In the summer of 2008, if a Boston planning committee of financiers, politicians and community activists has its way, Harvard's campus could be transformed.

Carl Lewis, trying for yet another gold medal, could be living in Pennypacker Hall. Fans may spot Jennifer Capriati and Venus Williams walking to the Dunster House dining hall for a bite to eat. Italy's Roberto Baggio, a bit past his prime, would be practicing his footwork on the Harvard soccer fields.

For four years, the Boston Organizing Committee (BOC) has worked to build a plan for holding the 2008 Olympics in Boston. And a key part in the blueprint is Harvard, which would serve as the Olympic village and host three events: judo, the modern pentathlon, and possibly the preliminary rounds of soccer competition.

The University has not been deeply involved in the planning so far. But Harvard representatives went to a public meeting October 12, and officials say they are willing to commit University resources.

"There is no way Harvard as a member of the community would not be involved," says Associate Vice President for University Relations John P. Reardon.

Planners say the Olympics would bring valuable publicity, tourist dollars and community pride to Boston and Cambridge. Students and Cambridge residents say they like the idea.

Even as a staff of 200 volunteers moves forward with planning, however, leaders acknowledge that winning the Olympics will not be easy. At least six other cities are competing for the chance, but community leaders say Boston's long-term organization may tip the balance.

"Boston is further ahead than any other U.S. city in thinking about the complexity of the summer Olympics," says Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs James H. Rowe '73.

Logistics

Bringing the Olympics to Boston and Harvard would be a complex undertaking.

For a summer Olympics, a city must house about 15,000 athletes, coaches and officials. Under the BOC plan, Harvard, MIT and Boston University would provide the nucleus of the Olympic village, converting dorms to house the participants.

Boston must provide 26 athletic

'Boston is further ahead than any other U.S. city in thinking about the complexity of the summer Olympics'  --Vice President James H. Rowe '73

Boston must provide 26 athletic venues, from a rifle range to a field for equestrian events. According to the BOC feasibility report, 22 sites are already available.

Three of those are at Harvard (please see graphic, this page). Under the BOC plan, the judo competition would take place in the University's Bright Arena.

The modern pentathlon would also take place at Harvard, though the specific facilities are not yet planned. Preliminary soccer competition could be in the Harvard Stadium, though planners say the Yale Bowl and Holy Cross stadium are other possible sites.

Rowe says it is "premature" to ask questions about the logistics of hosting the Olympics and the effects such an event would have on Harvard.

"From a city standpoint, Boston is ahead with promoting concepts," he says. "However, specific details of the plan are for the future."

The vice president declined to say how Harvard's dorms would have to be upgraded to house Olympians, or how the University would offer summer school housing during the competitions.

"There is no distinct planning initiative at Harvard," Rowe says. "What role Harvard would play needs to be debated by the Harvard community at the appropriate time."

For the 1996 summer games in Atlanta, Georgia Tech is playing a role much like Harvard would for 2008. The Atlanta school is housing the Olympic village and hosting events including boxing and all the aquatic competitions.

The school is building new dorms, funded by state bonds, with suites including four single bedrooms, full kitchens and two bathrooms. New basketball courts and an aquatic center are also under construction.

"The Olympics will bring tremendous international exposure to those people who are not familiar with Georgia Tech," says Georgia Tech Director of Special Programs Tammy M. Tuley. "People don't realize what a large, booming city Atlanta is."

Like Harvard would, Georgia Tech had to reschedule its summer school, which will be held on a neighboring campus with concentrated sessions before and after the two weeks of the events, Tuley says.

And Georgia Tech students are deeply involved in the initiative. In classes, the students are helping to plan traffic direction for the Games, computer systems to coordinate events, and community outreach efforts.

"This is a great way to build relationships within the school," Tuley says. "It encompasses all aspects of the school: faculty, staff, students and alumni."

Boston's Chances

Competition to host the 2008 Olympics will be fierce.

At least six other cities are vying for the Games. Stockholm, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Beijing and a cooperation between Detroit and Windsor, a city in Canada, are all in the running.

While planners say Boston is an ideal site, some say the city couldn't handle the influx of people.

"People don't realize how small the city of Boston is," says Antonio L. Rodriguez, a visitor representative for Boston tourism information. "For the past couple weeks they've been extremely tight, and that's due only to fall foliage."

Cambridge Vice Mayor Sheila P. Russell agrees.

"It would bring a lot to the community, but I don't know if Boston could handle it," she says.

But BOC Board of Advisors Chair John Hamill says the city's transportation resources could handle the massive influx. Such large crowds are "taken for granted" in a tourist and transportation hub like Boston, he says.

And Hamill and other backers say several advantages make Boston perfect for the 2008 events.

"Boston is a likely contender because it has unique advantages," Rowe says. "All the universities are close to each other, it already has the needed housing capabilities. There are a multitude of advantages that the Cambridge-Boston community can offer."

