Hours after Boston "dropped its troubled bid" yesterday for the '24 Games, USOC officials called L.A. bid reps, according to a source cited by David Wharton of the L.A. TIMES. The USOC "was also expected to reach out" to S.F. and DC. There is "still a chance the USOC will skip the 2024 bidding cycle to focus on the 2026 Winter Games or beyond" (L.A. TIMES, 7/29). In L.A., Peter Jamison in a front-page piece writes Mayor Eric Garcetti "must soon decide whether he is willing to accept the sort of financial risks that his counterpart in Boston ... balked at this week." Garcetti is "sounding optimistic notes after Boston's withdrawal of its bid," but he has yet to say "what promises he is prepared to make on taxpayers' behalf in exchange for the chance to attract an event that could contribute significantly to both the region's economy and his mayoral legacy" (L.A. TIMES, 7/29). The L.A. TIMES' Wharton writes under the header, "What Would A Potential Olympic Bid Mean For L.A.?" (L.A. TIMES, 7/29).
BAY WATCH? In S.F., Matier & Ross report L.A. officials have "reached out to their counterparts in the Bay Area with the idea of producing a joint bid" for the '24 Games. MLB Giants President & CEO Larry Baer said that he had "received a call" from Wasserman Media Group Chair & CEO Casey Wasserman, who led the L.A. bid, "floating the idea of going in on a proposal together." Baer: "I'm not saying we are going to do it, but we are certainly open to discussing it." S.F. Mayor Ed Lee’s point man on the Olympic effort, Tony Winnicker, said of the idea, “It might be a possibility that we would be open to.” But both Baer and Winnicker said that it would "take the support of Gov. Jerry Brown -- and that the state might have to act as a backstop on cost overruns" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/29).
STRONG SHOW OF SUPPORT: In Ottawa, Madeline Ashby notes recent polls suggest that 61% of Torontonians "would support the city’s bid" to host the '24 Games. This "groundswell of support seems to spring largely from the city’s endorphin rush at having survived" the '15 Pan Am Games "without terrible incident." By and large, the city "has escaped unscathed" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 7/29).
