L.A. among four U.S. cities in running for 2024 Olympic bid

The U.S. Olympic Committee has officially narrowed the list of American cities still in the running to bid for the 2024 Summer Games-- and Los Angeles has made the cut.

Boston, San Francisco and Washington D.C. are also included.

“We’re extremely pleased with the level of interest U.S. cities have shown,” Scott Blackmun, the USOC’s chief executive said in a statement on Friday. “Boston, L.A., San Francisco and Washington have each given us reason to believe that they can deliver a compelling and successful bid.”

San Diego and Dallas, which had presented initial proposals, were not included.

San Francisco has been considered an early favorite among International Olympic Committee members, but the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games has put together a thick, full-color package to woo the Games back to Los Angeles for a third time.

The confidential bid -- which SCCOG mistakenly posted on its website, then hurriedly took down -- includes plans for revamping the Coliseum and building an athletes village across the river from downtown.

There would be four venue clusters, with Exposition Park serving as the centerpiece. Events could be held at such disparate venues as the Hollywood Bowl and a downtown stadium that NFL proponents want to build near Staples Center.

“Los Angeles is the ideal Olympic city, with endless diversity, attractions and scenic beauty,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the USOC to ensure we present the
strongest possible bid for our nation.”

The USOC has tried to streamline the process so that cities do not spend millions upon millions before reaching the final bidding stages. Still, trying for the Games can be expensive and SCCOG executives have not said how much they have spent on the effort so far.

Another complication: The USOC has not yet committed to submitting a bid.

Officials wil continue discussions with the four finalists through the end of they year. After the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020 meeting, the USOC said it expects to make a decision on whether to bid and select a city.

The deadline for submitting bids to the IOC will probably be in 2015 and the host will be chosen by IOC vote in 2017.

IOC members rejected the last two American cities -- New York and Chicago -- that tried to land the Games.