Los Angeles Board Formally States Interest In Hosting 2024 Olympics
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Board of Supervisors voted to support bringing the Olympic games back to Los Angeles in the summer of 2024.
The board will prepare to send a letter to the United States Olympic Committee in order to formally state its interest and cooperate with the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games in its hosting bid.
"Los Angeles is home to more Olympians than anywhere in the world, and has twice hosted the summer Olympic Games," Supervisor Ridley Thomas, who recommended the move, stated.
The Los Angeles City Council issued a unanimous resolution of support on Aug. 13 of hosting the games in 2024. However, more than half the venues would reportedly be outside the city limits and within the county of Los Angeles, according to Barry Sanders, chairman of the committee that is managing the bid.
Many believe Los Angeles has an advantage over other bidding cities, due to its conveniently modern sport facilities, such as the Staples Center, the StubHub Center, and the Galen Center, located just down the street from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum which would be renovated.
Funding from the bid will come from private sources, rather than public, according to Sanders.
"I think this is a chance to bring that same, unique, Olympic experience of unifying the community to a third generation of Angelinos," Southern California Olympic Committee president David Simon told CBS2/KCAL9's Dave Bryan.
Other cities in the United States that have expressed interest in making a bid include Philadelphia, Dallas, and Washington D.C. A bid by Boston is also under consideration. A joint bid by San Diego and Tijuana was quashed by international rules, however.
Los Angeles lost its bid as the 2016 U.S. option to Chicago, and the games ultimately went to Rio De Janeiro. The host city for 2024 will be announced in four years.
"In this game, persistence wins," Sanders said.
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