A year after taking over the scandal-tainted Salt Lake Olympic Committee, Mitt Romney reported to the nation that SLOC has come far in repairing its image and budget shortfalls.
And he told the National Press Club Thursday that even more importantly, the troubles helped refocus the Olympics on service to athletes and the world — and less on money and civic pride.
"It's a pity and an injustice that a community (Utah) as dedicated to American ideals, as that community is, to be tainted by the actions of a few," Romney said of the scandal of offering gifts and cash to woo votes in the balloting to choose an Olympic host city.
"I would have far rather to have read a story saying Utah lost the bid yet again but acknowledged it would not participate in any kind of gift-giving or inappropriate act. We did not take that step," said Romney, who took over SLOC on Feb. 11, 1999.
In the speech carried by National Public Radio and the C-SPAN cable TV network, Romney outlined several steps SLOC has taken since then to rebuild trust and refocus the Games on the needs of the athletes.
He noted that at the recommendation of an ethics commission, SLOC expanded its board and opened its meetings and files to the public — and adopted and now follows a tight code of conduct.
He said it has also cooperated with an ongoing Justice Department investigation into the scandal, even though research and photocopying to meet its requests have cost "millions and millions of dollars."
"Is there any other country in the world where in the middle of the Olympics — when we showcase to the world — we would investigate ourselves?" he asked. "I support that effort" to help rebuild trust, he added.
"We also faced the truth by standing up and telling our community that we were $350 million, almost $400 million in the (budget) hole." So SLOC worked furiously to raise more money and cut expenses.
Romney said that in the year before he took over, SLOC had attracted only one sponsor and raised only $13 million.
"We've signed 14 sponsors in the last eight months, and two more will be announced before the end of this month. More than that, we've raised over $100 million," he said.
Additionally, he said the International Olympic Committee agreed to cancel many costs required by contract during the Games — from a cultural reception for members to personal secretaries for all and limousines — to refocus on items most necessary for athletes and the Games themselves.
The Salt Lake Games, he said, are seeking to be more practical than flashy, which helped to cut costs and balance budgets.
As an example, he noted that the fancy speedskating rink for the Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, cost $300 million — but is now used as a flea market.
Utah's speedskating venue in Kearns will cost $30 million, he said. "It will keep us warm. We will see as well — it won't have a single post to interfere with a television camera. But it will cost one-tenth as much as in Nagano."
Also, he said SLOC has worked hard to seek federal support where needed for such things as security and transportation — and praised what he said has been strong support from the Clinton administration.
"We as a nation spend hundreds of billions of dollars to enforce peace in the world. And I believe it is highly appropriate that we can also spend what's necessary to demonstrate peace to the world," he said.
Romney said the Olympics should not be about making money or advertising a host city as much as it should be about serving athletes who can inspire the world with character and courage.
He said he realized that in part when he weighed taking the job at SLOC. He said he didn't want to leave his venture-capital business, where he was making a lot of money. But his wife asked him, "Do you really want to spend the rest of your life making money?"
He said he realized, "If the Olympics was just about getting money for Utah businesses, I frankly had less than no interest."
He said that should be a lesson for the Olympics in general — and that hosting the Games should be viewed as an opportunity to serve.