The USOC and LA 2024 on Friday “reached an agreement on the management of an Olympic marketing program and how to divide the billions of dollars it would generate” should L.A. be awarded the ‘24 Games, according to Scott Reid of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. The joint marketing program agreement approval comes nearly a year before the IOC selects the ‘24 host city and is “further evidence of the contrast in the USOC’s relationship with LA 2024 compared with other recent U.S. bids.” USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said, “We’re on the same page.” Reid noted the agreement “will be submitted to the IOC on Oct. 7 as part of Stage II bidding documents.” The L.A. City Council is also “expected to sign off on the agreement Wednesday after being briefed by the city administrative officer and chief legal analyst.” The two sides “agreed to combine their marketing assets into a single program.” The agreement “sets the terms on how that marketing entity will be managed and how the revenues will be split between the two organizations.” Blackmun said that the “lack of an agreement” between the USOC and bid committees in N.Y. in ‘05 and Chicago in ‘09 “ended up hurting those cities in the bid process.” He said, “The fact that we’ve been able to reach an agreement with L.A. 2024 that our board signed off on ... is very, very meaningful” (OCREGISTER.com, 9/23). In L.A., David Wharton wrote negotiations “were finalized at a national Olympic assembly” in Colorado last week. USOC Chair Larry Probst said, “We didn’t want it to become an issue. So we just made the decision that sooner was better than later” (LATIMES.com, 9/23).
