[June 14, 2014](Reuters) - Boston, Los Angeles, San
Francisco and Washington comprise the short list of candidate cities for
a potential U.S. bid to host the 2024 Summer Games, the U.S. Olympic
Committee said on Friday.
The list of potential host cities was narrowed down after a
16-month process that began with the USOC reaching out to some 35
U.S. cities to gauge interest in a bid.
"We're extremely pleased with the level of interest U.S. cities have
shown in hosting the Games," USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun
said in a statement.
"Boston, LA, San Francisco and Washington have each given us reason
to believe they can deliver a compelling and successful bid, and we
look forward to continuing to explore the possibilities as we
consider 2024."
The United States has not hosted a summer edition of the Games since
the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Los Angeles hosted the 1932 and 1984
Olympics while the three other candidate cities would be first-time
hosts.
The USOC said a decision on whether or not to proceed with a bid
will likely be made in early 2015, at which time it would also
identify which city would seek hosting duties.
Dallas and San Diego, who had expressed early interest, will not be
moving forward in the bid process, according to the USOC.
USOC leaders spent the last six months focusing on talks with a
smaller group of interested cities that met the initial requirements
of hosting the world’s largest sporting event.
"Simplifying the domestic bid process has been a major priority for
us,” said Blackmun. "We were able to have exploratory conversations
with a greater number of cities while avoiding unnecessary costs.
The list of potential host cities was narrowed down after a
16-month process that began with the USOC reaching out to some 35
U.S. cities to gauge interest in a bid.
