LA City Council Puts Final Stamp On 2024 Olympics Bid
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — The Los Angeles City Council has given its final approval to a proposal that could bring the 2024 Olympic Games to Southern California.
The unanimous vote legally empowers the city to host the Games, if Los Angeles is selected by the International Olympic Committee in September. The vote also approved a list of venues and a plan to use both the Memorial Coliseum and the planned NFL stadium in Inglewood for the opening and closing ceremonies.
It also means the city would agree to cover any financial shortfalls, which have long bedeviled the global sports festivals.
The vote came ahead of a Feb. 3 deadline, when the LA 2024 Olympic Bid Committee must turn over its final set of documents to the International Olympic Committee. Part of the vote includes a written guarantee the council
would sign the contract if the city lands the Games.
Los Angeles' privately financed plan is competing against Paris and Budapest, Hungary for the 2024 Games.
Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city is ready to host an outstanding — and fiscally responsible — Games.
"The IOC's Host City Contract is our promise that Los Angeles is ready to host an outstanding and fiscally responsible Olympic and Paralympic Games," Garcetti said. "If L.A. is selected as the 2024 Host City, our low-risk, high-tech and sustainable Games will inspire the next generation to grow the Olympic movement and provide social and economic benefits for our communities."
"Today's City Council approval is its 14th unanimous vote in support of LA 2024, and it shows that our city is united to bring the Games back to L.A," he added.
Planners say the Games would cost about $5 billion to stage and the budget could generate a surplus.
After Feb. 3, the LA 2024 committee will make a series of presentations to the IOC before the host city is chosen in September in Lima, Peru.
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