L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti yesterday indicated that he is pushing for the city to be "named as the replacement for Boston" as the USOC's candidate to host the '24 Games, and he and his team have proposed to spend $500M less than what Boston had planned, according to a front-page piece by Wharton & Jamison of the L.A. TIMES. L.A. officials said that they can host the Olympics for $4.1B and "offered to guarantee that the city will cover any cost overruns." Garcetti and his staff also expect to finish with a $150M surplus by "generating billions in broadcast and sponsorship revenue." The USOC is "expected to make a decision on a bid city by the end of the month" and submit it to the IOC "by mid-September." Boston "dropped its bid amid financial concerns last month," as Mayor Marty Walsh "waffled over signing a standard IOC contract to guarantee his city would cover any overruns." Garcetti and Wasserman Media Group Chair & CEO Casey Wasserman, who has worked closely with the mayor's office, said that a potential L.A. bid would "be 'dead on arrival' if it did not include such a pledge." Wharton & Jamison report the L.A. proposal hinges on committing less than $1.5B "for 30 or so required venues." Recent host cities have "spent considerably more on stadiums and arenas." L.A. would "rely instead on existing facilities" like Staples Center, Pauley Pavilion and a renovated L.A. Memorial Coliseum. The organizing committee "might have to partner with a developer to build the athletes' village." Garcetti mentioned that a parcel along the L.A. River could be a "potential site." An entertainment company also might be "enlisted to help with a media center." Renovating the Coliseum would "require a deal with USC, which is contractually obligated to spend" at least $70M on upgrades "over the next decade." Security could "be an even greater expense" (L.A. TIMES, 8/11).
NO TAXPAYER MONEY: In L.A., Dakota Smith notes Garcetti's office yesterday indicated that L.A. taxpayers "won't pay for the games." Instead, city leaders have "already created a nonprofit organization to fund the games," with the IOC "expected to give billions of dollars to the fund." The nonprofit group will also "raise money to cove additional costs." L.A. Office of the Mayor Communications Advisor Jeff Millman said that Garcetti is "prepared to agree to cover cost overruns." He added that the nonprofit will have a $400M "contingency fund and insurance, and cost overruns aren't anticipated" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/11). Millman said that the contingency fund includes $200M to "cover city expenses." He added that the city's projection anticipates revenues "far in excess" of $4.5B and a "significant profit" (AP, 8/11).
RETURN TRIP? In N.Y., Ian Lovett writes the L.A. Coliseum will "never offer the grandeur of recent Olympic stadiums in London or Beijing," but many potential venues are "already in place" in L.A. That could help make the Games "billions cheaper to put on than they would be almost anywhere else." IOC President Thomas Bach has "pushed for a shift toward less expensive Games," and L.A. in some ways has "emerged as an economically sensible option" for '24. Univ. of Michigan professor Stefan Szymanski suggested that the IOC "might be reluctant to bring the Olympics back" to L.A. for a third time despite its "new goal of producing more affordable Games." He said, "We’ve seen massive investment in stadiums over the last 30 years, so it’s going to be a vastly different proposition than it was in 1984. Part of the problem for an L.A. bid is, it may be relatively cheap, but what would its legacy for the Olympic movement and human development be?" Lovett notes if USC "does not undertake" additional upgrades to the Coliseum, the L.A. bid committee has "floated the idea of building temporary luxury boxes, at an unknown cost" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/11).
