L.A. 2024 officials yesterday said that if the city is selected to host the Games, the Olympic Village "will be housed at UCLA," according to a front-page piece by Dakota Smith of the L.A. DAILY NEWS. At least 16,000 beds at the school "will be turned over to athletes and coaches." L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said that competitors would "train at the university’s Drake Stadium, a 400-meter track and field venue, and travel to Olympic venues in the San Fernando Valley, at Santa Monica Beach, and in Inglewood." Smith notes the announcement "ends months of speculation." L.A. 2024 "originally pitched a ground-up Olympic Village as a way to bring affordable housing" to the city. However, using existing facilities "saves as much" as $2B off the price of the Olympics (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 1/26). In L.A., David Wharton writes the UCLA site represents a "more affordable -- and politically savvy -- choice." L.A. 2024 co-Chair Casey Wasserman: "It's the right answer for the bid." Garcetti also "repeatedly praised the quality of UCLA's accommodations." But Wharton notes Garcetti and Wasserman were "setting the stage for the next challenge." That is convincing IOC voters that "keeping athletes in dorms and student suites is a good idea." The task "begins next week when IOC President Thomas Bach visits Southern California." There were other developments yesterday, as L.A. 2024 "announced that media members and some Olympic officials would be housed in a 15-acre residential complex USC intends to build." Wasserman said of the Rams' new stadium, "There is no question that Inglewood and that development will be a big part of our plans going forward" (L.A. TIMES, 1/26).
HURDLE CLEARED: In California, Scott Reid writes L.A. 2024 cleared a "significant political and fiscal hurdle" with the Olympic Village announcement. The committee also is "further aligning with the IOC’s Agenda 2020 reforms and eliminating" a potentially $2B "cloud" over the bid (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 1/26). The AP's Michael Blood wrote the committee moved to "erase a major uncertainty" with the Olympic Village decision. Garcetti called the plan the "most cost-conscious" of alternatives (AP, 1/25). In L.A., Mariel Garza writes it was a "shrewd move by the mayor to deflate the biggest single source of controversy related to the city's Olympic bid so far." A "little extra economy on the front end is wise especially in light of the Olympic jitters afflicting other cities competing" for '24 (L.A. TIMES, 1/26).
