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U.S. to bid for 2024 Olympic, Paralympic Games

The United States will bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced on Twitter Tuesday night.
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The United States will bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced on Twitter Tuesday night.

In the tweet, four potential host cities were teased: Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

Bidding among potential host cities will begin in earnest in 2015. The winning bid is expected to be announced in Lima, Peru, in September 2017 at the 130th IOC Session.

Contending host cities for the 2024 Games must submit their bids by Sept. 15, 2015.

The last North American city to host the Summer Olympics was Atlanta in 1996. Chicago bid for the 2016 Games, but ultimately lost to Rio de Janeiro.

Los Angeles made its case to become a three-time Olympic host on Tuesday in a presentation to the USOC. LA hosted the Summer Games in 1932 and 1984, and according to David Wharton of the Los Angeles Times, the city needs to overcome a "been there, done that" perception. Initial plans proposed staging events at familiar locations, such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Nokia Theatre, the Santa Monica shoreline and the Queen Mary in Long Beach. The Staples Center and Memorial Coliseum -- if refurbished -- could also host events.

In November, San Francisco's bid began to take shape with comments from Larry Baer, CEO of the San Francisco Giants, who is spearheading the city's bid along with Mayor Ed Lee.

"L.A. made a very good business case for bringing the Games to L.A. at a time that was somewhat challenging," Baer said. "Now I think we have an incredibly compelling business case for this region for 2024."

In October, Boston honored past Olympians from the city at an event in Fenway Park. In a statement released before the event, Gov. Deval Patrick expressed optimism for Boston's candidacy.

"I think there's a great opportunity to develop a successful plan," Patrick said. '"The fact that the proponents of this adventure are thinking big about the Commonwealth is something I think is good for Massachusetts."

Washington could also have a strong candidacy, as itclaims to have the most the most venues within a 40-mile range in America, and thus would be able to keep costs down with arenas already built.

Mike Fiammetta