Your streets should be running red, white, and blue with patriotism. Barely a month ago all hope of not-to-distant Olympic Games held on American soil was lost. The American spirit had been dashed, and our greatest athletes once again would have to play their biggest games on the road. Road games take their tolls. While America still dominates the medals stands at Olympiads, it is the host country who gets a significant competitive boost.
Now, there is a new hope. A hope of sun soaked beaches and Hollywood hosting the world’s greatest athletes and tourists. A hope that the fire of freedom will once again erupt within the Olympic cauldron. A hope that the world spotlight shines a positive light on America.
Los Angeles and the USOC officially will submit a bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games. If you aren’t as excited as me, you need to check your pulse and your patriotism.
I found myself questioning the Olympic mission when Boston withdrew its bid and the 2022 Winter Games were awarded to a city that was lucky to have a dusting of snow this winter (Beijing). The Olympic economic impact is highly questionable, with countries, states, or cities having to completely fund their endeavors. LA’s plan, while still in its initial stages, positions the city to turn a $161 million profit.
"We're confident LA can deliver an outstanding #Olympic and #Paralympic Games in 2024." @ScottBlackmun #LA2024 pic.twitter.com/ud3WG9Ur4w
— LA28 (@LA28) September 1, 2015
Yet the IOC is beginning to push for economically sane Olympic games. There is no need for Los Angeles to rival the $50 billion worth of corruption and greed Russia proudly bolstered to make Sochi a worthy host. Los Angeles should be a no-brainer choice to host a games, as the city has already hosted twice. A massive, historic stadium stands, with renovation needed, but not an entire redevelopment. The infrastructure exists, although any event held in early evening might need to be on a 3-hour delay for fans to beat the traffic.
#LA2024 pic.twitter.com/x2HOS2BXZw
— LA28 (@LA28) September 1, 2015
You only need to browse the official bid committee website to understand how smart the proposal is. Here’s a breakdown at the most logical Olympic plan ever (via la24.org):
- Five venue clusters, all within the footprint of the city and containing 94% of all sports
- World-class venues – 85% of which are either existing or planned regardless of the bid
- Numerous opportunities for fans to view non-ticketed events across the city
- All clusters within a 30 minute drive of the Olympic Village – over 50% of the all sports will be within 15 minutes or less of the Olympic Village
- An Olympic Village located in the heart of the city near Downtown Los Angeles, with unprecedented access to the city’s numerous world-class attractions
- For more information on the plan, click here to review our preliminary bid book
The developments are already planned! There is barely much redevelopment and new political support needed for construction. Every event will be within a 30 minute drive? At the London Olympic games, events were spread around the English countyside, with football matches as far north as Scotland and sailing as far west as southwest England. This bid is a spectators dream, with completely centralized competition.
If you aren’t excited now, at least you have the Rio Olympic Games to celebrate next year, with very few tape delayed events.
Full press release available here.
