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CLT UPDATE
Monday, July 27, 2015

Taxpayers Win Boston Olympics Boondoggle Dead!


There will be no Boston Olympics in 2024.

Due to continued low public support, the United States Olympic Committee and officials from the local bid group, Boston 2024, “have reached a mutual agreement to withdraw Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” the organizations said in a joint statement Monday.

The USOC will now explore alternative cities, which many experts believe would be two-time Olympic host Los Angeles.

“The USOC would very much like to see an American city host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024,” said USOC chairman Scott Blackmun, in a statement. “We will immediately begin to explore whether we can do so on a basis consistent with our guiding principles, to which we remain firmly committed.

“We understand the reality of the timeline that is before us,” he said.

The USOC faces a September deadline to name a US bid city....

An opposition group, No Boston Olympics, celebrated the death of the bid: “We are a city with an important past and a bright future,” the group said in a statement. “We got that way by thinking big, but also thinking smart. We need to move forward as a city, and today’s decision allows us to do that on our own terms, not the terms of the USOC or the IOC. We’re better off for having passed on Boston 2024.”

The unraveling of the local bid comes shortly after Mayor Martin J. Walsh said at a press conference that he was not yet ready to put city taxpayers on the hook for any Games-related costs if local Olympic organizers ran out of money.

“I strongly believe that bringing the Olympic Games back to the United States would be good for our country and would have brought long-term benefits to Boston,” Walsh said in a statement Monday afternoon. “However, no benefit is so great that it is worth handing over the financial future of our City and our citizens were rightly hesitant to be supportive as a result.

“We always anticipated having the time to do our due diligence on the guarantees required and a full review of the risk and mitigation package proposed last week,” he said. “This is a monumental decision that cannot be rushed, even if it means not moving forward with our bid for the 2024 Summer Games.”

The Boston Globe
Monday, July 27, 2015
Boston 2024 Olympic bid is ‘over’


The US Olympic Committee and Boston 2024 are dropping Boston as the nation's potential host city for the 2024 summer Olympics, ending a months-long debate over what Gov. Charlie Baker called a "ten-year drill" with major economic and fiscal ramifications.

Word of the decision began circulating mid-afternoon on Monday, after Boston Mayor Martin Walsh in the morning said he had declined to sign a host city agreement, and Baker confirmed the decision during a State House press conference just after 3 p.m.

In a statement, the US Olympic Committee said Walsh's comments on Monday were a consideration in its decision as well as the inability to convince a majority of people locally to support the Boston bid....

Leaders of a planned ballot question banning the use of public funds on the Olympics started celebrating on Monday afternoon.

"The many elected officials in Boston 2024's corner looked the other way for months, even when it became clear that Boston 2024 had been less than truthful about what it wanted from taxpayers. What those officials couldn't ignore was the real, credible threat of a binding vote, which is what ultimately led to the USOC pulling the bid," Evan Falchuk, a 2014 candidate for governor, said in a statement. "If Boston 2024 could have produced a plan that did not rely on a taxpayer bailout, they would be still in the running for the 2024 games."

"This is good day for Massachusetts taxpayers," added Rep. Shaunna O'Connell of Taunton. "The Boston Games would have resulted in a multi-billion taxpayer funded bailout. It would have hurt our state's bond rating, taken tax dollars from necessities and forced huge tax increases. We are a world class state without the Olympics. We don't need to spend billions of tax dollars to prove that fact."

No Boston Olympics announced plans for a celebration Monday night at The Beantown Pub.

"Boston is a world-class city. We are a city with an important past and a bright future. We got that way by thinking big, but also thinking smart. We need to move forward as a city, and today's decision allows us to do that on our own terms, not the terms of the USOC or the IOC. We're better off for having passed on Boston 2024," No Boston Olympics said in a statement.

State House News Service
Monday, July 27, 2015
USOC drops Boston as Olympic host city


Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Monday he is not ready to immediately sign an Olympic host city contract that would make taxpayers the final backstop for Olympic cost overruns, despite pressure from the US Olympic Committee to confirm he would sign the document.

Walsh said at a hastily called City Hall press conference that the USOC is pushing him to sign a host city contract soon. But he said he will not sign until he knows more about the financial picture of the proposed Games.

