Olympics will contribute $1.7B to staging of 2024 Summer Games

With Los Angeles and four other cities formally named as bidders for the 2024 Summer Games on Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee announced it will contribute $1.7 billion to help cover the winning candidate’s expenses.

That figure represents an increase from the $1.5 billion that will be given to organizers of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

As expected, Paris, Rome, Hamburg and Budapest will join L.A. in the two-year competition, with the winner to be named in 2017.

“What we see are five really highly qualified candidate cities,” IOC President Thomas Bach said.

This bidding cycle follows the enactment of the “Agenda 2020” reforms that Olympic leaders say will reduce the expense of bidding for and hosting the Games.

Among the changes, 7,000 pages of technical manuals and requirements have been reduced to 350 pages, leaving cities more flexibility for using existing venues and cutting costs, Bach said. The number of presentations that candidate cities must make to the IOC has been trimmed from nine to three.

With Russian officials spending a reported $51 billion on the 2014 Sochi Olympics -- much of that for infrastructure such as roads and hotels surrounding the competition -- the IOC considered imposing a spending cap on future hosts.

“We have come to the conclusion that this is not possible and not enforceable,” he said. “All the cities are starting from a different starting point.”

Los Angeles has an advantage with its array of existing venues, but cost remains an issue if only because the winning city for 2024 must sign an IOC contract that puts taxpayer dollars at risk if the Games finish in debt.

“Of course, like in any competition, you have the candidates guarantee that they are delivering on their plan,” Bach said.

LA 2024 bid leaders have proposed a budget that, with more than $1.7 billion in private sector involvement, would exceed $6 billion.

Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has led the early stages of the campaign, has said he expects the Games would generate a surplus through television, sponsorship and ticket revenues. The initial estimates were based on a $1.5-billion IOC contribution.