Athletes' village among cost concerns for LA

Los Angeles City Council members have called for alternative proposals for the Olympic athletes' village following concerns about potential cost over-runs in the city's bid for the 2024 Summer Games.

Councilman Mitch O'Farrell said environmental clean-up and other costs could reach $2 billion for the proposed village site, a riverside railyard, even if the property's owner Union Pacific agrees to sell up.

"I don’t really even see how that’s a starter at this point," O'Farrell said.

Los Angeles is bidding to host the Summer Olympics for a third time, after staging the Games in 1932 and 1984, and will face stiff competition from Paris, Rome, Budapest and Hamburg.

It got the chance to put its hat in the ring after the US Olympic Committee's first choice, Boston, saw its bid collapse in the face of local opposition stirred by financial fears.

City attorneys told a City Council committee on Wednesday that they are close to finalizing financial and other agreements outlining the city's responsibilities for hosting the Games, which would have to be approved by the full council.

The city and the exploratory organizing committee, LA2024, have until February 17 to submit guarantee letters and other documents to the International Olympic Committee.

Deputy Chief City Attorney Jim Clarke said negotiators are "very close" to a deal on indemnification issues, "which is very important to protecting" the city financially should the Games' price tag exceed projections.

Assistant City Administrative Officer Ben Ceja said the agreements will spell out the city government's responsibilities and could come before the full council by December.
Source: AFP