Los Angeles

LA Olympic Organizers Put Their Plans on Display

Like Paris, L.A. says it's only interested in 2024.

Los Angeles Olympic organizers are putting their plans on display at a time of uncertainty in the race for the 2024 Games.

Members of the International Olympic Committee are in Southern California this week to inspect stadiums and arenas that could become future Olympic venues.

But there's a big unknown.

Los Angeles and Paris are the only two bidders left for the 2024 Games that will be awarded in September at a meeting of Olympic leaders in Peru. The IOC is considering a proposal to use that meeting to award the next two Olympics — 2024 and 2028. That means one to each city.

Like Paris, L.A. says it's only interested in 2024.

Members of the IOC will be in Southern California for several days of meetings and tours, including stops at the Rose Bowl and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

On Tuesday, the LA 2024 Bid Committee touted its plan to make the 2024 games one of the greenest in history, as well as its potential to benefit communities located beyond the heart of downtown.

At the StubHub Center in Carson, General Manager Katie Pandolfo praised the stadium's sustainability.

"We are thrilled to be LA 2024's official green sports park," she said, noting the stadium's sustainable features, which include its own greenhouse, LED lights and onsite energy storage.

The bid has wide support, but some, like Steve Ducey of the "No Olympics LA" campaign, feel the investment in the games could be better spent elsewhere.

"We would much rather see private fundraising and capitol go towards fixing the city, making the city better for the people who live there, not making the city for corporations that are standing to turn a profit," he said.

The LA 2024 bid committee, though, says its plan includes a push toward high-tech and promoting "lifestyle perimeters" around venues so that locals and visitors can eat and stay.

"We're not wasting taxpayer money to host these games," said LA 2024 Director of Sustainability and Legacy Brence Culp. "We won't displace residents or businesses."

The bid committee also says it's using as a model the LA84 Foundation, which has been using millions of surplus dollars from the 1984 games to fund youth sports, coaching and dozens of groups in Los Angeles.

The contest for the 2024 Games has been messy.

The race began with five cities, but Rome, Hamburg, Germany, and Budapest, Hungary, all pulled out.

The IOC is eager to keep costs in check after decades of runaway spending, and L.A. has made its lean budget a selling point.

The L.A. bid requires no new construction of permanent venues. It projects spending $5.3 billion, which would be around one-third of what Tokyo is expected to spend for 2020.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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