21 Southern California Congressional Reps: Make LAXXXIII Happen!
21 Southern California Congressional Reps: Make LAXXXIII Happen!
(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-San Fernando Valley, Calif.) was joined by 20 of his Southern California colleagues in a bipartisan letter calling for the United States Olympic Committee to strongly consider the Los Angeles region as the United States’ host city candidate for the 2024 Summer Olympics, the Games of the XXXIIIrd Olympiad.
Cárdenas was joined in the bipartisan letter by Reps. Xavier Becerra, Brad Sherman, Grace Napolitano, Ted Lieu, Norma Torres, Karen Bass, Janice Hahn, Alan Lowenthal, Linda Sanchez, Judy Chu, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Julia Brownley, Adam Schiff, Stephen Knight, Mark Takano, Pete Aguilar, Raul Ruiz, Loretta Sanchez, Maxine Waters and Lois Capps.
“Los Angeles is the second-largest city in the United States, a city whose infrastructure supports the influx of both millions of tourists and thousands of new residents each year; massive internationally-known sporting events and festivals; and which is anchored by an entertainment industry dedicated to the success of spectacles like the Olympic Games,” the members wrote, in their letter to USOC Chairman Larry Probst. “Because many of the competition venues, transportation options and lodging availability are already present, Los Angeles is ready, now.”
Los Angeles hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics, which were the first two Summer Games to turn a profit for their host city. In fact, the profits from the privately-run 1984 Games were partially used to create the LA84 Foundation, which continues providing grants and funding for youth sports organizations throughout Southern California.
The letter comes after Boston withdrew from being a candidate city for the 2024 Olympics, following protests by many residents concerned with the potential cost of building new athletic and other infrastructure, which Los Angeles and the surrounding region already possess.
The letter concludes, “We believe it makes perfect sense for the city that hosted the Xth and XXIIIrd Olympiads to simply combine the two, and for the Games of the XXXIIIrd Olympiad to make their way to Los Angeles. We call on you to help make #LAXXXIII a reality.”
-30-