Following up on a motion September 20 by Los Angeles Councilman Tom LaBonge, Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday 15-0 to support efforts to bid for a future Olympic Games.
Los Angeles has previously hosted the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games.
LaBonge said initial efforts were to try to host the Games in 2032 on the centennial celebration of the first Los Angeles Games. But Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG) President Barry Sanders said there is the possibility Los Angeles could be designated as host city for an earlier Olympics.
Sanders said, “there is no other city in the world more prepared to host an Olympics at a moment’s notice. If we needed to, we would only need one new venue to be competitive now with other cities”.
He said there are a number of new facilities, starting with the Staples Center and also arenas in Anaheim and Long Beach, that could serve as sites for events.
“We have been operating since 1939 to try to bring the Games back to Los Angeles and have prepared a dozen different bids”. Noting that the SCCOG was formed in 1939, he said, “this is a true public-private partnership to support the Olympic Games”.
Los Angeles may have a bit of a battle on its hands. There are several American cities interested in bidding for future Olympic Games and New York City is one of five cities bidding for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Should New York host the Games, a future Games for Los Angeles could be many years away.