Boston, with its detailed feasibility report and plan, is well advanced in the planning process. In 1997, American cities must present their bids to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), since only one U.S. city can get the USOC endorsement.

"Compared to the progress of other cities that have bid for the Olympics, an astonishing amount of work has already been accomplished for an event that still lies some 14 years in the future," Hamill says in the BOC's feasibility report for the Boston Olympics.

The USOC picks a site based on 15 criteria, including political and meteorological climate. According to the BOC's feasibility report, Boston should be a winner on all 15.

The city offers two daily newspapers, for instance, as well as an airport, public transportation system, supporting universities and most of the needed athletic facilities.

Hamill says the Games will cost roughly $1.2 billion to stage, but he says the money will be available from ticket sales, broadcast licensing, private donations, and possible corporate sponsorships from local businesses like Reebok, Inc.

And the report pitches Boston's history and intellectual prominence as possible appeals for the Olympic selection committee.

"Boston encompasses a history of the nation," the report says. "What could be more appropriate than to have the best athletes of the world compete in such a place?"

Long-Term Effort

Planning for the Boston Games began four years ago in June 1990. The BOC was founded by six people, says BOC Executive Director Rikk Larsen.

It emerged from a "series of discussions in which we discussed the changing millennium of 2000 and a desire to celebrate the human spirit," Larsen says. "What better way to celebrate the human spirit than through the Olympics?"

Since then, the BOC has grown from the original group of six to an organization of 200 trained volunteers and two employeers. It is run by a board of directors and a board of advisors drawn mostly from Boston community leaders.

The committee's stated goals were to evaluate local facilities, identify costs and revenues, assess the broad impact of the planned Games and analyze the cost of the bidding process.

Funded by private donations, committee members have met with community leaders, including Cambridge Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72, and toured possible Olympic event sites, including Harvard.

The resulting feasibility report, which contains the plans for the Games, was 71 pages with about 50 more pages of appendices, graphs and historical background. It took a year to prepare. On October 12, the plans were discussed in the committee's first public forum.

The event was hosted by Senator John Kerry, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Boston Chamber of Commerce Chair Fletcher Wiley and Hamill.

Lillehammer Olympic Committee and International Olympic Committee member Gerhard Heiberg and Charles Brattle, an organizer of the Atlanta 1996 games, were guests, as were Rowe and Harvard athletes and administrators.

"There was a good cross representation from across the University," Rowe says. "Everyone from faculty to student athletes were at the lunch."

Effects

Those pushing for the Olympics say the benefits for Boston and Cambridge will definitely outweigh any costs.

The events would bring billions of dollars in revenue, media attention and even a rebuilding of Boston's technological and international economic base, the feasibility report says.

The events would be "an incredible opportunity which would showcase a wonderful part of the world," says Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism Abbie R. Goodman. "It would be great exposure, you can't buy that kind of advertising."

Cambridge city officials say the Olympics would benefit the city.

"For a limited period of time, the community will be in the spotlight," says former Mayor Alice K. Wolf. "It would enhance civic pride."

City Counsel member William H. Walsh agrees.

"It would be wonderful if the Olympics were coming," he says. "It would be wonderful for the people, for the travel industry. It would mean a tremendous economic boost for Boston, and we all know how much Boston needs that."

Students interviewed this week applaud the plan.

"It would be exciting for our tenth-year reunion to be held on the same year as the Olympics," says Huyen-Lam Q. Nguyen '98. "It would be a good excuse to come back."

Cambridge residents say they also would like to see the Games on their home turf.

"It would be pretty exciting if the Olympics were to come to Boston," says Chris M. Schneider.

But some city officials warn that a massive influx of people could cause property damage and disruption for Cambridge residents.

"It is a tremendous economic opportunity, but my only concern is the price we might pay," says Gerald W. Oldach, president of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. "Can this be done without too heavy a price being paid by residents?"

Oldach says the residents of the city must be consulted during the planning process.

"The residents [of Cambridge], have a lot at stake," he says. "When we are asked to get involved I want a private/public partnership so that the citizens are brought in from day one."

Rowe says Harvard and Cambridge will also have to communicate well during the planning to keep relations good.

"There are complexities about the competing concerns through out the Harvard-Cambridge community," he says. "These are issues [concerning the communities] that took Atlanta years to iron out."

But Olympic organizers say they are working to consult with all people affected by the plans. And rather than dividing communities, they say, the Games will bring them together.

"It's a way to combat the image that Boston is inhospitable to people of color," Larsen says. "Whether we get the bid for 2008, or 2012, or 2016," it is a process that has seen the benefits already, it is good in itself."

The BOC will seek to involve people of all backgrounds in all levels of the organizing process, helping to ease problems of race relations, officials say.

"Far too often the city is brought together by crisis over issues concerning the negative aspects of the community," Larsen says. "The Olympics would be a positive vision. It asks the community to celebrate our differences in a positive way."CrimsonJoel D. Sawady