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Changes to Olympic host bid system help LA, others

A rules change in the competition to host the 2024 Olympics has given the Los Angeles bid committee and its competitors an eight-month reprieve to answer the most vexing questions about their plans.

Under a timeline originally published by the International Olympic Committee, all five cities would have been facing a January deadline to submit full bids, including details about venue financing, land use approvals and legal arrangements. But thanks to changes unveiled over the last two months, the IOC will accept bids in three segments separated by subject matter, with the tough legal and financial questions coming much later. IOC staff also will discuss aspects of the bids informally with cities along the way.

The point isn’t to ease pressure on any particular project, bid experts say, but to end the inefficient practice of forcing cities to commit to plans years before an IOC vote. “There are certain legal documents and guarantees which are needed, but they’re not needed necessarily two years out,” said former IOC chief marketer Michael Payne.

Details on the “vision, Games concept and strategy” are due in February, but details on “governance, legal and venue funding” aren’t due until October 2016, and information on the “delivery, experience and venue legacy” aren’t due until February 2017. This new timeline and flexibility could help Los Angeles’ plans for athlete housing, for instance. LA 2024 currently has designs on developing a train yard owned by Union Pacific Railroad. That complex, ambitious plan depends on the city finding a new space for the railroad and finding a private-sector developer before even beginning a massive relocation and construction project.

“We’re very pleased with this process that is both rigorous and flexible, allowing us to design a Games proposition that is compelling for the IOC and the people of Los Angeles,” LA 2024 spokesman Jeff Millman said.

The IOC made the changes after the 2014 Sochi Winter Games cost an estimated $51 billion, and several European cities backed out of the 2022 competition due to politicians’ fear of cost overruns.

Rapid cost escalations were at least in part caused by the bid system itself. Cities were required to make broad commitments about an event eight years away, virtually assuring major changes, vexing political situations and cost overruns as circumstances evolved. Also, with little up-front discussion with the IOC, cities were left to decide for themselves how best to impress voters, which led to extravagance. Now cities will be encouraged to discuss their plans with IOC staff prior to formally submitting plans, and the IOC will bring more independent consultants in to evaluate ideas.

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