A 2012 Olympics in Houston would be largely an urban affair, allowing spectators to see multiple events daily, the group seeking the Games said Thursday.

Of the 37 proposed events, 21 would unfold inside Loop 610.

The NFL/rodeo stadium under construction would house the opening and closing ceremonies and the main gymnastic competitions. Track and field events would be held on an Olympic-size track in a renovated Astrodome. And Enron Field would be home to baseball.

In a city with sticky-hot summers, those three climate-controlled stadiums are the heart of what Houston organizers believe is their greatest asset: facilities.

"We have a venue plan second to none," said George A. DeMontrond III, chairman of the Houston 2012 Foundation.

The seven other U.S. cities seeking the 2012 Games have nary a domed stadium. But many of the seven -- Cincinnati, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Tampa/Orlando, Fla., and Washington/Baltimore -- have other advantages over Houston.

Some, such as Washington and New York, have sheer star power on the international stage. Others, such as Tampa/Orlando, have raised nearly $10 million to put their proposals together. Houston has raised about $3.1 million.

Dallas has demonstrated considerable community support for the Games.

(If Houston has, it wasn't evident Thursday. Neither Mayor Lee Brown nor Harris County Judge Robert Eckels nor any public officials or business leaders were at a sparsely attended news conference.)

The proposals are due in December to the U.S. Olympic Committee, which will choose its bid city in fall 2002. The International Olympic Committee will select the host city from the world's nations in 2005.

Houston's bid will focus largely on a seven-mile corridor from the George R. Brown Convention Center downtown to the Astrodomain complex.

"Ours is an extremely compact bid -- that's one of the hallmarks of our proposal," DeMontrond said.

That could be a strength, considering Atlanta's transportation problems in 1996 and the diffuse nature of some other 2012 bids such as Tampa/Orlando or the tri-state Cincinnati proposal.

Dallas, New York and Washington/Baltimore, which some experts believe is the odds-on favorite to win the USOC's nod, have released preliminary venue lists.

Other bid cities, including Los Angeles, believe it is to their competitive advantage to wait until later in the year.

"I doubt that we'll be releasing a venue list before the Sydney Games" in September, said David Simon, president of the Los Angeles 2012 bid committee. "We want to decide everything before we make announcements."

Missing from Houston's venue list was the Olympic Village, often the second costliest part of a bid, after the stadium for opening and closing ceremonies.

Houston 2012 officials said they are negotiating with the University of Houston, Texas Southern University and several private entities about building the housing and then converting it into student dormitories.

In Atlanta, the athletes' village cost $248 million. A formal announcement of Houston's plans could come in about six weeks.

An overall budget for the 2012 Games probably won't come until late this summer, organizers said. The Atlanta Games broke even after spending $1.7 billion to produce the 1996 Games.

The Houston 2012 Foundation said most of its funding to produce the Games would come from shared revenues such as broadcasting rights, corporate sponsorship and ticket sales. However, local governments would be expected to accelerate their plans for road building, light rail and other infrastructure.

Of the $3.1 million raised to put together the Houston bid, $1.5 million came from the city.

Because so many of its facilities are in place, Houston will not have to spend anything close to the $494.2 million Atlanta spent on new facilities, officials said.

In the plans released Thursday, new venues would include natatoriums at UH and Kingwood College, a velodrome, an equestrian facility and a tennis facility. The modifications to the Astrodome, still under study, are probably the most expensive component.

Preliminary costs are not yet available for most of these venues:

UH intends to build a swimming pool and could construct it to be modifiable to Olympic standards, said Houston 2012 Executive Director Susan Bandy.

The sprawling 264-acre Kingwood College, part of the North Harris Montgomery Community College District, has plenty of space to accommodate a natatorium, said its president, Linda Stegall, but the district will not contribute to its construction cost. One funding proposal calls for an extension of a tax increment reinvestment zone to cover the area. "We would be most receptive to that, obviously," Stegall said. "But the plans are all preliminary."

A velodrome might cost $12 million and would replace the Alkek Velodrome in west Houston. No funding source has been identified.

Owners and tenants of some of the major Olympic venues said they would be willing to share if the Games come to town.

"We will be supportive of any opportunity to bring the Olympics to Houston," said Michael Surface, chairman of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp., which manages the Astrodomain complex.

"These are public facilities and ought to be made available for these types of events."

Steve Patterson, vice president of Houston NFL Holdings, was similarly supportive.

"We're excited to see that the new NFL/rodeo stadium will be an important venue in the 2012 Olympic bid," Patterson said. "We look forward to beating out the other U.S. and international cities to host the Games."

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