“I cannot commit to putting the taxpayers at risk," Walsh said. “If committing to sign a guarantee today is what’s required to move forward, then Boston is no longer pursuing the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The standoff between Walsh and the USOC has raised questions about the fate of the Olympic bid, which was already in peril due to low poll numbers.

Asked if this marked the end of Boston’s bid, Walsh said: “You’ll have to ask the USOC that. They want us to sign the contract as soon as possible and in good faith we can’t sign the contract.”

The mood was grim at City Hall, where the mayor expressed resignation and frustration.

“I think it’s unfortunate that it’s come to this point,” Walsh said....

Walsh said he will not yield to pressure from the USOC to put taxpayers on the hook to guarantee the 2024 Olympic Games take place in Boston.

“I refuse to mortgage the future of the city away," he said. “This is a commitment that I can’t make without ensuring the city and its residents will be protected.”

Walsh said he will not have any regrets if the city does not host the Olympics, in part because it has spurred a conversation that led to the creation of plans to redevelop Widett Circle and expand housing options in Dorchester’s Columbia Point neighborhood.

Walsh said that the city is facing an International Olympic Committee deadline of submitting a signed host city agreement by this September. But the IOC won’t choose a host city until 2017, which he said means there is time for the issue to be fully examined.

“This is a big decision and I think you need to have the time to process it," Walsh said.

The Boston Globe
Monday, July 27, 2015
Boston won’t yield to USOC pressure on Olympics, Walsh says


[Mayor Martin J. Walsh} said until he sees the the scope of the IOC guarantee, he can't be sure the city can indemnify itself through insurance. The head of the city's Olympic planning office is reviewing a multi-layered insurance package released by Boston 2024 Thursday night.

"We are unable to conclude our analysis without knowing the full scope of risk contained within the guarantee of the 2024 games," Walsh said. "I refuse to mortgage the future of the city away, I refuse to put Boston on the hook for overruns, and I refuse to commit to signing a guarantee that uses taxpayers dollars to pay for the Olympics."

The Boston Herald
Monday, July 27, 2015
Walsh won't sign Olympic contract, may end bid for games


Under pressure from the US Olympics Committee to sign a host city agreement, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Monday he could not at this time sign a taxpayer guarantee because the risks of hosting the games are still not fully known.

The mayor's decision, along with Gov. Charlie Baker's continued wait-and-see approach to the games, could potentially contribute to the demise of the city's bid to host the 2024 Summer Games.

"This is me letting the taxpayers of Boston know where we stand on the Olympic bid," Walsh told reporters at a mid-morning press conference. He said he had "made it perfectly clear" he would not sign an agreement that put taxpayers' money at risk.

Walsh said it would be up to the U.S. Olympic Committee whether the bid moves forward even without a taxpayer guarantee....

Citizens for a Say & Tank Taxes for Olympics, two groups pushing a ballot initiative aimed at preventing the use of tax funds to pay for the Olympics, said Walsh's announcement "smacks of a staged crisis."

"Mayor Walsh was never in a position to sign a guarantee, because of the scope of the Olympic bid financially and geographically," the groups said. "As before the press conference the decision is up to the Governor, as the state would have to be the one on the hook for the guarantee for the Olympics."

State House News Service
Monday, July 27, 2015
Walsh declines to sign Olympics host city contract


Chip Ford's CLT Commentary

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh refused to cave to pressure; he asserted this morning that Boston taxpayers will not bail out Boston 2024 for cost overruns.

Boston 2024 and the U.S. Olympic Committee folded their tent and slithered away.

The Lords of the Rings didn't say "No problem, there won't be any cost overruns we can't handle. We'll go ahead with our plans on our own without putting taxpayers at risk."

They just folded their tent and slithered away.

I'd say the plan was for Massachusetts taxpayers to bail out the Olympics in the end and without that guarantee their plan wouldn't work.

No taxpayer liability, no tax increases to cover their boondoggle, no years of traffic gridlock.

Today the citizens and taxpayers of Massachusetts and especially greater-Boston won BIG TIME!

Chip Ford


 

The Boston Globe
Monday, July 27, 2015

Boston 2024 Olympic bid is ‘over’
By Mark Arsenault


There will be no Boston Olympics in 2024.

Due to continued low public support, the United States Olympic Committee and officials from the local bid group, Boston 2024, “have reached a mutual agreement to withdraw Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” the organizations said in a joint statement Monday.

The USOC will now explore alternative cities, which many experts believe would be two-time Olympic host Los Angeles.

