Olympics 2024 plans will run over original estimates

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How much will it cost the city of Los Angeles to host the 2024 Olympics if the city is awarded the games? Well, according to local analysts, significantly more than what mayor Eric Garcetti and sports executive Casey Wasserman proposed: $4.52 billion. That’s Billion, with a “B,” according to the mayor’s proposal, which was made public just a few weeks ago. And city analysts suggest the cost will go much higher.

City analysts Sharon Tso and Miguel Santana said thy could not “verify, validate or further explain” the proposal’s budget and urged city lawmakers to put more study into it.

Nor does the proposal explain how it will impact the restoration of the Los Angeles River, or city services and public places like Griffith Park. What many Angelenos may not understand is that the original proposal is for the games to be centered in DTLA — Downtown and it will impact millions who live and work in the area. Nothing in the proposal explains how the impact on these people will be mitigated if the Olympic Village is a Downtown venue with several (maybe many) additional downtown locations.

This will get messier before it looks good, if L.A. is awarded the 2024 Olympics.

Photo above by Claudia Gestro. How will the games affect Downtown gems like Grand Park?