Boston Captures U.S. Bid for 2024 Olympics

Harvard is one step closer to playing a part in the Olympic Games.

The United States Olympic Committee selected Boston as the United States’ bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games on Thursday. If Boston is chosen out of the worldwide pool of bids to host the Games, Harvard Stadium may serve as the venue for field hockey.

Harvard Stadium could serve as an Olympic venue if Boston hosts the Games in 2024. By Mark Kelsey

"It is an exceptional honor for Boston to be chosen as the U.S. representative in the running for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This selection is in recognition of our city's talent, diversity, and global leadership,” Boston Mayor Martin “Marty” J. Walsh said in a statement Thursday. “Our goal is to host an Olympic and Paralympic Games that are innovative, walkable, and hospitable to all. Boston hopes to welcome the world's greatest athletes to one of the world's great cities."

Boston beat out Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., for the U.S. bid. Rome has confirmed its bid, and other potential candidate cities include Paris, Istanbul, Berlin, and Hamburg, among others, according to USA Today. The International Olympic Committee will make the final selection in 2017, according to a U.S. Olympic Committee press release.

In order to fulfill IOC requirements, Boston 2024 organizers would need to construct a new 60,000 seat stadium, which they say could be disassembled, dispersed, and repurposed once the Olympics are over.

According to the Associated Press, organizers say the city can fund the Olympics with an estimated $4.2 billion in revenue from broadcast revenues, ticket sales, and international sponsorships in conjunction with $3.2 billion from other sponsorships.

If selected, Boston 2024 organizers plan to utilize existing locations such as Fenway Park and Boston Common, according to the AP. Other universities around Boston and Cambridge would also likely play roles in the Olympics.

Not everyone is so enthused with the prospect of Boston hosting the Games, however: A group called No Boston Olympics argues that hosting the Olympics is a poor investment of public resources.

Harvard’s executive vice president, Katherine N. Lapp, serves on Boston 2024’s college and university engagement committee.

—Staff writer Annie E. Schugart can be reached at aschugart@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @AnnieSchugart.