“The USOC would very much like to see an American city host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024,” said USOC chairman Scott Blackmun, in a statement. “We will immediately begin to explore whether we can do so on a basis consistent with our guiding principles, to which we remain firmly committed.

“We understand the reality of the timeline that is before us,” he said.

The USOC faces a September deadline to name a US bid city.

Pagliuca, in the statement, said the “Boston 2024 Partnership will offer our support and the extensive knowledge we have gained in developing our Bid 2.0 to any American city that may choose to participate in the 2024 bidding process going forward.”

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti expressed interest in resuming a bid for the Games.

“I continue to believe that Los Angeles is the ideal Olympic city and we have always supported the USOC in their effort to return the Games to the United States,” he said in a statement. “I would be happy to engage in discussions with the USOC about how to present the strongest and most fiscally responsible bid on behalf of our city and nation.”

An opposition group, No Boston Olympics, celebrated the death of the bid: “We are a city with an important past and a bright future,” the group said in a statement. “We got that way by thinking big, but also thinking smart. We need to move forward as a city, and today’s decision allows us to do that on our own terms, not the terms of the USOC or the IOC. We’re better off for having passed on Boston 2024.”

The unraveling of the local bid comes shortly after Mayor Martin J. Walsh said at a press conference that he was not yet ready to put city taxpayers on the hook for any Games-related costs if local Olympic organizers ran out of money.

“I strongly believe that bringing the Olympic Games back to the United States would be good for our country and would have brought long-term benefits to Boston,” Walsh said in a statement Monday afternoon. “However, no benefit is so great that it is worth handing over the financial future of our City and our citizens were rightly hesitant to be supportive as a result.

“We always anticipated having the time to do our due diligence on the guarantees required and a full review of the risk and mitigation package proposed last week,” he said. “This is a monumental decision that cannot be rushed, even if it means not moving forward with our bid for the 2024 Summer Games.”

The Boston bid has been in peril for months, due to a string of controversies and low poll numbers.

“Notwithstanding the promise of the original vision for the bid, and the soundness of the plan developed under Steve Pagliuca, we have not been able to get a majority of the citizens of Boston to support hosting the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Blackmun said. “Therefore, the USOC does not think that the level of support enjoyed by Boston’s bid would allow it to prevail over great bids from Paris, Rome, Hamburg, Budapest or Toronto.”

USOC members chose Boston in January as the US bid city for the 2024 Games, over Washington, D.C., San Francisco and LA.


State House News Service
Monday, July 27, 2015

USOC drops Boston as Olympic host city
By Michael Norton and Andy Metzger


The US Olympic Committee and Boston 2024 are dropping Boston as the nation's potential host city for the 2024 summer Olympics, ending a months-long debate over what Gov. Charlie Baker called a "ten-year drill" with major economic and fiscal ramifications.

Word of the decision began circulating mid-afternoon on Monday, after Boston Mayor Martin Walsh in the morning said he had declined to sign a host city agreement, and Baker confirmed the decision during a State House press conference just after 3 p.m.

In a statement, the US Olympic Committee said Walsh's comments on Monday were a consideration in its decision as well as the inability to convince a majority of people locally to support the Boston bid.

In January, on the same day that Baker took office, Boston was chosen by the US Olympic Committee as the nation's host city, surprising many locally and leading to the expectation that plans for the games would become more detailed in the ensuing months.

"I strongly believe that bringing the Olympic Games back to the United States would be good for our country and would have brought long-term benefits to Boston. However, no benefit is so great that it is worth handing over the financial future of our City and our citizens were rightly hesitant to be supportive as a result," Walsh said in a statement. "We always anticipated having the time to do our due diligence on the guarantees required and a full review of the risk and mitigation package proposed last week. This is a monumental decision that cannot be rushed, even if it means not moving forward with our bid for 2024 Summer Games."

Boston 2024, the group leading the charge to host the Olympics, was the target of criticism during the process both from skeptics of a Boston Olympics and others who complained the group's plans lacked detail or were too often kept secret. Steve Pagliuca, a co-owner of the Boston Celtics and former U.S. Senate candidate, has led Boston 2024's recent efforts after taking over for John Fish.

Public opinion polling has consistently shown low levels of support for a Boston Olympics and many elected officials in Massachusetts have opted against coming out strongly in favor of a Boston Olympics, saying repeatedly that they hoped to safeguard tax dollars.

