Washington one of four finalist cities for the U.S.’s bid for 2024 Summer Olympics

Washington Monument

In 1996, the U.S. hosted its most recent summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. A decade from now, it could host again — possibly in the nation’s capital.

As of June, Washington is one of four finalists for the U.S.’s bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, according to the Washington 2024 bid committee.

The three other contenders for the bid are Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The United States Olympic Committee sent out letters to 35 cities’ mayors in February 2013 to gauge interest in hosting the 2024 Games. The committee said the USOC narrowed its search to four cities this past summer.

With the finalists determined, depending on whether the USOC decides to make an actual bid for the 2024 Olympics, the committee said the USOC is expected to pick its partner city in the next 90 days. The International Olympic Committee plans to then select an official host city by 2017.

Junior government and politics major Estefania Torres said she would attend some of the events if Washington hosted.

“I’m a fan of athletics. I really like sports, and I would enjoy watching some of the events if they happen here,” Torres said. “And also it’s good for business, so that’s good for Maryland.”

If hosted by the nation’s capital, the Olympics would be spread among the region, including suburbs in this state and Virginia, rather than condensed solely in Washington, according to the committee.

And with a lot of venue options already in place, hosting the Olympics — which rack up an estimated cost of $4 to $5 billion — likely would not require overwhelming construction efforts, the committee said. It added that any plans for construction would involve conversation with the community.

Sites being considered for Olympic events include the Verizon Center, Nationals Park, RFK Stadium and the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, according to the committee.

The committee also recently reached out to this university to be a potential Olympic venue site, said Ross Stern, a university official dealing with state and community relations. The committee noted it also reached out to other universities in the region, such as George Washington University, Georgetown University and George Mason University and received overwhelmingly positive feedback.

“The great thing about the Olympics is that it has the potential to be so transformative for our region and for the people who live here,” committee spokesman T.J. Ducklo said. “We have been really lucky to receive really overwhelming support by everybody that we’ve spoken to.”

Stern said venues of interest this university approved include Xfinity Center, for gymnastics and trampoline; Eppley Recreation Center, for preliminary water polo; and Cole Field House, for handball, goalball and wheelchair rugby, although given the recent announced renovation plans, the latter site could be more tentative.

“We could get some very positive publicity out of it,” Stern said. “Gymnastics is one of the keystone events of the Olympics. There would be a lot of eyes around the world looking at us for that event.”

The committee also emphasized the positive repercussions for the Washington region as a whole if it hosted the Olympics, citing revitalization of neighborhoods and positive impacts on youth programs and athletics as two major benefits.

Ducklo said the city’s international resources, walkability and public transportation systems would be another asset. But sophomore anthropology major Sean Wallisch, who lives locally, said while he wants Washington to host the Olympics, he is wary of whether the capital would be able to handle the vast influx of people.

“D.C. is fairly small. … I’m just not sure if D.C. would be able to handle it from an infrastructure perspective,” Wallisch said. “But just for selfish reasons, I’d really enjoy having it here and seeing all the events and stuff; that would be really cool.”

CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story incorrectly stated some of the Washington 2024 committee responsibilities, when it should have referred to USOC decisions. This article has been updated to reflect this change.