US Olympic leaders confirm that Los Angeles is their preferred choice for 2024 bid

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, built for the 1932 Olympics and used again as the host stadium in 1984. With some of the infrastructure already in place and ready to be reused, Los Angeles is considered the most likely American candidate to host the 2024 Games following the collapse of Boston’s bid. Monica Almeida / NYT

By Nik DeCosta-Klipa @NikDeCostaKlipa

August 12, 2015

1 minute to read

Los Angeles is now the U.S. Olympic Committee’s preferred choice for a 2024 bid.

In a teleconference Monday, USOC leaders confirmed that they were in “optimistic’’ discussions with the city to submit a bid for the games, after Boston’s 2024 bid was pulled July 27.

“Los Angeles gives us the best chance to win,’’ said USOC CEO Scott Blackmun, noting the city had strong venues, as well as strong public and political support.

According to the group’s internal polling, 81 percent of Los Angeles residents support hosting the 2024 games, with “quite low’’ oppostion.

In Boston, public support had hovered at or below 40 percent. The bid finally collapsed shortly after Mayor Marty Walsh said he could not commit to cover any cost overruns with public taxpayer money.

Blackmun said covering cost-overruns would be a “non-issue in the case of Los Angeles.’’ Mayor Eric Garcetti has already agreed to cover any cost overruns or revenue shortfalls in their projected $4-billion 2024 bid, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The USOC said they also talked to San Francisco and Washington, the other two finalists for the bid in January. They said they hope to finalize a bid with Los Angeles by the end of August, before the September 15 deadline.

Los Angeles also hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984.

“The people of Los Angeles are very proud of their Olympic legacy,’’ said Blackmun, “and are excited for the opportunity the games present.’’

The international bidding process will end in 2017 and is expected to include Paris; Rome; Hamburg, Germany; and Budapest, Hungary. Toronto is also considering a bid.