LA 2024 releases new bid book with updates on proposed UCLA venues
By Roberto Luna Jr.
Feb. 17, 2016 4:32 p.m.
Three, instead of four, UCLA venues will host the Olympic Games events in 2024 if Los Angeles secures the bid, according to an updated plan released Tuesday.
Drake Stadium, previously one of two venues that would host field hockey, would instead serve as a training facility for the athletes, according to the updated bid book. Pauley Pavilion would host indoor volleyball instead of basketball.
The North Athletic Field would still host field hockey and the Los Angeles Tennis Center would still host water polo, according to the plan.
Chancellor Gene Block said in a letter to the Los Angeles 2024 Exploratory Committee in October 2014 that UCLA would grant access to the venues if Los Angeles wins the bid.
The Hill would house the athletes during their stay in Los Angeles as the Olympic Village, LA 2024 officials said in the bid book. UCLA will need to offer 17,000 beds to accommodate all the athletes. UCLA currently has about 14,000 beds on the Hill.
UCLA officials are already planning to add about 2,000 beds as part of a UC Board of Regents plan to accommodate an increase of in-state student enrollment next year.
The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and the Harbor UCLA Medical Center in Torrance would offer athletes medical services during the Olympics, according to the bid book.
LA 2024 officials also said they hope their Olympic bid can motivate federal transportation officials to grant them funding to bring the Metro Purple Line Extension from downtown Los Angeles to Westwood by 2024 instead of 2035. Los Angeles County Metro officials asked for nearly $2 billion through a federal funding program in September.
Los Angeles, Paris, Rome and Budapest submitted bids to host the Olympics in 2024. The International Olympics Committee will choose a host city in September 2017.
Compiled by Roberto Luna Jr., Bruin senior staff.
