In 1984 the summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles were arguably the most successful games ever. Now Mayor Eric Garcetti is hoping to give Los Angeles an opportunity to do it again in 2024.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Garcetti will be having “low-key, informative sessions” in Colorado with U.S. Olympic Committee officials, along with representatives from Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, and will be lobbying for L.A. to host the 2024 summer games.
“We look forward to meeting with the United States Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs to discuss how we can present the strongest possible bid for our nation,” Garcetti said in a statement.
Joining Garcetti at the meeting, which will be held on Thursday and Friday, will be other city officials and influential businessman Casey Wasserman. The USOC is not expected to make a decision on the venue of the 2024 games until 2017.
Much of the 1984 games’ success was attributed to the business acumen of airlines and transportation entrepreneur Peter Ueberroth. The businessman created a mastermind group of financially savvy leaders who harnessed huge sponsors and TV revenues to underwrite the event. The games ended up making a profit of $232 million, with $93 million of it being funneled into Los Angeles. As a consequence of Ueberroth’s accomplishments, he was named 1984 Time Magazine‘s Man of the Year.