LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Los Angeles’ bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics has advanced to the second stage, with the candidacy committee now expected to present plans on how the games will be funded by this fall, it was announced today. The International Olympic Committee’s executive board has signed off on the LA 2024 committee’s application package for the first stage, which focused on the vision, concept and strategy of hosting the Olympics in Los Angeles, according to LA 2024 officials. The next stage requires the bid committee to provide the IOC with its plans for handling the governance, legal and venue funding issues for a Los Angeles-based Olympics. This package is due Oct. 7.

With the LA 2024 bid committee now getting ready to address Olympics funding, panel chair Casey Wasserman and other members revisited their pitch that Los Angeles is a lower cost option because it has existing venues that can be used in the Games. Wasserman said the “IOC’s new consultative approach to the bid process is really helping us bring out the best in our city, and with our vast array of existing sports facilities, L.A. only has to build one new permanent venue for the Games.” “This means we can focus our energy and resources on creating the best games experience for the athletes, while ensuring a viable sustainable legacy for future Angelenos — just like we did for the LA84 Games,” he said. LA 2024 Vice Chair and Director of Athlete Relations Janet Evans said their committee “is in a position to select the best choice of Olympic and Paralympic venues from a wealth of existing options, rather than creating uncertainty by building them from a blank sheet of paper.” “So instead of worrying about cost overruns and construction deadlines, our low-risk plan means we are already focusing our energies on the athletes,” she said. Los Angeles, which hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984, is competing with Paris, Rome and Budapest in a bid to host the Games. The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to select a host city for the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics during a meeting in Lima, Peru, in September 2017.