LA 2024 announces three more competition venues
As bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics heats up, the Los Angeles City Council took another crucial step toward officially backing a private committee’s effort to bring the Games to Southern California for a third time.
Council members on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding with LA 2024 that would give the city a role in planning the mega-sporting event and provide for some financial safeguards if L.A. is chosen as host.
The next step involves another council vote — expected next week — on a host city contract that would make the city responsible for covering debt should the Games run overbudget and organizers run out of money.
“Any time a city submits a bid to be an Olympic host city, it takes on a degree of risk,” Councilman Paul Krekorian said during a morning session at City Hall. “This council has really dug in to try to ensure that we can present the best possible bid to be the host city while also guaranteeing, to the greatest degree possible, to minimize any risk to the taxpayers.”
The competition for the 2024 Summer Games — Paris and Budapest, Hungary, are also in the running — has entered its final eight months with the International Olympic Committee scheduled to choose a host in September.
LA 2024 has estimated the Olympics would cost $5.3 billion, and that all expenses would be covered by revenues from sources such as broadcast rights, corporate sponsorships and ticket sales.
Tuesday’s memorandum ensures that if L.A. is selected, the city would appoint at least one-sixth of the board members on the resulting private organizing committee. It states that council members would be consulted if organizers must tap into the final $250 million of a $491.9-million contingency fund set aside for unexpected costs.
The council would also have right of approval for any events moved outside of city limits.
“Let’s send a message to the IOC and throughout the world that Los Angeles is together and united and determined to put together the best bid that we possibly can,” Council President Herb Wesson said.
A council ad hoc committee is scheduled to discuss the terms of the host city contract – which the IOC requires of all bid cities – on Friday.
Under the current proposed arrangement, the city would be responsible for the first $250 million in cost overruns and the state would pay the next $250 million. Any additional debt would revert back to the city.
In other bid news on Tuesday, LA 2024 announced the location of its final three proposed venues.
The most intriguing location is for archery, which would be held at the LA Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park, a parcel of land earmarked for a new NFL stadium set amid retail and residential developments.
According to artist renderings issued by LA 2024, archers would shoot across a man-made lake, their arrows flying over water, with targets positioned on the opposite shore.
The StubHub Center in Carson, already the site of several events, would add modern pentathlon to the list.
Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, wedged between Raging Waters and the L.A. County Fairgrounds near San Dimas, would host mountain biking. Some upgrades would be required but the course would not have to be built from scratch, LA 2024 said.
The venues became public one day after the bid committee announced its unusual plan to hold the opening and closing ceremonies simultaneously at the Coliseum in Los Angeles and the NFL stadium in Inglewood.
Follow John Cherwa on Twitter @jcherwa
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