IOC President Thomas Bach on Thursday "opened the door -- ever so slightly -- for the IOC selecting" both the '24 and '28 host cities next year, according to Scott Reid of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. The IOC is "currently only scheduled to select" the '24 host next year. Bach was asked about the IOC selecting both the '24 and '28 Games host cities next September in Lima, Peru and said, "Let us study this question, which is not an easy one." The announcement comes as there is an expectation "in the next few days to finalize a proposed Memorandum of Understanding" between the city, LA 2024 and the USOC for the L.A. City Council’s approval. That approval "could come as early as Friday." Saying that "none of the bids had 'significant issues,' the IOC board cleared the three cities to proceed following a Thursday briefing" by IOC Evaluation Commission Chair Frank Fredericks. The "next big checkpoint for the three candidate cities [L.A., Paris and Budapest] is the Feb. 3 deadline for turning in Stage III documents to the IOC on 'Games Delivery, Experience and Venue Legacy.'” It is in those documents that LA 2024 officials are "expected to reveal" what role the $2.8B stadium being built in Inglewood by Rams owner Stan Kroenke would play in a '24 Games and "what plans the bid committee has for Angel Stadium" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 12/9).
WIN-WIN SITUATION? The AP's Stephen Wilson noted Olympic officials in recent months have "begun privately discussing the idea" of awarding the '24 and 28 Games simultaneously, ensuring that Paris and L.A. "would get one or the other." Some officials believe that, "because both cities are such strong contenders, it would be a mistake for one to lose out." It would "seem unlikely that either loser would bid again" for '28. The IOC has been "seeking to fix the bidding process for years amid a sharp downturn in interest from potential host cities." The bid races for the '20, '22 and '24 Games were "all hit by withdrawals for political or financial reasons." Six cities "pulled out of the contest for the '22 Winter Games, leaving only two finalists, with Beijing defeating Almaty, Kazakhstan" (AP, 12/8).
