SO Idaho 09 site has moved.

SO Idaho 09 site has moved.

Please update your bookmarks. Thanks.

Boise a candidate for 2009 Special Olympics

The Times-News Online: Twin Falls, ID

Boise hopeful for 2009 Special Olympics

KTVB.COM Boise Idaho News, Weather, Sports & Traffic Idaho News: "BOISE -- A local group wants to put Boise in the running to host the 2009 Special Olympics world games.
An official from the Special Olympics will be in Idaho early this week to determine if Boise is eligible to host the events. It's an opportunity that could bring thousands of visitors and worldwide attention to the Gem State.

SR.com: Boise seeks to host Special Olympics

SR.com: Boise seeks to host Special Olympics: "Boise seeks to host Special Olympics
City must beat out three other candidates vying for 2009 Winter World Games"

2006 Winter Olympics Games Torino Blog

2006 Winter Olympics Games Torino Blog: "Idaho may be in the running to host the 2009 Special Olympics (The Idaho Statesman)
A group of people interested in Idaho hosting the Special Olympics 2009 World Winter Games and various state and local officials will meet Monday with the organization�s World Games operations director to learn specifically what the state would need to provide to qualify as host. "

BOISE CAMPAIGNS TO HOST SPECIAL OLYMPICS

NBC Newschannel 6 Where News Comes First:

2009 Special Olympics Could Be In Boise

KBCI 2 Boise, Idaho:

Idaho may host 2009 Special Olympics - News - MSNBC.com

Idaho may host 2009 Special Olympics - News - MSNBC.com:

Idaho may be in the running to host the 2009 Special Olympics

Local News - The Idaho Statesman - Always Idaho: "Idaho Special Olympics supporters are working to bring the 2009 World Winter Games here, and a top Special Olympics official will tour potential event venues next week to see whether Idaho has what it takes to host the events.

Boise would be the hub for the Games, with The Grove area serving as the Olympic Village, Bogus Basin hosting some skiing events, Qwest Arena or Taco Bell Arena hosting the opening and closing ceremonies and the city-owned Idaho Ice World providing the venue for skating competitions.

Preliminary plans also include downhill and cross-country skiing events at Tamarack and Brundage resorts and Ponderosa State Park. Boise and Idaho tourism officials are excited about the global media exposure the area would get and the economic benefits that would come with more than 2,000 athletes and an estimated 10,000 visitors from 150 countries.
'I'm so excited I can hardly stand it,' said Laurie LaFollette, executive director of Special Olympics Idaho.

'That would be so cool,' said Ben Rigby, 23, of Pocatello. He won two silver medals and a bronze for slalom snowboarding at the 2005 World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.
It's hardly a done deal though. Boise would have to beat out Reno and cities in Poland and Germany, which also are vying to host the Games. Organizers also would have to raise $10 million in cash and another $10 million in in-kind donations to qualify as host.

World Games Operations Director Jon-Paul St. Germain will meet with organizers and tour the venues Monday and Tuesday. By Tuesday night, he should be able to say whether Idaho has what it would take to submit a formal bid, LaFollette said. A final decision could take another six months, said Kirsten Suto, spok"

Special Olympics official tours Boise-area sites

Local News - The Idaho Statesman - Always Idaho: "It may be another week before Idaho is invited to bid to host the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, but local organizers are more optimistic than ever about their chances after showing a Special Olympics International executive around Boise Monday.

'Everything we've learned today has just strengthened my conviction that we can and will do this,' said Jim Grossman, who is leading the effort with his wife, Pirie, and Special Olympics Idaho officials.

The Grossmans sparked the idea last month for Idaho to host the 2013 World Winter Games, but when they learned Sarajevo had canceled plans to host the 2009 Games, they accelerated their plans.
On Monday, they showed World Games Operations Director Jon-Paul St. Germain various sites around Boise, including Bogus Basin, Qwest Arena, Taco Bell Arena and other Boise State University facilities, and Boise Centre on The Grove, which would serve as the Olympic Village for the Games. The group headed to Tamarack Monday night and will return Tuesday to look at Idaho Ice World.

St. Germain said he would return to Special Olympics headquarters in Washington, D.C., to compare Idaho's venues to other potential hosts. He'll decide in about a week whether Idaho has the basic requirements to submit a formal bid, but until then, he declined to say how the Gem State compared with the competition.
'We've got to go back and go through the process,' he said overlooking cross country ski trails at Bogus. 'It is a beautiful location, I can say that.'

Other communities competing to host the Games are Reno/Tahoe and cities in Germany and Poland. The Winter Games, held in 2005 in Nagano, Japan, and in Anchorage in 2001, would draw an estimated 2,500 athletes and tens of"

Special Olympics committee looks over Boise venues

KTVB.COM Boise Idaho News, Weather, Sports & Traffic Idaho News: "Special Olympics committee looks over Boise venues"