Boston out as U.S. candidate for 2024 Olympics
Boston's bid to host the 2024 Olympics is over.
The city and the U.S. Olympic Committee severed ties after a board teleconference Monday, USOC spokesperson Patrick Sandusky told The Associated Press.
The decision throws the bid process — and hopes that the U.S. will host another Olympics — into flux. Only seven weeks remain before cities have to be officially nominated. If the USOC wants to stay in the race, Los Angeles is its likely choice.
The Boston bid soured within days of its beginning in January, beset by poor communication and an active opposition group that kept public support low. It also failed to get — and keep — the support of key politicians.
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Earlier Monday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced he would not be pressured into signing the host city contract that puts the city on the hook for any cost overruns. Gov. Charlie Baker had been unwilling to pledge his support, waiting instead to see a full report from a consulting group that wasn't scheduled to be complete until next month.
A group that pushed for a referendum on the Olympics in Boston put out a release applauding the news.
"We are a world class state without the Olympics. We don't need to spend billions of tax dollars to prove that fact," said state Rep. Shaunna O'Connell, co-chair of Tank Taxes for Olympics.
The USOC and the Boston 2024 bid team were expected to put out statements later in the day.
The United States hasn't hosted a Summer Olympics since the Atlanta Games in 1996, or any Olympics since the Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002. That timing, along with the USOC's vastly improved relationship with its international partners, made this look like a race that was America's to lose, even against world-class cities such as Rome and Paris.
But the USOC also showed its uncanny knack for shooting itself in the foot, no matter who's in charge. Political missteps and hamhanded campaigning marred the last two U.S. bids — New York and Chicago each finished an embarrassing fourth for the 2012 and 2016 Games, respectively. The USOC stayed out of the 2020 race to be sure it got things right for 2024. Instead, the federation didn't even make it to the international phase of the competition before running into trouble.
There's still time to save face if chair Larry Probst and CEO Scott Blackmun make quick phone calls to leaders in Los Angeles, including Mayor Eric Garcetti and agent/power broker Casey Wasserman. But some embarrassment cannot be avoided. The USOC spent nearly two years on a mostly secret domestic selection process that began with letters to almost three dozen cities gauging interest in hosting the Games.
Boston's initial bid team talked a big game, but made empty promises. Recently released documents show organizers underestimated the amount of opposition and downplayed the possibility of a statewide referendum on the games.