LA Olympic Village plans in doubt
by Matthew Campelli | 20 Nov 2015
LA is competing against four European cities to host the 2024 Games
The site for the Olympic Village proposed as part of Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Games may have to be changed as the potential costs spiral over budget.
After being selected by the United States Olympic Committee to bid for the Games, organisers earmarked the rail yard owned by Union Pacific Railroad as the location for the $1bn (£656m, €936m) development that would home 17,000 athletes during the event.
However, the Los Angeles Olympic Committee is now having to rethink plans after councillor Mitch O’Farrell told a city council committee that it would cost up to $2bn (£1.3, €1.9m) to buy the site, conduct and environmental clean-up and relocate Union Pacific Railroad before any construction even took place.
According to an Associated Press report, virtually all the money to finance the construction of the Olympic Village would come from private investment which is yet to be secured.
Los Angeles Olympic Committee spokesperson Jeff Millman said that while the rail yard remained the top choice, the organisation is looking at up to 24 alternatives.
The ‘Games Concept’ presented by the city as its plan to host the Olympics for the third time in its history highlighted the ambition to build an Olympic Village “in the heart of the city near Downtown, Los Angeles”, with all event facilities and sporting venues within a 30-minute drive.
The Los Angeles bid is being overseen by the city’s mayor Eric Garcetti and Wasserman Media Group chief executive, Casey Wasserman, while Goldman Sachs executive Gene Sykes oversees day-to-day operations as chief executive.
Los Angeles, which held the Games in 1932 and 1984, is competing against four European cities - Rome, Paris, Hamburg and Budapest - for the right to hold the event in 2024, with a decision due to be made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2017 in Lima, Peru.
The Californian city was put forward as the US’s bid as little as three months ago after the original preferred choice, Boston, pulled out in July amid fierce opposition from local residents. Los Angeles had originally finished second to Massachusetts’ capital.
16 Sep 2015
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12 Aug 2015
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28 Jul 2015
Plug pulled on Boston’s troubled 2024 Olympics bid
The site for the Olympic Village proposed as part of Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Games may have to be changed as the potential costs spiral over budget. After being selected by the United States Olympic Committee to bid for the Games, organisers earmarked the rail yard owned by Union Pacific Railroad as the location for the $1bn (£656m, €936m) development that would home 17,000 athletes during the event.
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