Boston bows out of Olympic bid, but Toronto may be in

Boston will not host the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The US Olympic Committe dropped Boston amidst concerns about the cost of building new infrastructure, transportation issues, and a lack of residential support. But that could open the door for a bid from another North American city, like Toronto.

"Now that Boston is out, it makes it a clear field," says professor Bruce Kidd at the University of Toronto. "It is true that Los Angeles is considering it, but I think we're going to go ahead on the basis that it's a clear field, and we'll be the North American bid if we decide to do it," 

Toronto just hosted the Pan American Games, and therefore could likely bid on the promise of reusing infrastructure. But the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has strict rules about stadiums and the amount of seating and transportation required to host an Olympics. Toronto's current facilities may not quite fit the bill.

Kidd is hopeful however. "I think there's tremendous enthusiasm, after a very succesful Toronto Pan American Games, for another Olympic bid. But, as you know, it's a complex calculation. And we need that discussion with all three levels of government, with the public, with the sports organizations. So that discussion is now under way in earnest."

Canada has held the Olympics several times before, and has a tradition of public sector support for cost overruns.

But the one threat to Toronto's potential Olympic bid? The rumored Los Angeles bid. "We're always nervous about an American city," Kidd says. "I think it's always in the IOCs interest to go back to the United States. I think having the US on-side is a terffific plus for the Olympic movement. So if there's a serious US Olympic bid I think we'll have our work cut out for us, that is for sure."