Mayor Marty Walsh was feeling optimistic Wednesday after having just returned from California where he and a team of top backers made their pitch to the International Olympic Committee to bring the Summer Olympics to Boston in 2024.
"We felt we did a very good job of presenting our side and why the Olympics should be good for the U.S. and Boston," Walsh said.
After hearing from the three other competing cities - Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C. - the committee officially decided to submit a bid for the games, adding that none of the cities have an advantage over another.
While the U.S. Olympic Committee described the cities as locked in a four way tie, Boston supporters believe its chances are greater than 25 percent based on the fact that Boston already has a number of potentially workable venues, such as Franklin Park, which is located in a compact area.
The site of the former Boston expo center has been discussed as a possible sight for the Olympic Village, which could then be transformed into dorm rooms to be used by the University of Massachusetts Boston, whose campus is right next door. Fenway Park, the Boston Common and the Boston Garden are other sites that could be used.
However, not everyone is on board. Chris Dempsey is one of the founders of No Boston Olympics, a group that feels the billions needed to pay for an Olympics could be much better invested.
"If you look at the experience of other cities, it really has not lead to good outcomes for those other cities. We'd much rather be focused on education and health care and things that have always made our state a great place to be," he said.
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Mayor Walsh says he's made it clear he's not willing to put debt in the books for generations to come.
Several state political leaders have expressed optimism for the bid, including Governor-elect Charlie Baker, who said the Olympics could be a unique opportunity to promote the state.
"It ought to be around the kind of project activity that actually is sustainable over time and has value and meaning to the region that gets way beyond the end of the Olympics," he said.
Dempsey is hoping Boston 2024 will be more transparent as he anxiously awaits the release of the bid.
