Seattle Dives Into 2008 Olympic Pool

A $100,000 commitment to submit a bid for the Olympic Games has been sent to the U.S. Olympic Committee, making Seattle the third U.S. city in the running.

The money, wired within the past week, was raised entirely from private and corporate sources, said Dave Syferd, vice president of the Seattle Bid Committee for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

The group plans to raise another $400,000 to $500,000 a year in corporate funds to keep the bid going until the International Olympic Committee makes a selection in four years.

Syferd’s group had been told the U.S. committee will conduct a seminar in September for bid committee representatives from each city.

The initial bid fee, due by next Thursday, also has been paid by groups from Houston and Cincinnati. Other interested include Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New York and Washington. Potential international contenders are London, Oslo, Paris, Cairo and Osaka.