Report: L.A. officials, USOC agree on 2024 bid; City Council vote up next
— -- The U.S. Olympic Committee and Los Angeles officials have come to an agreement in their negotiations over the city serving as the U.S. bidder for the 2024 Olympic Games, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
The Los Angeles City Council still must vote on Tuesday to move the process along, which is expected to happen, the newspaper reported, citing a source close to the situation.
"We've made significant progress and are awaiting council approval before taking any next steps," Jeff Millman, a senior aide to Mayor Eric Garcetti, told the L.A. Times.
Millman declined further comment on the negotiations to the Times. The USOC also declined to comment.
Garcetti's drafted proposal calls for $6.4 billion in public and private spending, leaving a $161 million surplus.
However, city analysts warned earlier this week that construction costs for athlete housing in Los Angeles' 2024 bid may be significantly underestimated.
The cost of acquiring land and building an Olympic Village for athletes near downtown Los Angeles "may significantly exceed" the projected $1 billion cost, according to a preliminary report released Thursday from the city's chief administrative officer, Miguel Santana, and chief legislative analyst, Sharon Tso.
The report says more study is needed.
The USOC last month cut talks with Boston, which was initially selected as the American bidder for the 2024 Games. With Los Angeles the likely stand-in, the USOC faces a Sept. 15 deadline to enter a bid with the International Olympic Committee.
In choosing Los Angeles, the USOC cited polling data that showed more than 80 percent of the city's residents liked the idea of hosting an Olympics. It's a far cry from Boston, where approval marks couldn't break out of the 40s.
Still, there have been questions about cost overruns, and some city councilors want to build in safeguards assuring taxpayers won't be on the hook for potential debt.
Garcetti will have to sign an agreement with the USOC to keep the bid on track, and the city council wants to ensure it will be included in the process over the next two years.
The IOC has set a Sept. 15 deadline for cities to enter the race. The committee will pick the host city in 2017. Rome; Paris; Hamburg, Germany; and Budapest, Hungary, are already in the mix.
Los Angeles is trying to join London as the second three-time host.
The United States hasn't hosted the Summer Games since 1996 in Atlanta.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