Leaders of a planned ballot question banning the use of public funds on the Olympics started celebrating on Monday afternoon.

"The many elected officials in Boston 2024's corner looked the other way for months, even when it became clear that Boston 2024 had been less than truthful about what it wanted from taxpayers. What those officials couldn't ignore was the real, credible threat of a binding vote, which is what ultimately led to the USOC pulling the bid," Evan Falchuk, a 2014 candidate for governor, said in a statement. "If Boston 2024 could have produced a plan that did not rely on a taxpayer bailout, they would be still in the running for the 2024 games."

"This is good day for Massachusetts taxpayers," added Rep. Shaunna O'Connell of Taunton. "The Boston Games would have resulted in a multi-billion taxpayer funded bailout. It would have hurt our state's bond rating, taken tax dollars from necessities and forced huge tax increases. We are a world class state without the Olympics. We don't need to spend billions of tax dollars to prove that fact."

No Boston Olympics announced plans for a celebration Monday night at The Beantown Pub.

"Boston is a world-class city. We are a city with an important past and a bright future. We got that way by thinking big, but also thinking smart. We need to move forward as a city, and today's decision allows us to do that on our own terms, not the terms of the USOC or the IOC. We're better off for having passed on Boston 2024," No Boston Olympics said in a statement.

No Boston Olympics Co-Chairs Kelley Gossett, Chris Dempsey, and Liam Kerr will be available to speak with media at 4 p.m. on the State House steps.

State officials hired an independent consultant to review the bid, and The Brattle Group's report is due in mid-August.

Gov. Baker said Monday that he still looked forward to the consultant's report and called the decision to drop the bid "their call."

"We would like to see the US properly represented in this whole thing," Baker said during a televised press conference outside Senate President Stanley Rosenberg's office with Rosenberg, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.

DeLeo said the process showed that people looked at Boston as a "world-class city" capable of hosting the Olympics and said the discussions about hosting the Olympics fed thinking about improving operations in Massachusetts and were "valuable."

Rosenberg said he was "very excited" that Massachusetts was the initial choice but wondered about issues that would "make it real," including the level of support for a Boston Olympics from the federal government.

DeLeo said he had not spoken with the US Olympic Committee and Baker said he hadn't felt pressured.

"I don't feel like I was strong-armed or bullied at all," Baker said, asserting state officials had stuck to their timetable for reviewing the bid and that it hadn't synced up with the US Olympic Committee's timeline.


The Boston Globe
Monday, July 27, 2015

Boston won’t yield to USOC pressure on Olympics, Walsh says
By Mark Arsenault and Andrew Ryan


Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Monday he is not ready to immediately sign an Olympic host city contract that would make taxpayers the final backstop for Olympic cost overruns, despite pressure from the US Olympic Committee to confirm he would sign the document.

Walsh said at a hastily called City Hall press conference that the USOC is pushing him to sign a host city contract soon. But he said he will not sign until he knows more about the financial picture of the proposed Games.

“I cannot commit to putting the taxpayers at risk," Walsh said. “If committing to sign a guarantee today is what’s required to move forward, then Boston is no longer pursuing the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The standoff between Walsh and the USOC has raised questions about the fate of the Olympic bid, which was already in peril due to low poll numbers.

Asked if this marked the end of Boston’s bid, Walsh said: “You’ll have to ask the USOC that. They want us to sign the contract as soon as possible and in good faith we can’t sign the contract.”

The mood was grim at City Hall, where the mayor expressed resignation and frustration.

“I think it’s unfortunate that it’s come to this point,” Walsh said.

Before the press conference, Walsh said he spoke to Governor Charlie Baker and Scott Blackmun, the USOC’s chief executive officer.

Also Monday, Baker spoke to USOC officials, according to an aide, and reiterated that he will not take any position on Boston’s Olympic bid until a consulting firm hired by the state issues a report next month on the bid’s finances.

“As the governor stated on Friday, he informed the USOC that he needed to review the Brattle Group’s findings before making any decision on the Olympics,” said Baker’s spokesman, Tim Buckley.

USOC members are set to discuss Boston’s status at a board meeting Monday. At the news conference, Walsh thanked bid organizers for the hard work they’ve put in so far, and said, “we’ll see what happens” going forward.

