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City Council Votes In Support Of LA 2028 Bid

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) - The Los Angeles City Council has approved a new memorandum of understanding and host city contract for the 2028 Olympics.

In a 12-0 vote, the Council's approval was one of the last key hurdles before the city can officially host the Games for the first time since 1984.

After submitting a proposed $5.3 billion budget for the 2024 Games, the city would receive some big financial concessions for ceding the Olympics to Paris, including a $180 million advance from the International Olympic Committee that will in part help fund youth sports leading up to 2028.

While the 2024 estimate was considered low, an independent analysis of a new budget in the works for 2028 isn't expected for several months.

Those on hand for the vote included high-profile Olympic supporters of the '28 bid, including Los Angeles Unified School District Michelle King, former City Councilman Tom LaBonge and Olympic medalist Carl Lewis.

"This is about people's lives. It's about bringing people together. It's about inspiring children," Lewis said.

Not everyone was thrilled about the council's decision.

During a news conference after the vote, Mayor Eric Garcetti and LA 2028 chair Casaey Wasserman were heckled and booed by advocates for homeless reform.

One potential speed bump on the road to 2028: part of the 2024 agreement included $250 million from the state, but there's no guarantee the Legislature - which is currently on recess - will approve that same amount for 2028 by the Aug. 18 deadline.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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