Los Angeles Olympic bid committee feels at ease

While members of Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid committee fretted over how they will guarantee the millions of dollars they need to build their dream, their Los Angeles counterparts partied the night away at Paul Allen’s Beverly Hills mansion.

Guests ate canapes and watched a seven-minute film produced by musician Dave Stewart, an effort designed to engage the young audience that Olympic officials and advertisers covet.

A U.S. Olympic Committee task force visited Los Angeles last week and saw many existing venues a Los Angeles Olympics would use. Chicago, however, proposes to build most of its venues.

Harry Sanders, head of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, declined to comment on Chicago’s apparent new problem.

“Los Angeles is in a different situation,” he said. “They are being asked for something that’s not relevant to our situation. We have our stadium and our village, and we are proud of both.”

Casey Wasserman, 32, vice chairman of the Los Angeles bid committee, said Los Angeles is the ideal place to recapture the interest of young people who follow or participate in non-traditional Olympic sports.

“Los Angeles is the birthplace of a lot of these sports, and there’s a convergence with the entertainment culture here,” Wasserman said.

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-- Helene Elliott