LA 2024: Security Concerns "High Priority" after Terror Threats

(ATR) Los Angeles 2024 officials say security measures are "something [they]’ve given a lot of thought to" following the mass-shooting in nearby San Bernardino and a bomb threat hoax that shut down the Los Angeles school system.

"It’s obviously a very high priority for us," LA 2024 chief executive officer Gene Sykes said during a press conference with the United States Olympic Committee.

"We’ve actually worked closely to get help from city and state and county officials who deal with security," said Sykes.

He added that the bid committee is set to announce plans for its security measures in the "next several weeks".

The press conference took place the same day 640,000 students were held out of schools in Los Angeles due to an e-mailed bomb threat and nearly two weeks after the San Bernardino shooting where 14 people died.

Despite these episodes, bid chairman Casey Wasserman said Los Angeles is not the only bid city with security on its mind.

"I think security is a concern for everyone in all markets, but it has not been a specific concern that any [IOC] members have raised about Los Angeles," said Wasserman.

Fellow bid city Paris suffered a terrorist attack on Nov. 13 at the hands of ISIS, the same terrorist organization that purportedly inspired the shooting in San Bernardino on Dec. 2.

USOC chief executive officer Scott Blackmun noted that in this day and age "You cannot skimp on security" and that the federal government would take the security lead if Los Angeles is awarded the 2024 Games.

"The discussions that we have with the federal government going forward are very important," Blackmun said, adding that the government takes a lead on all mega-sporting events in the U.S. such as past Olympics and Superbowls.

Search for Olympic Village Site Continues

LA 2024 leaders are finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Los Angeles City Council to determine which site will be chosen as home to the Olympic Village.

The MOU requires the bid committee to present future contracts for the Olympic Village construction to the council for approval. The MOU was approved by the ad hoc committee overseeing the Olympic Games in the City Council and will be presented to all council members soon, according to Sykes.

The bid CEO said the committee is "making good progress," in its search for a viable site, having narrowed down 12 original proposals to only a few legitimate candidates. One of the front-runners is a rail yard known as Piggyback Yard, but city financial analysts have issued concerns that redevelopment will be complicated.

"The analysis we have to do is pretty painstaking," said Sykes.

Los Angeles is competing to host the 2024 Games alongside Paris, Rome and Budapest. Hamburg, Germany dropped out of the running after a public referendum shot down the Olympic proposal.

The IOC will choose the host city at the IOC Session in 2017 in Lima, Peru.

Written by KevinNutley

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