Boston will be American bidder for 2024 Olympics

[webfact]

Boston will be American bidder for 2024 Olympics
By EDDIE PELLS

DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Olympic Committee chose Boston to bid for the 2024 Games in an attempt to bring the Summer Olympics to America after a 28-year gap.

During a daylong meeting at the Denver airport, USOC board members chose Boston over Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, all of which have been lobbying to become the American choice for more than a year.

Boston joins Rome as the only other city that has officially decided to bid. Germany will submit either Hamburg or Berlin, with France and Hungary among those also considering bids. The International Olympic Committee will award the Games in 2017.

"We're excited about our plans to submit a bid for the 2024 Games and feel we have an incredibly strong partner in Boston that will work with us to present a compelling bid," USOC Chairman Larry Probst said in a statement.

America's last two attempts to land the Games resulted in embarrassments — fourth-place finishes for New York (2012) and Chicago (2016).

The selection of one of the country's most history-steeped cities comes as something of a surprise to insiders, who viewed Los Angeles as the safest choice and San Francisco as the sexiest. But a compact bid highlighted by a frugal spending plan overshadowed doubts that surfaced because of the city's organized protest group and less-than-perfect history in delivering big projects like the Big Dig.

Boston focused on its ability to use the more than 100 universities throughout the area to house events and athletes.

It touted a walkable, technology-based Olympics and said as much as 70 percent of its venues would be temporary, and the schools would pay for many, as well.

"Today's selection by the USOC is the beginning of an incredible opportunity for Boston," said Boston 2024 Chairman John Fish.

And the opposition group, No Boston Olympics, was equally quick with its own statement: "The boosters behind Boston2024 won today — but our Commonwealth is poorer for it."


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-01-09

[BadBouy]

Major traffic jambs after a baseball game cannot imagine how bad it would be if they held the Olympics for a few weeks.

[IMA_FARANG]

Major traffic jambs after a baseball game cannot imagine how bad it would be if they held the Olympics for a few weeks.

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My brother lives in Gloucester, outside of Boston.

From having visited him, I know what a pain it is now to drive in Boston ...... getting to Logan airport for example.

I can't imagine what it would be like with a Olympics there.

[zydeco]

Flop. Should have gone with LA.

[Jingthing]

LA again ... definitely not.

D.C., not bad but I think being the capital too much political baggage.

San Francisco is a bit chilly in the summer!

I would have predicted SF would have been picked for this though.

Boston ... OK, I guess I can see that.

Edited January 9, 2015 by Jingthing

[Publicus]

Olympic games everywhere have had their financial headaches and overruns so the Boston Olympic Committee is developing the model of how to change this constant.

Boston will use the facilities of the professional sports teams of American football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer and others, and the sports, housing and athletic facilities of the more than 100 colleges and universities, rather than build 'em. The result will be very few new construction projects in a city that doesn't have space for them anyway along with the accompanying low budget outlays.

Roads accessing Boston are excellent but I agree cause I know, anyone who doesn't want his face on a milk carton absolutely avoids driving in the city of Boston itself.

That's cause the colonists 400 years ago used the old Indian trails which left narrow horse and buggy ways paved over a century ago and since, meaning you never know where the narrow way you're on that's lined by high buildings in shadows is going to take you, and take you it will, everyone, anyone, anywhere.

Boston has for 50 years had the highest auto insurance rates of any major city of the US cause every driver is a NYC taxi hacker trying to get out of a multi-junction traffic Rotary (circle) from which many have never returned....and their fate is still unlearned.

All the same, what the IOC doesn't know won't hurt 'em.....they're globally prominent people so they for sure will be rescued.