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USOC Adamantly Denies Report Of Dropping Boston '24 Bid If Polling Does Not Improve

The USOC yesterday "adamantly denied a published report that suggested the committee would drop Boston’s bid" for the '24 Games if its poll numbers "do not improve soon," according to Levenson & Arsenault of the BOSTON GLOBE. USOC Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer Patrick Sandusky in a statement said, “We believe that Boston can and should lead America’s bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and we are absolutely committed to our partnership with Boston 2024 and their innovative concept for hosting the Games." Levenson & Arsenault note Sandusky released the statement after the Wall Street Journal published a story online saying that USOC officials "had spoken as recently as last week" with L.A. and S.F. about "reviving their cities’ bids if there is not a rapid upswing in support in Boston." However, officials from L.A. and S.F. said that they were "unaware of any recent contact with the USOC." Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games President David Simon said, “It sounds like they picked their horse and they’re going to ride it." Levenson & Arsenault note support for the Olympics "has been dropping in Boston since January." Among Boston-area residents, just 36% "backed the bid in March," down from 44% in February and 51% in January (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/1). In Boston, Jennifer Smith reports hundreds of residents "voiced their concerns over housing and transit problems" last night as the city pursues its bid. A panel of officials associated with the bid "hosted the city’s third public meeting on the controversial proposal, at Harvard Business School." Those in attendance "were polite, many silently holding anti-Olympics signs," but the "tone of the questions and comments grew increasingly stern as the evening went on." One resident called the presentation "'very shallow,' and wanted to know why public transit and affordable housing were not being prioritized before the Olympics" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/1).

BOSTON OR BUST
: In Chicago, Philip Hersh writes a "good deadline" for the USOC to decide about sticking with Boston "would be the end of June -- at the latest." If the choice is "no Boston Olympics," the U.S. "should drop out of the 2024 race entirely rather than fall back on a bid from the likeliest backup choice." If polling results "do not show a significant uptick of support in the next three months, the USOC should drop the bid well before the Sept. 15 due date for application documents to be filed" with the IOC. There is "no way a 'backup' bid would have any credibility or gain any traction among IOC members" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/1). FS1’s Bill Reiter said it "would be a bummer" for the U.S. if Boston was dropped, because another U.S. city "does not have the right to host the Olympics" ("Fox Sports Live Countdown,” FS1, 3/31). 3 WIRE SPORTS' Alan Abrahamson wrote the USOC "should yank" the '24 bid from Boston, "and now." The "damage to the USOC’s brand and its future is verging toward grave, and that would be intolerable to anyone who thinks reasonably and cares about the Olympic movement" in the U.S. The USOC has "spent the past five-plus years, since getting kicked in the pants in October, 2009, when Chicago was booted in voting for the 2016 Summer Games, tirelessly working to rebuild its brand, particularly internationally." Now, in the "space of not even three months, the whole thing is devolving perilously." The best option "would be to take a cooling-off period, say 60 to 90 days." After that, the "sensible thing would be to do what the USOC should have done in January" and make L.A. the bid city. Abrahamson: "This is a bad situation. It's almost guaranteed to get worse" (3WIRESPORTS.com, 3/30).

IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S ME: In Boston, Shirley Leung notes many people think Boston '24 Chair John Fish "is toast and should step aside." Fish yesterday said, "If people don’t support my leadership, I’m a big boy. I’ll do what’s in the best interest of the bid and the city of Boston." But Leung notes "these days, it seems like whatever Boston 2024 says or does is the absolute wrong thing." Leung: "[Bostonians have] become the laughingstock of the world." Papers in France, Italy, and Germany are "having a field day chronicling Boston’s self-implosion." But even if Boston takes Fish "out of the picture, people still won’t warm up to the idea of beach volleyball on the Common." Leung: "Boston 2024’s problem? It’s not him, it’s us" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/1).

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