Los Angeles

Bay Area Gives Up Olympic Dream, Defers to Los Angeles

If the United States is going to bid for the 2024 Olympics, that bid will come from Los Angeles, the U.S. Olympic Committee confirmed on Wednesday. And the Bay Area was quick to defer to it's Southen Californian counterparts.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and the Bay Area Council both said they welcomed the opportunity to work with LA in support of an Olympic bid.

The announcement followed a USOC board of directors meeting at the Denver International Airport.

"We continue to think that a U.S. bid for the 2024 Games can be successful," said USOC chairman Larry Probst. "The board authorized CEO Scott Blackmun to work with Los Angeles to explore the viability of a potential bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We hope to finalize terms that benefit both the city of Los Angeles and the Olympic Movement in the United States so that we can submit a world-class bid to the IOC by its September 15 deadline."

Wednesday's announcement came just over two weeks after the USOC and Boston 2024 jointly ended the campaign for Boston to bid for the 2024 Games.

In a statement, Mayor Eric Garcetti said his office has had "very positive discussions with the United States Olympic Committee" about how Los Angeles can present a strong bid.

NBC Bay Area and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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