USOC Denies Report That Boston's '24 Games Bid Is In Last Place Among Four U.S. Finalists

The USOC yesterday "shot down reports by a San Francisco news anchor that Boston was in last place among the four U.S. cities competing for a chance to host" the '24 Summer Games, according to Richard Weir of the BOSTON HERALD. KNTV-NBC's Raj Mathai yesterday tweeted, "2 sources tell me Boston had weakest bid. DC and SF strongest." Boston Olympic Committee Chair John Fish said, "We emphasized our core values of what Boston stands for. We emphasized Boston strong. That’s what we have to sell, our people and our culture." But Mathai said, "I’ve covered six Olympics, and I’m deeply sourced in both the USOC and the IOC. I am very confident in my sources, and I stand 100 percent behind what I reported yesterday" (BOSTON HERALD, 12/18). In Boston, John Powers notes the city in '24 will "celebrate the 400th anniversary of its founding and the 2024 Games are designed to be part of an enduring legacy that will leave reshaped neighborhoods, a modern transportation system, and campus improvements for the local universities whose facilities and land are a vital part of the Olympic venue plan." Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on Tuesday stressed to the USOC "not only the city’s unmatched collection of universities and colleges but also its global reach and said that the Olympics would help bring about the planned transformation of the city." Boston 2024 Partnership President Dan O'Connell said, "2030 was a cornerstone of the mayor’s remarks. He talked about the 400th anniversary and said that he wanted to look beyond that to the next 100 years" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/18).

CALIFORNIA DREAMING: MLB Giants President & CEO Larry Baer, who is leading S.F.'s bid process for the '24 Games, said the idea that L.A. and S.F. could split the '24 Games between them "didn't come up" at Tuesday's USOC meeting. Baer: "That wasn’t something that, to our knowledge, is on the table" (LATIMES.com, 12/17).

CITIZENS ARREST? In DC, Robert McCartney asks, "Is anybody else troubled by the undemocratic way in which local business leaders and elected officials practically commit a city to host the Olympics without first having a thorough public debate about whether it’s a good idea?" It is "aggravating" that DC's bid "has advanced to the semifinal round without a no-holds-barred discussion of whether the Olympics are worth the costs in dollars, traffic and disruption" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/18).