NEW YORK (AP) – The committee organizing New York’s bid for the 2012 Olympics on Sunday released the first drawing of the proposed Queens stadium that would be converted into an Olympic Stadium if the city is awarded the games.

The New York Mets plan to build the stadium, which would become the team’s new home by 2009.

The city revised its Olympic bid to include the 80,000-seat Queens stadium after the collapse of a $2 billion project on Manhattan’s West Side that would have served as home to the New York Jets and the centerpiece of the city’s Olympic bid.

The $600 million Queens stadium would host the Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the track and field and soccer finals.

The rendering shows an airy and roofless stadium with space for advertising on its side and a plaza next to it.

The organizing committee, NYC2012, said in a press release that the stadium would meet the highest competition standards.

The new plan would put the Olympic stadium near the Olympic village and the International Broadcast Center, also planned for Queens. It would take athletes 17 minutes to travel from the village to the stadium, officials said.

After the Olympics, the stadium would be converted back to a baseball stadium, and 25,000 seats would be moved and installed permanently at the track at the new Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island, organizers said.

NYC2012 submitted a revised bid to the International Olympics Committee’s executive board on Friday, officials said.

The IOC will select the host city on July 6. The other cities competing for the games are Paris, London, Moscow and Madrid.


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