Watching the Countdown Clock, Not 'The Apprentice'

Only 50 days remain in the most intense bid campaign the Olympic Games have ever seen, and NYC2012 has commemorated the event with a giant countdown clock and banner at Union Square. But bid officials may be secretly wishing the clock were ticking up instead of down as they begin to run out of time in their quest to get the Olympic Stadium approved.

A vote by the Public Authorities Control Board to approve the Jets stadium project could happen as early as today if Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki have their way. But opponents of the plan who are trying to force a delay on the decision could cause irreparable damage to the bid.

Technically, there is still more time for NYC2012 to get the approval, get it in the IOC's hands, and make it a factor in the host city election.

The IOC evaluation report will be released on June 6 and it will discuss any deficiencies in the NYC2012 plan - including the lack of approval for an Olympic stadium. New York's bid will then have an opportunity to respond in writing - a golden opportunity to outline the final approved stadium plan and get it properly reported and distributed before the election. The response will be due about two weeks after the release of the evaluation report. Failing this, the bid committee could announce an approval at their final presentation in Singapore on election day, but that would be far from ideal.

Even if the time line is met, the damage has already been done and it will get worse until the stadium issue is put to bed.

While NYC2012 is focusing on the stadium, the mayor and governor are fighting for its approval, and the press is giving the issue wide coverage, a tremendous opportunity is being lost, one that is especially critical in the final 50 days of the campaign.

Paris's proposed Olympic Stadium is the Stade de France, built in 1998 for the World Cup. Moscow will upgrade the stadium that was already used for the 1980 Olympics.

London and Madrid have both proposed new stadium plans, and they have been fully approved. So while competitors are highlighting the positive aspects of their bid, both at home and internationally, they might be gaining ground on NYC2012 as New York struggles to tie up the loose ends.

Additionally, delays and legal wrangling could give IOC members an impression of things to come should New York get selected as the host city in 2012. This would be extremely negative on the heels of the Athens 2004 Games, where such issues led to incomplete venues.

Both NYC2012 and opponents of the stadium plan have now launched letter campaigns, and the fight only seems to be intensifying. For New York to make a strong final run at the Olympic dream, the stadium issue must be resolved very quickly.

Meanwhile, the NYC2012 Athletic Challenge portrayed on last week's episode of NBC's "The Apprentice" could have spelled disaster for the bid had it actually been a promotional event. The event that appeared to be very poorly organized by the reality show's finalist, Tana Goertz, was apparently a closed taping designed specifically for the show.

Thankfully, no IOC members were present to witness the disorganized challenge and one hopes that none of them watch the TV show - but NYC2012 certainly made efforts to avoid any potential conflict with the IOC. Within the entire venue, there was no evidence of the trademark five Olympic rings, even though as an official candidate, NYC2012 is licensed to use them with its bid logo for promotional purposes.

The portrayal of the event was vague in its association with the Olympics and even unclear on what New York's role was in the process. Some viewers I spoke with believed that New York had already "qualified" to host the Games, and the language used in the episode didn't include the word "bid" often, if at all.

But I doubt the deputy mayor, Daniel Doctoroff, and his team see the show as anything but positive for the bid. Having Donald Trump and Mr. Pataki mention "New York" and "Olympics" in the same breath in front of a national television audience must have been music to their ears.

At the very least, it was one hour when everyone forgot about the stadium.

Mr. Livingstone is the producer of GamesBids.com.