The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) lost another prospective candidate Wednesday when Philadelphia pulled out of the running for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. On Tuesday New York withdrew.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter released a letter Wednesday to USOC officials and said in a statement that city officials spent a year determining whether or not to place a bid and concluded the city wasn’t ready.
He said, “however, we do believe that Philadelphia has what it takes to bid on and host an Olympic Games in the future, and will continue to foster our successful working relationship with the USOC and support their efforts”.
Comcast Executive Vice President David L. Cohen, who was part of a team chosen to advise the mayor, said in a statement that he supports the decision to not pursue the 2024 Games.
He said, “we’ve looked closely at this opportunity over the past year with the city and a number of other key stakeholders, and agree that the timing is not right for Philadelphia. We are very confident that we are on a short list of U.S. cities that can ultimately deliver an incredibly successful Games, and intend to continue down our current path towards Philadelphia one day bidding on and securing the Olympics for our city, state and region”.