Walsh said he will not yield to pressure from the USOC to put taxpayers on the hook to guarantee the 2024 Olympic Games take place in Boston.

“I refuse to mortgage the future of the city away," he said. “This is a commitment that I can’t make without ensuring the city and its residents will be protected.”

Walsh said he will not have any regrets if the city does not host the Olympics, in part because it has spurred a conversation that led to the creation of plans to redevelop Widett Circle and expand housing options in Dorchester’s Columbia Point neighborhood.

Walsh said that the city is facing an International Olympic Committee deadline of submitting a signed host city agreement by this September. But the IOC won’t choose a host city until 2017, which he said means there is time for the issue to be fully examined.

“This is a big decision and I think you need to have the time to process it," Walsh said.

Walsh said Baker supported his views when the two spoke.

Asked whether he had underestimated the opposition, Walsh showed a hint of frustration.

“The opposition for the most part is about 10 people on Twitter and a couple people out there who are constantly beating the drumbeat,” Walsh said. “This is about the taxpayers and what I have to do as mayor.”

The comment immediately elicited several follow-up questions from reporters, who pointed to Boston 2024’s sagging poll numbers.

“I don’t view the 40 to 50 percent who aren’t for the Olympics today” as the opposition, Walsh said. “I view the 10 people who are doing hundreds of thousands of tweets on Twitter.”

Walsh continued, “As you go out and talk about the Olympic potential, there is still some interest out there. People still are opposed, but there’s been a little movement in the last few days.

“The opposition in the polls, I don’t think it’s strong opposition,” Walsh said. “I think it’s concerned opposition. I think one of the main concerns is taxpayer dollars going into the Olympics, and that’s what we’re addressing here today.”


The Boston Herald
Monday, July 27, 2015

Walsh won't sign Olympic contract, may end bid for games
By Matt Stout and Jack Encarnacao


Mayor Martin J. Walsh said today he will not bow to pressure to sign a host city contract committing taxpayer dollars to cover cost overruns for the 2024 Olympics, and if it's needed, he's willing to give up the city's pursuit of the bid.

"This is a commitment that I cannot make without assurances that Boston and its residents will be protected," Walsh said at a hastily scheduled morning press conference at City Hall.

"We have met every demand and every challenge, but I can not commit to putting the taxpayers at risk," Walsh said. "If committing to signing a guarantee today is what's required to move forward, then Boston is no longer pursuing the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games."

Walsh said until he sees the the scope of the IOC guarantee, he can't be sure the city can indemnify itself through insurance. The head of the city's Olympic planning office is reviewing a multi-layered insurance package released by Boston 2024 Thursday night.

"We are unable to conclude our analysis without knowing the full scope of risk contained within the guarantee of the 2024 games," Walsh said. "I refuse to mortgage the future of the city away, I refuse to put Boston on the hook for overruns, and I refuse to commit to signing a guarantee that uses taxpayers dollars to pay for the Olympics."

Walsh said the city does not have to sign a document as the official U.S. bid city until September, and has until the IOC's September 2017 vote on which city will host the games to finalize a guarantee pact.

The mayor, who has repeatedly vowed to protect city taxpayers from being on the hook for overruns connected to the bid, said he was reacting to reports and "rumors" about the United States Olympic Committee stepping up its pressure that the city agree to backstop costs for the Games. He also cited a flood of opposition on Twitter, which he attributed to "about 10 people."

Walsh said the USOC pressure to commit doesn't give the city enough time to ensure proper protections for taxpayers, such as a liability cap.

"If we had another month, we possibly could, but the rumors I keep hearing by reading the papers of some of the USOC board members coming out in their statements, they concern me," Walsh said, referencing recent calls from board members for Gov. Charlie Baker and Walsh to commit to backing the pursuit of the games.

The USOC was scheduled to hear from Gov. Baker in a morning conference call, though he has repeatedly said he will not shift from his neutral position on hosting the games until he gets a report from the Brattle Group, an outside firm his office hired to analyze Boston 2024's bid.

A Baker aide said the governor spoke to USOC officials on a "brief" 10-minute call this morning while he was traveling to Springfield to attend the funeral of Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, who was one of the Marines killed in a shooting attack at a Chattanooga, Tenn., facility earlier this month.

USOC officials asked Baker for an update, to which he repeated his intent to wait on the Brattle Group, according to the governor's office. A Baker aide said there were three USOC officials on the call, in which the governor also praised Boston 2024 chair Steve Pagliuca for producing a more detailed version of the bid committee's plans.

