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Olympic writer Phil Hersch gives his thoughts on the failure of the Boston Olympic bid, and what’s next.
Via SwimSwam Sr. Reporter Jared Anderson
The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) has officially severed ties with the Boston 2024 Olympic bid today, ESPN reports.
Earlier today, the Boston bid took a major hit when city mayor Marty Walsh announced that he would not commit to signing the USOC’s agreement and was against committing taxpayer dollars to host the Olympic Games.
That statement left the writing on the wall for the USOC, which has been watching the bid warily ever since selecting Boston out of four other cities back in January. Opposition to an Olympic bid in the city has been strong ever since, with criticism rumbling over the cost of the Games and the city’s viability to adequately host them, among other things.
Apparently Walsh’s refusal to commit was the last straw for the USOC, which announced it would no longer back a Boston bid in a teleconference earlier today.
That leaves the U.S. Olympic Committee in a tight spot. If the USOC still wants to enter a bid for the 2024 Olympics, they’ll have to organize all the details of a new host city within two months, with official bids due to the International Olympic Committee by September 15th.
Los Angeles has been the rumored likely replacement city, as it was arguably Boston’s biggest challenger when the USOC originally selected a host in January.
Once again, the USOC focuses on cities as hosts whether they want it or not, rather than selecting enthusiastic, can do cities with lots of ready facilities, such as Houston. Serves the right.
The US should focus on one single city that specializes in hosting the Olympics to actually make a profit.