LetÂ’s Go After the 2024 Olympics
August 26, 2015
by Gary Toebben
A Los Angeles bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics needs to be submitted prior to Labor Day and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is pledging its support to Mayor Eric Garcetti and Bid Committee Chairman Casey Wasserman. The endorsement was provided by the Chamber’s Executive Committee, in a unanimous vote, at its meeting last week.
The pride, excitement and economic stimulus provided by the recently completed Special Olympics World Games – July 25 - Aug. 2 – in L.A. was a reminder to all of how effective and efficient the businesses, governmental organizations and volunteers of L.A. City and County can be in hosting the world. While on a smaller scale, the Special Olympics World Games conjured up vivid memories of the successful 1984 Olympics and the legacy of the 1932 Olympics.
The Chamber’s support for the 2024 Olympic bid is not based on emotion or nostalgia, it is based on economic opportunity and mobilizing our region around the completion of infrastructure projects that will benefit the citizens of L.A. City and County for generations. Just like hosting the 1984 Olympics was the catalyst for a major renovation of LAX, the 2024 Olympics will create the urgency we need to complete projects like transit service to LAX via an automated people mover from the Crenshaw Line to the terminals. This improvement and many others will serve residents and visitors to Southern California for generations.
Unlike many cities that have built temporary venues for the Olympic Games, L.A. has built venues that have served the community for decades. With a laser focus on cost control, a strong and experienced team to negotiate with the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee, and a local organizing committee that contains the best talent our region has to offer, a L.A. bid can deliver the same benefits that our region enjoyed during the 1984 Olympics and continues to enjoy today. The purpose of hosting the 2024 Olympics will be to build for the future, not simply to promote for the future. The results have the potential to be both exciting and visionary and the Chamber is proud to voice its support.
And that's The Business Perspective.
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