If the proposed Widett Circle site for the 2024 Boston Olympics falls through, organizers said Suffolk Downs could be considered as an alternate location for an Olympic stadium.
"We would look at" Suffolk Downs if the Widett Circle site in South Boston can't happen, Boston 2024 President Dan O'Connell said at a press conference on Wednesday to discuss how Olympic planners would handle the 2024 Summer Games if they do come to the city.
O'Connell said organizers haven't discussed the issue with Suffolk yet, but it was the only location he mentioned if Widett Circle doesn't work. Organizers have said the stadium would be a temporary structure.
Suffolk Downs ran its last live thoroughbred races in November. It had hoped to partner with a casino developer, but lost out when the Boston-area casino license was awarded to Wynn Resorts for a casino in Everett.
The horse track had planned to shut down for good on Dec. 31, until state lawmakers passed emergency legislation to allow it to simulcast off-track betting through March 31.
Boston beat out bids from San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., earlier this month to be selected as the U.S. nominee for the 2024 Games. The city now goes up against potential bids from Rome, Paris, Johannesburg and Berlin or Hamburg, Germany. The IOC will make its decision in 2017.
