski and a team of Polish émigrés he assembled designed and built some twenty giant interactive presentation systems around the world for various power companies. Want to tour the Macon Industrial Park? Touch a screen arrow to turn right. As many as 50 ganged video disk players would seamlessly take you where you wanted to go.
When Andy Young and Billy Payne went to Seoul during the 1988 Olympics, they asked Georgia Power if a traveling version of the system could be made. Georgia Power along with Dr. Lesniewski’s team quickly constructed a small version and prepared a laser disk showing off Atlanta. This small beginning was the start of what would become a central and unique part of Atlanta’s bid package.
Puerto Rico
Then, as the Puerto Rico IOC meeting drew near Billy Payne contacted Georgia Tech’s president, Pat Crecine,
an early supporter. Biding cities often used architectural models to show where venues might be located. Could Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture produce such a model? Crecine forwarded the request to the Dean of Architecture who called in Tolek Lesniewski. Tolek thought that perhaps an interactive system would do a better job. When the Dean made this suggestion to Dr. Crecine, a computing visionary, the result was an 8 page e-mail memo proposing an impossibly ambitious system, that even today isn’t implementable. But the fire had been lit. Crecine sold the salesman Payne on his vision, or at least Payne agreed to take to Puerto Rico whatever system Crecine could get Tech to produce.
Crecine mandated that work begin immediately and called for volunteers, but made little money available. A group led by a triumverate of Mike Sinclair, a gifted engineer, who had designed flight simulation systems, Fred Dyer, a radar systems developer and all around generalist, and Ray Moore, a TV news announcer and director of Tech’s Research Publications, assembled a team, mostly of volunteers, and began work. Working against an impossible deadline they had incredible luck in locating the talent necessary. An expert programmer, George Olive, volunteered. A call came in out of the blue from Frank Vitz, a Clio winning computer animator, who had just relocated from L. A., looking for interesting graphics work. A psychologist, Mike O’Bannon, signed on and provided invaluable help in designing the interface. And then there were a host of students, Ed Price and Andy Quay most notably, who did hundreds of necessary things. Finally, Ed Branscomb from Hill and Branscomb in California was contracted to provide the track ball interface he had patented and to do a helicopter aerial video of Atlanta.
When the time to leave for Puerto Rico arrived, the final touches weren’t finished but the system was packed up and shipped off with the programmer, George Olive, and Fred Dyer. It was set up in the hospitality suite, not in the lobby presentation area because Billy Payne, reasonably enough, wasn’t too sure what he had.
Word of what Atlanta had spread at first by the hotel staff who were fascinated by what they saw. No it wasn’t a video game, but it was like one. It was like a movie, but it wasn’t. You were flying through the air and could move over Atlanta and fly out to Stone Mountain; depended on how fast you rolled the trackball. When a venue site was approached, a computer building model would magically appear in the air. And then, you could roll your way into the venue, the natatorium, for instance, and go out to the end of the diving board, where you would suddenly see Greg Louganis spring off the board and execute a perfect dive, followed by statistical screens in French and English detailing the capacity, dimensions and design of this virtual venue yet to be built. When the press found out about the presentation system, Atlanta suddenly was the hit of the meeting.
QT movie...1 Meg...simulation of the aquatic center
QT movie...770 K...Marriott Marquis Video
Billy Payne had found the answer for those who thought of the South as a impoverished backwater of racial injustice. As Andy Young, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s former aide, former UN ambassador, and former mayor, smoothly operated the interactive presentation, asking delegates what they would like to see, it was evident that Atlanta was light years ahead of its rivals.
The Spirit of Atlanta -- Sell Till the Fat Lady Sings
Built and produced on a shoestring for less than $250,000 the Atlanta presentation became the standard by which all the other cities were judged. Desperate calls to movie and interactive firms were made. One city’s representatives later reported that to produce a similar presentation they were quoted between $1.5 and 3 million. Over the succeeding months the presentation system went wherever the IOC was meeting. Budapest, Manila and then Tokyo. But Pat Crecine and Georgia Tech were worried. And so was Billy Payne. Having staged a surprise marketing attack that even surprised himself, Payne began to worry that the Atlanta presentation might grow stale, wonderful though it was. And, what if some city was planning a surprise counter attack at the last and decisive minute in Tokyo? Fearing Athens was still insurmountably far ahead, Atlanta, at least would not lose the marketing battle. Georgia Tech set about designing an entirely new system for Tokyo, an intimate surround theater at center of which would be a glowing translucent model of the planned Georgia Tech Olympic Village. When an icon or building was touched it would trigger a magnificently produced mini movie on the Village’s housing, its athletic facilities, its transportation, its dining arrangements. Showing how Atlanta would transcend problems that had beset previous Olympics, the video presentations made by the Georgia State film department, were a perfect complement for Frank Vitz’s animated visions of a Golden Athlete running with torch held high into a virtual stadium while a virtual crowd roared and the stadium ascended into the sky. Assisted in Japan by Denon/Nipon Columbia, which had a plant in Georgia, the Georgia Tech team worked up to the last minute, getting midi music revisions over the Internet. Preparing for the counter attack that never came.
Tokyo
Atlanta came to Tokyo doing what it did best. Selling with class and skill. Athens deployed its Greek Goddess golden haired leggy and tall “hostesses.” Atlanta countered with its “Dream Team” ensemble of children, singing songs strangely reminiscent of Coke’s ad, “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.” Andy and Billy closed deals. The Greeks milled about in their hundreds. The Atlantans party planned to the last minutes. Then voting began. While six cities waited, the balloting went on for hours in secret. In the first round Athens led, Atlanta was third. Belgrade was eliminated. In the second round, Athens led, Manchester was eliminated. Atlanta picked up votes... The final round was down to Atlanta and Athens, with Athens leading still.
On September 18, 1990 in the Ballroom of the New Takanawa Prince Hotel Jaun Samaranch, the secret balloting completed, spoke slowly into the microphone. “The International Olympic Committee has awarded the 1996 Olympics Games to ...the...city of ......Ah.....tLanta!
