Details of Boston’s Olympic bid released

January 21, 2015 10:19 pm

By: Samantha Lavien
Slavien@abc6.com
Twitter: SLavienABC6

We now have a better idea of what the Boston 2024 Summer Olympic Games would look like.

The organizers of the Olympic bid released the plans during a public presentation on Wednesday.

“We are a great host city we enjoy the benefit of 22 million annual visitors to Boston and we are clearly a hub of innovation and education,” said David Manfredi the Co-Chair of the Boston 2024 master planning committee.

The plans transform UMass Boston into the Olympic village, put baseball at Fenway, sailing in the Boston Harbor and beach volleyball on the Common.

“We believe the Boston games can be the most walking games in modern time,” said Manfredi.

The organizers of the bid say that’s one of their selling points.

“Boston has 47 miles of publicly accessible waterfront as well as one of the cleanest urban harbors certainly in America,” said Manfredi.

Foxboro and Lowell were mentioned in the plans to host some events and we know some Rhode Island locations like Newport are hoping to jump in on the action as well.

One of the big questions now is whether Boston voters will have to approve these plans in order for them to move forward.

“If there’s a community process and people still feel that there’s a need for a referendum because of their uncertainty or their just outright refusal of having the Olympics in Boston then we will see what happens,” said Mayor Marty Walsh.

The overall cost of the Olympics in Boston is estimated at $4.7 billion.

The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to make its decision in 2017.