in 1988 Stan Kasten, president of the Atlanta Braves, said Friday that he is "in serious discussions" to move the baseball team from downtown to an open-air stadium in Gwinnett County, perhaps as early as the 1991 season. The Braves have a lease to play in the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium until the end of 1990, and Mr. Kasten said Friday that it is unlikely that the baseball organization will renew its lease with the stadium.
Instead, Mr. Kasten said he is seeking to move in 1989 that if the Georgia Dome is built, there is little chance the baseball team will stay in downtown Atlanta. "If the dome is reality, then the Braves are outta here," Mr. Kasten said. Jim Scherr resigned as the chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee today, an awkwardly timed move that comes with the federation attempting to shore up its finances while bidding to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago.
Scherr will be replaced on an interim basis by Stephanie Streeter, a member of the USOC board of directors. Streeter described the move as a way to bring a different "set of skills" to the top of the USOC's salaried staff.
During a 25-minute teleconference with reporters, neither she nor USOC chairman Larry Probst did anything to debunk the notion that Scherr was eased out after more than six years on the job, the first two on an interim basis.
"It was mutually decided upon by both parties," Probst said, as he and Streeter declined three times to say whose idea it was.
Scherr was not on the conference call and did not return messages left by The Associated Press seeking comment.
The power shift started to emerge at the USOC board meeting Tuesday, the same day Scherr announced the USOC must trim up to 15 percent of its staff as a way of paring $7.1 million from its 2009 budget.
Streeter, who has been on the board for 4½ years, said she had the tools to deal with some of the new challenges facing the USOC -- the economy, a changing media climate and a more difficult sponsorship atmosphere.
Scherr will leave more than six years after taking over at the USOC, where he helped the federation streamline a bulky governing structure and regain a reputation that was sullied in the wake of the Salt Lake City Olympics bid scandal.
He oversaw a period of growth and success at the USOC that included significant decreases in administrative costs and a doubling in direct contributions to athletes. Meanwhile, the U.S. team succeeded in the Olympics, most recently winning a games-high 110 medals in Beijing in a year in which most people thought the hosts would beat the United States. It has been, by almost every measure, the most successful six-year period in the federation's history.
"Jim brought a lot of stability to the movement over the past few years," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. "He had what I'd call an even-keeled perspective in addressing issues and he kept the interest of the athletes at the forefront of his decision making."
The timing of the move did raise questions.
The USOC is moving into the final stages of helping with the bid to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago. The SportAccord, an international gathering of sports dignitaries, including those from the International Olympic Committee, is set for later this month in Denver with all four finalists scheduled to present their pitches for the games. In early April, the IOC makes its bid visit to Chicago -- the most important meeting before the games are awarded in October.
One of the USOC's biggest challenges over the past few years has been to establish a sense of continuity in its organization, so international types will feel more comfortable with leaders of the richest and largest Olympic federation in the world.
Scherr was, of course, a key part of that leadership team, but he'll soon be leaving. By contrast, the USOC recently rewrote its bylaws to keep Peter Ueberroth on in an honorary capacity after his term as chairman ended last year.
Streeter said continuity is important, but stressed the equal importance of "making changes to address the needs of the organization for the future." She said her board membership sine 2004 offers a level of continuity, as does Sherr's agreeing to be assist the transition to her leadership. "I don't see a huge impact on the bid or the USOC," she said.
On March 31, Scherr will be replaced on an interim basis by Stephanie A. Streeter, a business executive who has been a member of the committee’s board of directors since 2004.
ReplyDeleteLarry Probst, chairman of the organization’s board, said during a teleconference that the decision for Scherr to step down was made after a board meeting in Washington on Tuesday. He said the idea to replace Scherr with Streeter, a former basketball player at Stanford, was “mutually discussed and agreed to,” but he would not say who first raised the subject
USOC is moving into the final stages of helping with the bid to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago and Mike Plant will be the chef de mission of the U.S. team in vancouver
ReplyDeleteMike Plant will be the chef de mission was bad job for Larry Probst and Jim Scherr
ReplyDelete