By Capt. Hiram Benjamin Chunderford

SAN FRANCISCO -- A group of Sunset District officials has launched a long-shot drive to bring the 2010 Winter Olympics to this neighborhood on the City’s west side. But a number of factors stand in their way, such as the need to hold the event in the summer in order to benefit from the district’s frigid fog-bound temperatures.

Sunset officials announced their bid at a press conference at the Irish Culture Center on Tuesday. They said they were inspired by this year’s Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, which focused the world’s attention on the Utah city for two weeks in February.

"If the Winter Olympics can put a remote, geographic backwater like Salt Lake City on the map, imagine what it could do for the Sunset," said Reggie O’Malley, a Sunset resident and owner of Big Ol’ Shamrock House Painting Services. "The Sunset District has just the geographic and meteorological features the International Olympic Committee is looking for in a host city."

The Sunset’s wide variety of cultural and culinary attractions are another benefit, according to Wan Li Chung, president of the West Side Restaurateur’s Association. Olympic attendees will have no shortage of Asian restaurants at which to dine, and will be able to get their dry cleaning done no matter where they are staying in the district.

O’Malley and Chung’s group have already begun sketching the outline of the Sunset’s Olympics bid. Ski jumping will be conducted at Golden Gate Heights Park, which at an altitude of 610 feet towers over the district. All downhill skiing events will take place starting at the upper end of Noriega Avenue, continuing down to the beach, while skating events will occur at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park.

One controversial point yet to be resolved concerns whether any Olympic events should be located outside the Sunset. Some on the organizing committee believe that it will be necessary to locate some events outside the district -- for example, bobsled could be conducted on the curving stretch of the Great Highway in front of the Cliff House. But others believe that the Sunset can accommodate all of the proposed events.

Another potential problem concerns the timing of the event. The coldest time of year in the Sunset is between June and August, when heavy fog banks and cold off-shore winds result in wind-chill temperatures that often hit below 0º F. This would be the most logical time for a Sunset Olympics to take place, but organizers could have a tough time convincing the IOC to switch from its historic January/February time slot.

"Hey, it’s always winter somewhere in the world," Chung said. "A July Winter Olympics would be very convenient for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere."

The Sunset group also must face the reality that it hasn’t snowed in San Francisco for the past 75 years. But O’Malley said the group is prepared for this as well.

"I’ve got a cousin who runs some snow-making machines at Tahoe," he said. "One phone call and we’ll have this problem cleared up in no time."

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