Chicago to be first stop for Olympics panel

Chicago will be the first city visited by the International Olympic Committee's 2016 Summer Games evaluation commission next year, according to a Chicago 2016 spokesperson.

The 10-member commission will be here April 2 to 8.

The panel will visit Tokyo April 14 to 20, Rio April 27 to May 3 and Madrid May 4 to 9.

The stay in each city has been extended from four days to seven.

The cities found out the dates at a meeting of Asian Olympic Committees going on in Bali.

Upon completion of the visits, the commission will prepare a report that will be issued one month before the IOC chooses the 2016 host Oct. 2, 2009. The cities will not be ranked in the report.

from the Trib