This time around, the United States is saying no to the Olympics. Locked in a dispute over millions of dollars, the US Olympic Committee pulled the plug Monday on a bid for the 2020 Summer Games before the International Olympic Committee could say no to the Americans, as it has the last two times. The two sides have been at odds over a revenue-sharing agreement for years. By not submitting a bid, the USOC assures at least a 20-year gap between Olympics on American soil for only the fourth time. The IOC will award the 2020 Games in 2013. So far, Rome, Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul, Turkey, say they will bid. Chicago, New York and Dallas were among the American cities interested in the 2020 games, but any bid was contingent upon a new deal with the IOC. Recently, negotiations had picked up in an effort to meet a Sept. 1 deadline for countries to submit a city's name for consideration. But with so much money and a long-term commitment at stake, the USOC decided not to rush. “I think it's one of the smartest things they could do right now,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics, one of the country's most important, and successful, Olympic sports. At the heart of the disagreement is the USOC's long-standing 20 percent share of global sponsorship revenues and 12.75 percent cut of US broadcast rights deals. The IOC wants more of that money. Because of the revenue generated in the United States and the success of its teams, the Olympic movement needs the USOC more than any other national body.
