Los Angeles likely replacement for Boston in U.S. 2024 Olympics bid

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti says his office has not had conversations with the U.S. Olympic Committee about bidding for the 2024 Games. He might be wise to expect a phone call soon.

With the USOC announcing Monday that it had jointly decided with Boston 2024 to end the group’s beleaguered bid process, it is looking for a city to put forward. With only seven weeks until the Sept. 15 deadline for applications to be submitted to the International Olympic Committee, two-time host Los Angeles seems to be the obvious choice.

“I think that Los Angeles could do this, they could prepare an impressive bid in the next two months,” said economist Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College professor and author of Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup. “I think it’s at least viable in their case.”

The USOC chose Boston in January over bids from Washington D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles. At the time, it seemed the concern with an LA bid was a been-there, done-that feeling. Los Angeles, which routinely bids for the Games and did so most recently for the Games of 2012 and 2016, hosted the 1932 and 1984 Olympics.

But that experience is its selling point.

“Those who have been in the IOC a long time have warm feelings toward Los Angeles and that it was done professionally,” said David Wallchinsky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians.

Already, the region’s abundance of sports venues would make it an attractive option to the International Olympic Committee, which under Agenda 2020 seeks to create more cost-conscious and sustainable Games.

The Staples Center, StubHub Center and Nokia Theater would be ready to host events. The Coliseum, which was built for the 1932 Games and is set to undergo a major renovation funded by USC, would be available. Building a velodrome – a much maligned venue which Boston opponents used to symbolize the frivolity of the Games – wouldn’t be necessary because LA has one.

“If the USOC were serious about what’s being touted as Agenda 2020, which is supposedly the IOC is more concerned about affordability than it used to be and that it’s ever been, then clearly the most affordable games were going to be in LA and that’s the way this should have gone at the very outset,” said Zimbalist, a vocal critic of Boston 2024.

Should the USOC back Los Angeles, that doesn’t mean the bid would be without its challenges.

Wallechinsky said the USOC’s blunder with Boston 2024 should lead whichever U.S. city is selected to make it clear that local organizers are leading the bid.

“I would say certainly that if the USOC acts quickly and goes to Los Angeles or San Francisco, both of which are very popular cities among IOC members, the bid committee would want to be very polite to the USOC but in approaching the IOC would be very independent,” he said.

Unlike the field for the 2022 Olympics, which features two cities, any city entering the 2024 field faces tough competition from Paris, Rome, Budapest, Hamburg, Germany and Toronto. Like Los Angeles, Paris can argue that is has many venues available and local organizers are pushing the story of the Olympics returning there for the first time in 100 years.

Lastly, controlling costs will remain key. That’s one area where Los Angeles can tout its tradition. It was the only city to bid for the 1984 Olympics and came after previous games had included violence and huge cost overruns. The ’84 Games were profitable and became the model for cities going forward.

“The IOC really makes it difficult for cities,” said Chris Dempsey, co-chair of No Boston Olympics, on Monday. “This requirement for a taxpayer guarantee is something that they’re going to have to look at long and hard, and clearly it’s something that Mayor (Marty) Walsh pointed to today as a potential obstacle or hurdle moving forward. It’s hard for us to see why cities should be able to take on all the risks for Olympic Games. In 1984, Los Angeles was able to host the games without that taxpayer guarantee, and we think that cities moving forward should ask for that same set of requirements.”

While local opposition was at least partly responsible for the failed effort in Boston, that seems unlikely to be a comparable problem in LA where the games have enjoyed public support. Wallechinsky estimated polling right now could start around 60% in favor of hosting the Games, which is something the IOC likes to see when choosing cities.

“There’s always been a good feeling in Los Angeles about having the Olympics,” Wallechinsky said.

That extends to the mayor’s office, where Garcetti had helped lead the efforts before Boston was selected in January. On Monday, he said in a statement he’d “be happy to engage in discussions with the USOC about how to present the strongest and most fiscally responsible bid on behalf of our city and nation."

With 51 days until the application is due, those discussions could likely be happening soon.

“We understand the reality of the timeline that is before us,” the USOC said in its statement.