Watch CBS News

City Council Committee Votes To Support LA Bid For 2024 Olympic Games

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — A Los Angeles City Council gave its support Friday to a possible city bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

The move by the Ad Hoc Committee on the 2024 Summer Olympics followed a discussion about a joinder agreement that city officials say is needed for the U.S. Olympics Committee (USOC) to submit Los Angeles to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) as its bid city.

In the event the USOC chooses Los Angeles as the nation's bid city, the agreement would serve as a commitment by city leaders that they will pursue the Games, according to city officials.

The issue was initially expected to go to the full council for a vote later Friday morning, but now a vote has been postponed until Tuesday, KNX 1070's Claudia Peschiutta reported.

The City Council is considering giving Mayor Eric Garcetti authority to execute agreements linked to the bid, a steppingstone toward entering the international competition for the Games.

The meeting comes in the wake of a preliminary report from the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Legislative Analyst which found that the cost of acquiring land and building an Olympic Village for athletes near downtown Los Angeles "may significantly exceed" the projected $1 billion cost.

Several issues will be under consideration at Friday's meeting, including whether the budget accurately estimates the potential costs, as well as a request by the USOC and the IOC that the city agree to pay for any cost overruns.

Speaking on KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO's "Ask The Mayor" segment Thursday, Garcetti said he's confident the city would make money from hosting the Olympics.

"L.A. knows how to run an Olympics, we know how to do it with profit, and I'm less concerned about overruns than what we do with the profits," the mayor said.

The vast majority of L.A. facilities submitted for potential use during the Olympics have either been built since 1984 or would be done regardless of any IOC bid, Garcetti added.

Earlier this week, LA24 officials estimated the cost of hosting the 2024 Olympics in Los Angeles would be $4.1 billion, or $4.6 billion after a $400 million contingency fund and insurance are included.

The USOC last month cut ties with Boston, which was initially selected as the U.S. contender. With Los Angeles the likely stand-in, the USOC faces a Sept. 15 deadline to enter a bid.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.