The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has confirmed that it will not be considering a bid for the 2020 Olympic Games. The deadline to nominate a city is September 1st.
USOC Spokesperson Patrick Sandusky confirmed the announcement Monday morning.
“With such little time left , we don’t believe we could pull together a winning bid that could serve the Olympic and Paralympic Movement”, Sandusky said on Twitter.
Several cities including Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, Tulsa, Dallas, Chicago and Las Vegas have indicated an interest in bidding but USOC CEO Scott Blackmun made it clear that there will be no U.S. bid as long a there was no new revenue-sharing agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in place. The current agreement has caused tensions between the two organizations, impairing past U.S. Olympic bids from New York and Chicago.
On Sunday GamesBids.com reported that Las Vegas would be submitting a candidacy under the banner Vegas 2020, and that the group may move forward without USOC support. Typically the IOC only accepts applications from national Olympic committees so it is unlikely that the Vegas 2020 bid will be entertained.
The USOC has discussed possibly bidding for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games should a revenue-sharing deal be worked out. Denver and Reno-Tahoe are actively pursuing that opportunity.
