Massachusetts Competitive Partnership President & CEO Dan O'Connell, who heads Boston 2024, on Friday said that Boston’s hopes to land the '24 Games "will hinge upon creating a 'compact' games, where venues would be either within walking distance of each other or accessible by mass transit," according to Marie Szaniszlo of the BOSTON HERALD. O'Connell said that many of the venues "would belong to local universities," and some "would be adapted or upgraded with the cooperation of the universities" and the USOC. He added that venues not within walking distance of each other "would be in locations accessible by existing transportation routes, such as the Merrimac River in Lowell, where rowing matches would be held ... or areas where upgrades are planned under a 10-year capital program Gov. Deval Patrick proposed, a significant portion of which the Legislature authorized bond funding for, but which the next governor would have to approve." O'Connell said that the games -- with an estimated cost of $4.5B -- "would be funded through broadcast revenues," $1.2B of which "would go to the host city; international sponsorships; and ticket sales, for which there would likely be a lottery for local residents." He added that the Secret Service "would coordinate security, with all costs being reimbursed by the federal government" (BOSTON HERALD, 10/19).
POSITIVE MOMENTUM: In Boston, Schworm & Murphy cited several lawmakers who attended a closed-door briefing said that they "came away encouraged by the latest plans." Massachusetts state Rep. Nick Collins said, "I went in skeptical, and came out optimistic. If other cities around the world can pull this off, why can’t we?" Lawmakers after Friday's meeting "stopped short of wholehearted support -- and some expressed surprise that Boston has a better chance at being chosen as host than they had believed." Meanwhile, O'Connell acknowledged that the $4.5B cost estimate "does not include the cost of public infrastructure, including road and transit improvements" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/18).
