The USOC has named a working group to review and evaluate whether or not it should bid for the ‘24 or ‘26 Olympics. The group is made up of five BOD members: IOC member Anita DeFrantz, former Visa CMO Susanne Lyons, USA Hockey Exec Dir Dave Ogrean, IOC member and former USA hockey player Angela Ruggierro and Braves Exec VP/Business Operations Mike Plant. The USOC BOD decided to forgo bidding for the ‘22 Olympics during a meeting in July. The five members will be tasked with completing their analysis and making a recommendation to the larger board about bidding by the end of the year. The pros of bidding for a Summer Olympics are that the USOC would stand to bring in more revenue and host an event with wider appeal to Americans. The cons are that it will face more competition and have to convince an elite U.S. city to pay for a bid, which can cost more than $70M. The pros of bidding for a Winter Olympics are that a bid likely would face less competition and cities already are interested in bidding, including Salt Lake City, Denver and Reno-Lake Tahoe. The cons are that the Winter Games would generate less money and not have as broad an appeal. A study that the USOC commissioned last year showed the difference in revenue generated by a Summer and Winter Games was marginal.
