Between the initial invitation and the final arbitration lies the fate of millions of Americans who wish to attend the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Getting tickets will be only half the battle - and perhaps the easier half. There’s also the problem of finding a place to stay. Fortunately Atlanta is a major convention city with enormous hotel space. A majority of the rooms are controlled already by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG); and many hotels and motels are holding back their rooms to avoid speculative overbooking. As a result, says one Midwest travel agent, "there are people booking rooms in Alabama."

There is, of course, an easier way to see the games. Most Americans, in the end, will settle for watching the Olympics from home, content not to fight the crowds or swim in the humidity. NBC is betting $456 million on just that.

(Adapted from Newsweek, March 27, 1995)

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