Dive Brief:
- The International Olympic Committee has chosen Los Angeles and Paris to host the 2024 and 2028 Summer Games but will wait until September to announce which city will host first, according to Curbed Los Angeles.
- Los Angeles is reportedly more open to hosting the 2028 Summer Games as it continues to work on the infrastructure necessary to accommodate the throngs of visitors that accompany the international sporting event.
- Los Angeles was named the official U.S. entrant for the 2024 Summer Games after Boston withdrew its name from the hat because of cost concerns. Los Angeles has hosted the Summer Games twice before, in 1932 and 1984, and the IOC said it was impressed with the "financial constraint" both Paris and Los Angeles showed in their bids.
Dive Insight:
Instead of launching new, expensive construction projects, Los Angeles will largely use existing and temporary facilities. And rather than build a new Olympic Village to house athletes, it will use University of California, Los Angeles dormitories, which are largely vacant during the summer.
Also central to Los Angeles' Olympic bid is its assertion that it will be able to transport visitors easily around the city. To that end, the city is looking to accelerate construction of the Purple Line Extension, which will increase the line's capacity westward. Crews are working on the $2.64 billion first phase of the project and are set to start the $2.38 billion second phase.
Cities are usually willing to take a financial hit in preparing for the Olympic Games in the hopes that there will be a payoff in tourism and future investments. However, the IOC, as well Los Angeles and Paris, most likely has fiscal responsibility in mind after witnessing the struggle that continues in Japan as that country prepares to host the 2020 Summer Games.
Japan has exceeded its original budget by at least four times. Financial considerations, as well as public outcry regarding extravagant spending, forced officials to scuttle plans for a $2 billion-plus Olympic stadium designed by the late Zaha Hadid and opt for a more modest $1.5 billion facility proposed by architect Kengo Kuma.