The Herald has reported that USOC members have been anxious for an answer on the political support behind Boston's bid, particularly Baker.

"We need to know how (Boston) is doing and if the people of the city are interested in hosting the games," Anita L. DeFrantz, a member of the USOC and the International Olympic Committee, told the Herald over the weekend. "We need to get a report. I need to know."


State House News Service
Monday, July 27, 2015

Walsh declines to sign Olympics host city contract
By Andy Metzger


Under pressure from the US Olympics Committee to sign a host city agreement, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Monday he could not at this time sign a taxpayer guarantee because the risks of hosting the games are still not fully known.

The mayor's decision, along with Gov. Charlie Baker's continued wait-and-see approach to the games, could potentially contribute to the demise of the city's bid to host the 2024 Summer Games.

"This is me letting the taxpayers of Boston know where we stand on the Olympic bid," Walsh told reporters at a mid-morning press conference. He said he had "made it perfectly clear" he would not sign an agreement that put taxpayers' money at risk.

Walsh said it would be up to the U.S. Olympic Committee whether the bid moves forward even without a taxpayer guarantee.

According to a Baker aide, the U.S. Olympic Committee asked Baker for an "update" during a Monday morning conference call and the governor said he was waiting for a report on the Olympics bid from a consultant hired by the state. The report from The Brattle Group is due in mid-August.

Baker spokesman Tim Buckley said the USOC did not give any indication during the "short call" that it planned to pull its support for Boston or reaffirm the city as its choice to bid for the games.

"Even though we're only a few months into the Olympic process, I'm being asked to commit to signing the guarantee of the host city contract - language of which ... will not be released until September," Walsh said.

Walsh said he "always anticipated" being able to negotiate the contract with the International Olympic Committee. He said, "If committing to signing a guarantee today is what's required to move forward, Boston is no longer pursuing the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games."

Walsh, who has been the most high-profile political supporter of Boston's Olympic bid, said he had spoken to USOC CEO Scott Blackmun about his stance and Blackmun asked "if I could think about what I would say here" at the press conference, Walsh said.

"I don't think we're doing anything to damage the bid. We're talking the truth," Walsh said. Asked if his decision spelled the end for the Boston bid, Walsh said, "You'll have to ask to the USOC that."

Maintaining that there is still great appeal to hosting the international sporting event in Boston, Walsh appeared to move past that potentiality, saying, "I look forward to continuing these conversations as we move forward with Imagine Boston 2030" - a city-led planning process.

Walsh said the Olympic bid process had highlighted the potential for transformative development at Widett Circle, an industrial area outside of downtown.

"There's a potential there now regardless of what happens with the Olympics," Walsh said, suggesting efforts to build housing at Columbia Point and refurbish Harambee Park could also move forward separate from the games. He said he would not regret the Olympic process even if Boston is dropped by the USOC.

While Walsh was an early proponent, the Olympics effort in Boston was led by Boston 2024, a non-profit led by Richard Davey, the state's former transportation secretary, and Stephen Pagliuca, a businessman who ran for U.S. Senate five years ago.

Reports of U.S. Olympics officials looking toward Los Angeles as a potential alternative as well as reports of a pending ultimatum from the USOC in recent days appeared to weigh on Walsh.

"I'm hearing too many other voices talking about L.A.," Walsh said.

Asked if he expected on Monday to hear a final verdict on whether the USOC would stick with Boston, Walsh said, "According to what I read in the paper today, I guess so."

Cities have until Sept. 15 to declare to the International Olympic Committee their intention of whether to pursue the 2024 games.

Walsh said he would "absolutely never" put taxpayers on the hook for any liabilities associated with hosting the games and said he thought privately financed insurance policies could be sufficient to provide Olympics organizers with the requisite protections.

Citizens for a Say & Tank Taxes for Olympics, two groups pushing a ballot initiative aimed at preventing the use of tax funds to pay for the Olympics, said Walsh's announcement "smacks of a staged crisis."

"Mayor Walsh was never in a position to sign a guarantee, because of the scope of the Olympic bid financially and geographically," the groups said. "As before the press conference the decision is up to the Governor, as the state would have to be the one on the hook for the guarantee for the Olympics."

Matt Murphy contributed reporting

 

NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml


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