Just a day after Boston mayor Marty Walsh retracted his city's 2024 Summer Olympics bid, the International Olympic Committee voiced their hopes that the U.S. Olympic Committee can identify another American destination as possible substitutes before the Sept. 15 deadline.
The IOC is urging the USOC to find a strong potential suitor, since the Games haven't been hosted by an America city since the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.
"For the IOC this was always about an American bid put forward by the United States Olympic Committee," IOC president Thomas Bach said, according to Stephen Wilson of the Associated Press. "This invitation phase is also an opportunity to determine which city will eventually be chosen by an NOC (National Olympic Committee). We are confident that USOC will choose the most appropriate city for a strong U.S. bid."
Boston was chosen as the prospective host city for the 2024 games by the USOC ahead of several other metropolises, including San Francisco, Washington, and Los Angeles, but pulled out due to funding uncertainty and public disapproval.
Now, those cities may be revisited again, in addition to municipalities that previously bid on the Olympic, such as New York (2012 Olympics), and Chicago (2016), could also be on the committee's radar.
IOC board member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. disliked the dip-and-twirl Boston pulled.
"It's not (only) bad for the U.S., but it's bad for everybody," he said. "Boston was an extraordinary city, very attractive for the Olympic games, a very sporty town. I am very said to hear this."
He still believes, though, there's plenty of time to find a new America-based location.
"(The USOC) presented what they thought was a great candidate. It's preseason. They have all the right to change the team and make their final adjustments."
Los Angeles could be the most appealing, considering it's currently feeling out the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, coupled with it being possibly the third time they have submitted a bid.
"It could be the third-time lucky for LA; it was third-time lucky for London," IOC vice president Craig Reedie said.
Other cities that have expressed interest to contend for the games are Rome, Paris, Budapest, Toronto, Hamburg, and Baku.