Mayor Eric Garcetti says L.A. is nearing a deal with the U.S. Olympic Committee to be this country’s candidate for the 2024 Summer Games. Unlike Boston – which recently dropped out of the bidding – Garcetti says L.A. would be willing to guarantee that the city will cover any cost overruns associated with hosting the massive sports competition.
Garcetti says he expects an L.A. Olympics to generate a $150 million profit for the city. But he tells the L.A. Times that the city would be willing to pay the difference if the Games cost more to produce than they generate.
The U.S. Olympic Committee is expected to announce its candidate for the 2024 games by the end of the month. Boston was the committee’s first choice to host the games, with L.A. a close second. But faced with community opposition, Mayor Marty Walsh refused to commit Boston to paying cost overruns, forcing the city to drop out.
Garcetti says staging the Olympics in L.A. would cost about $4.1 billion, about $500,000 less than Boston’s estimate. The difference is due to the fact that L.A. already has many of the necessary venues in place, some of them built when L.A. hosted the Summer Games in 1984. Those Games were among the most financially successful in Olympics history, generating a surplus of more than $200 million.
Los Angeles also hosted the 1932 Summer Games. It would join London as the only three-time host if it was picked by International Olympics Committee.
That decision is still two years off. But Garcetti says he’s convinced that hosting the Olympics would benefit Los Angeles economically and socially.